Snippet: Lambent, by T.D. Cloud

 

Komiren, Fox God of the Forest Shrine, has been alone for centuries. Duty is no longer enough, but with eternity staring him down, his options for companionship are limited. Cerdei the Lantern Spirit hasn’t been wandering this nebulous world just long enough to know he wants nothing to do with the lazy Fox God who spends more time sleeping than answering prayers. He’s content to walk his path alone, even if it does mean walking straight towards oblivion.
In this world, Fate always has a plan; whether or not you want to fall in with it, though, is something much less certain.

"I've been tired for longer than I can remember."

T.D. Cloud's Lambent is an atmospheric achillean novella loosely inspired by Japanese folklore, about a forest god learning to live again. The lush prose and the simple setting work very well together, creating a cozy but mournful feel. The character work on the other hand lacks some depth, as the fragmented narration and the hazy memories of past interactions make for an unclear read, and the link between the fox god and the spirit seems to come from nowhere. It's still pretty sweet, though, and the Raven character is the real highlight, a sort of trickster figure who moves things along and undergoes his own journey.

✨ 3.5 stars

 

Snippet: The Wolf and His King, by Finn Longman

The wolf-sickness strikes always without warning, stealing Bisclavret’s body and confusing his mind. Since boyhood he hasn’t dared leave his isolated holdings—not to beg the return of his father’s lost estate, not to seek brotherhood among the court, not even to win the knighthood he yearns for. But when a new king ascends, Bisclavret must deliver his kiss of fealty or answer for the failure.
Half an exile himself, the young king is intrigued by this uneasy, rough-hewn nobleman. Bisclavret seems a perfect knight: bold, strong, and merciful. But he keeps his secrets close, and the king’s longings are not for counsel alone. As his fascination grows, the barriers between them multiply, until the king battles desperation and grief. Then Bisclavret vanishes beyond reach, just as the greatest threats to the kingdom converge. Only duty to his people stands between the king and ruin—duty, and the steady loyalty of the strangest wolf.

"Always I am tired of running."

Finn Longman's The Wolf and His King is the achillean retelling of a medieval tale about a werewolf at court, teeming with yearning and courtly love and fealty in spades. The gorgeous writing, very atmospheric, gives the reader the impression of reading an old lai. The author experiments with PoVs, weaving an incredible tapestry of second and third person, and writing in verse from the perspective of the Wolf. No character is named, save for Bisclavret, giving a feeling of both deep disconnect and great immersion. The nameless king, the wife, the cousin, the knight in green: everyone's a reflection of the role they take in the old tale, but also vivid characters of their own. We feel deeply the King's yearning for Bisclavret, and the latter's turmoil. This isn't a novel in the truest sense, more of a joyful reclamation.

✨ 5 stars

 

 

Snippet: A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennett

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard. To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.
Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future. Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.

"Duty is thankless, invisible, Forgettable—but oh, so very necessary."

Robert Jackson Bennett's A Drop of Corruption is the highly entertaining sequel to the excellent Tainted Cup (you can read HERE my review), a glorious murder mystery following bisexual disaster Din as he assists the investigations of a brilliant and eerie Imperial detective; but it's also a deft criticism of autocracy. The worldbuilding is, as always with this author, a definite highlight, imaginative and strange, all described tersely and perfectly, with some imagery that's not for the queasy. This gorgeous mystery keeps the reader on their toes, struggling to catch up as revelations abound. One could spend hours lost in this series, in the company of these perfect Sherlock- and Watson-types; let's hope it's not going to be a trilogy, but feature more books.

✨ 4.5 stars

 

Snippet: Songs for Ghosts, by Clara Kumagai

 

Seventeen-year-old Adam has just broken up with his boyfriend Evan and is not looking forward to the excruciating awkwardness at school for the rest of term or a whole summer stuck at home with his dad, stepmom and baby brother, Benji.
But then Adam discovers a diary in some boxes in the attic and is quickly enthralled by their poignant story. They were written by a young woman living in Nagasaki in 1911. Adam is enraptured by her life and loves, becoming totally absorbed in her story. And then he starts to be haunted by her ghostly presence...

Clara Kumagai's Songs for Ghosts is a lovely YA exploration of grief, war, and self-discovery, equal parts chilling ghost story, retelling of the orientalist classic Madama Butterfly, and history lesson. Through the dual narrative - in the modern day, a biracial gay teen finds the diary of a young woman living in Nagasaki at the start of the century - we explore issues of consent, war crimes, and the intricacies of family. The tragic protagonist of Puccini's opera is given depth, a rich inner life, and a somewhat gentler fate that also ends up emboding the very fabric of Japan's tragedy. Her section is filled with old tales and references, effortlessly drawing from Japan's history and folklore. Adam's section mirrors and compliments hers well, though his problems may seem smaller in comparison; throughout the narrative loom very real ghostly presences. The soft ending brings a sense of closure.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: The Chimes, by Anna Smaill

 

In the absence of both memory and writing is music. In a world where the past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphemy, all appears lost. But Simon Wythern, a young man who arrives in London seeking the truth about what really happened to his parents, discovers he has a gift that could change all of this forever.

“Some memories tell us about who we are.”

Anna Smaill's The Chimes is a dystopian YA set in an imagined London where the written word has been forbidden and destroyed and memories don't survive the night. It's a very atmospheric piece of writing, a bit longer than a novella, a love letter to the power of music and the importance of memories. The beautiful first half gives way to a more fast-paced second half as the revolution strikes and young orphan Simon falls in love with a freedom fighter. It's a lovely queer tale from a time (merely a decade ago) when it was still difficult to find anything like it for queer youth.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: The Dragon Keeper, by Robin Hobb

 

Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage--or die--so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories.
Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned--as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals . . . and joys beyond their wildest imaginings.

“Reality is often unkind to legends.”

Robin Hobb's The Dragon Keeper is the first book in a quadrilogy from a mistress of fantasy novels and certainly not the best entry point to her renowned Elderlings series, but The Rain Wild Chronicles quadrilogy is the one where she writes a happy gay couple and does it well. Now, if you want pain and heartbreak in your achillean couple, and you don't mind a tragic ending, I can't recommend her Farseer trilogy, the following Tawny Man trilogy, and the final Fitz and the Fool trilogy enough, but this one is definitely safer. This multi-PoV quadrilogy follows some characters - amongst which is Sedric, a pampered secretary who is trapped in a violent relationship with his employer - as they are chosen to bond with and guide weak newborn dragons in a world where dragons were thought to be exctinct. It's not strictly necessary to have read the rest of the Elderlings series to enjoy this quadrilogy.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: The Gilda Stories, by Jewelle Gomez

 

This remarkable novel charts the unending life of Gilda, a young woman who - after escaping slavery in Louisiana in 1850 - is made into a vampire. After being initiated into eternal life as one who 'shares the blood', Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a way to exist in the world.

“Pledge yourself to pursue only life, never bitterness or cruelty.”

Jewelle Gomez' The Gilda Stories is a lesbian classic and an extraordinary exploration of the horror of slavery and racism, combined with all the trappings of a vampire novel. This literary classic doesn't have a plot per se, but it's more of a sequence of moments over the course of two hundred years, and the reader follows happily along as Gilda meets people and makes fundamental changes. At its core, it's a novel about being Black and queer in America, and about giving back what you're given. It's a healing experience, a beautiful read.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: Finding Echoes, by Foz Meadows

Snow Kidama speaks to ghosts amongst the local gangs of Charybdis Precinct, isolated from the rest of New Arcadia by the city’s ancient walls. But when his old lover, Gem—a man he thought dead—shows up in need of his services, Snow is forced to reevaluate everything. Snow and Gem must navigate not only a city on the edge of collapse, but also their feelings for each other.

“Some plants thrive best when fed on blood and bone, and perhaps change is too.”

Foz Meadows' Finding Echoes is a perfectly self-contained novella, with complex worldbuilding and top-notch characterization developing over the course of a very short story. It explores with a deft hand themes of oppression and addiction, while also finding time for a bit of queer romance. Told in first person POV, this packed novella follows a lonely and wounded figure as he reckons with his past and with a threat to society, while navigating his power of being able to talk to the dead and confronting the gut-punch of a sudden revelation. I got the feeling that this might become a series of standalone novellas, not necessarily about the same characters.

✨ 4 stars

 

👥🦴 So you want to read about achillean men who speak with the dead?

Check out my reviews of Katherine Addison's novels! 

Snippet: The Bloodless Princes, by Charlotte Bond

Cursed by the previous practitioner in her new role, and following an incident with a supremely powerful dragon, High Mage Saralene visits the afterlife with a boon to beg of the Bloodless Princes who run the underworld. But Saralene and her most trusted advisor/champion/companion, Sir Maddileh, will soon discover that there's only so much research to be done by studying the old tales, though perhaps there's enough truth in them to make a start. Saralene will need more than just her wits to leave the underworld, alive. And Maddileh will need more than just her Fireborne Blade.

“Justice is like iron.”

Charlotte Bond's The Bloodless Princes is a novella concluding the duology that began with The Fireborne Blade (HERE you can read my review). Set three years after the events recounted there, it employs the same format of narration, with the story proper being interrupted by chapters about the history and lore of the world. The plot is pretty simple, as Maddileh and Saralene need to contend with the consequences of what they did at the end of the first book, and this leads to a voyage to the Underworld with a taste of the myth of Orpheus; at the same time, they must face their feelings for each other, which have only grown during the time between the two books. This makes for a sweet story where the stakes are pretty low, all things considered. The cat on the cover does absolutely have a part to play, and in fact it was a definite highlight of the book, a great character.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie

For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven's Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven's watch, the city flourishes. But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.
It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo--aide to Mawat, the true Lease--arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven's Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself...and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.

“Perhaps, long or short, it mattered how one spent that time.”

Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower is an excellent standalone Hamlet-inspired novel with a twist about manipulative and manipulated gods. It features fascinating mythology and magic system, and a beautiful usage of the second person narration. The narrator is a delight, going on with patience about the past and the present and the power of language and stories, and about finally caring for someone. The novel explores themes of imperialism, power, and personal identity, the latter especially through the eyes of the ostensible main character, a transgender man named Eolo, whose gender is not what the story is about, but rather his gender is an important part of his identity that informs his decision-making and emotions and his relationships with several other characters. This books is a gem that I, for one, certainly intend to reread, as I read it upon publication.

✨ 5 stars

Snippet: Until the Last Petal Falls, by Viano Oniomoh

When Eru was eleven years old, he met an unforgettable boy.Only a few weeks after, he forgot all about that boy. Ten years later, after his parents’ sudden deaths, all Eru wants is to find a way out of the village he was supposed to leave behind, and escape the abuse of his grieving grandmother. When he receives a summons from Able Mummy, the wife of the High Chief, it seems all of his prayers have been answered.
Able Mummy needs his help. But she and the High Chief have a secret. Once Eru uncovers the truth, he finds that the fate of the village, and that of the boy he’d been made to forget, could lie solely in his hands.

“Choose to live.”

Viano Oniomoh's Until the Last Petal Falls is a sweet queerplatonic retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in present-day Nigeria, a cozy novella featuring Nigerian folklore, many pop culture references, and a lovely exploration of the blossoming bond between two young men who are both aroace. The book races through their relationship, making it difficult to really care about them, especially with many developments being off-screen. It's still a sweet read, a perfect palate cleanser.

✨ 3 stars

Snippet: When Among Crows, by Veronica Roth

On Kupala Night, Dymitr arrives in Chicago’s monstrous, magical underworld with a perilous mission: pick the mythical fern flower and offer it to a cursed creature in exchange for help finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga. Ala is a fear-eating zmora afflicted with a bloodline curse that’s slowly killing her. She's just desperate enough to say yes to Dymitr, even if she doesn’t know his motives.
Over the course of one night, Ala and Dymitr risk life and limb in search of Baba Jaga, and begin to build a tentative friendship. . . but when Ala finds out what Dymitr is hiding, it could destroy them both.

“Magic is crooked, and so are we.”

Veronica Roth's When Among Crows is an excellent novella about grief, regret, and redemption. With a few deft strokes and a masterful economy of words, it paints a complete story with fascinating protagonists and explores a well-described world teeming with creatures from Slavik folklore. Chicago comes to life and so do banshees and stryga and zmory. The queer development was a welcome surprise, an ephemeral attraction growing into acceptance and love.

✨ 4.5 stars

Snippet: The Wizard and the Welshman, by Laura Rayndrop

London, December 1886. A woman is gruesomely murdered, a mysterious organ missing from her cracked-open chest. Investigating the case, Kensington’s top inspector, Hal Hawthorne, quickly discovers that the victim wasn't human—and neither is her killer. When he saves the captivating wizard November from becoming the next target, Hal is thrust into a world of nightmarish creatures and dark magic. But the deeper Hal becomes entangled in the case, the more he comes to believe that November isn’t just a wizard with mind-bending powers, but also holds the key to unraveling the web of dark magic and murder.
Can Hal solve the case and protect November, or will the murderer claim him and destroy Hal’s life forever? And what will Hal have to sacrifice to stop the killings and save the man he’s come to love?

“Every person who entered a crime scene took something from it.”

Laura Rayndrop's The Wizard and the Welshman is a cozy way to start the new year, a romantasy mystery featuring a no-nonsense cop with a painful past, a male sex worker with a secret, and a chaotic world-building. The mystery at the heart of the story is a series of gruesome murders; to solve the case, the cop will have to tangle himself with a magical underworld he had no idea existed. The story is pretty simple in its beats, but simple is good sometimes. The worldbuilding is where it falls flat, with a plethora of magical beings all lumped together and no clear worldbuilding. This is balanced by a heartfelt exploration of child trauma and homophobia, culminating in a precious moment at the end. This book is the first in a trilogy.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: The Brides of High Hill, by Nghi Vo

The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride's party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord's mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.
As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo's previous wives and the dark history of Do Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.

“Fear serves, when nothing else is left.”

Nghi Vo's The Brides of High Hill is another great installment in the Singing Hill Cycle, a story about the many faces monsters can wear, about lies and deception. It becomes clear very quickly that this is a version of Bluebeard, but then the story takes an abrupt turn, careening towards a plot twist that leaves you reeling. The ending was a bit rushed for my taste, making this installment a bit weaker than the other books in the series, but it's still an incredible story, and Vo's prose is excellent as always. This is also the first novella when Cleric Chih seems to be attracted to someone.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Awakenings, by Claudie Arseneault

Innkeep, hunter, blacksmith, nurse—Horace has apprenticed for every clan in the domed city of Trenaze, and they've all rejected em. Too hare-brained. Too talkative. Too slow. Ever the optimist, e has joined Trenaze's guards to be mentored. Horace has high hopes to earn eir place during eir trial at the Great Market. That is, until the glowing shards haunting the world break through the city's protective dome, fused together in a single, monstrous amalgam of Fragments.

“Your story is my story.”

Claudie Arseneault's Awakenings is a sweet novella set in a queernormative world, a cozy adventure that starts when the nonbinary aroace main character find themselves in a situation bigger than them and decide to leave their city and help a mysterious figure regain their memories. The two will cross paths with a merchant and his sentient wagon, and the three will set off for adventure. This book believably lays the groundwork for what promises to be a fun series of short works about finding oneselves and the importance of friendship.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Under the Dragon Moon, by Mawce Hanlin

Mael Nguyen doesn’t believe in fate, but he does believe in magic. His entire life revolves around the study of the arcane—spells and rituals, potions and illusions. As far as Mael is concerned, all he needs is a book in one hand and magic in the other. Anything outside of his bookshop, hidden away in the streets of New Orleans, isn’t worth his attention. But when a strange human stumbles into his life and hires him for a job, bringing along his blinding smile and curious magic, Mael finds that Fate is just as dangerous as Magic.
Leo Greyson refuses to believe in fate, but he desperately wishes to believe in magic. As a small time rockstar, full time radio host, Leo has never been one to shy away from experience and adventure. He’s always lived his life on the edge—always moving, never standing still. But when his twin sister is murdered, and he gains custody of her strangely magical daughter, that constant motion comes to a screeching halt. Instead, he is launched into an entirely new world hidden right beneath his nose, and Leo finds himself wondering if Fate really does exist, and if she’s led him right where he needs to be.

“He kissed like a hurricane.”

Mawce Hanlin's Under the Dragon Moon is a sweet romantasy with great character work and a mysterious background plot that promises to take center stage in the next installments of the series. In this first book the focus is on a magical mystery and on the establishment of the main characters’ relationship, motivations, past, and their relationship with friends and family, other than laying the foundation of a pretty complex worldbuilding, with sidhe, Courts, pacts, dragons, and a magic that builds on magical patrons. The politics and lore of this scintillating debut of an urban fantasy are pretty layered, and the prose is fantastic: lyrical at times, at times funny, always very respectful of the many triggering aspects, and littered with references to pop culture. There are quite a few explicit sex scenes.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: Empire of the Feast, by Bendi Barrett

We awaken with Riverson, 32nd ruler of the Stag Empire, as he attempts to govern without the memories of his previous lives. To survive the ever-sharpening gears of war, he will need to mend the political schisms threatening to tear his empire apart while maintaining the erotic rituals holding off the eldritch horror known only as the Rapacious.

“We will eat the stars and drench the darkness in ecstasy.”

Bendi Berrett's Empire of the Feast is a sci-fi novella with a touch of magic, compact and luxurious. In less than a hundred pages, the author paints the delicate balance of an intergalactic empire held together against an eldritch foe only thanks to the power surges created by a never-ending orgy. Despite the particular subject, the book isn't too explicit, and follows the efforts of the newly resurrected Emperor attempting to regain his footing and stop a coup, having been brought back memoryless and with a different gender. This delightfully queer page-turner of a novella packs a complex journey that resolves in less than a day; it only stumbles in the Epilogue, where it tries to tie too neat a bow to the detriment of a perfect roller-coaster.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire, by Erica Hollis

Most dragontongues don’t live long enough to learn from their mistakes. Lotte Meer is luckier than most, surviving long enough to communicate with the fierce, sullen, and temperamental dragons who are not above enjoying a human as a light snack. And she has the scars to prove it. Now a massive, foul-tempered dragon has taken over the town of Morwassen's Pass, taking the citizens hostage. As long as they bring him their gold and treasure, he won’t reduce their city to a smoking heap of ash and death. Only, the treasure is running out and Lotte—with the help of sharp-tongued, unbelievably cute Maryse Basvaan—is their last and only hope. But this dragon is more cunning—and more cruel—than any other. Not only is he holding Lotte’s estranged mom captive, but he has a taste for betrayal…and somehow he’s stricken some kind of secret deal with the girl who’s already gone and stolen Lotte’s heart.

“Pride and bravery kill more than weapons.”

Erica Hollis' Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire is a sapphic YA adventure that doesn't live up to its great premise. Set in a queernormative world, it sees the main character fall in love with a girl with a secret, navigate a newfound family, and attempt to save the city from a bloodthirsty dragon with her power that allows her to understand the language of dragons. The execution is very linear, the plot twists easy to see, and the narration very simple, but it's not a bad thing in itself; the book has things to say about learning that your parents are people, and it could be a very important book for a young reader who's just starting reading SFF. The mini-dragons are a delightful addition.

✨ 3 stars

Snippet: The Stagsblood Prince, by Gideon E. Wood

Tel, crown prince of Feigh, has negotiated an end to the war between his country and the strange queendom of Omela. He looks forward to an easy reign of wild parties and wilder men. When his father dies suddenly, Tel is outmaneuvered by his brother, losing the throne. Tel’s faith prohibits him from raising his sword and spilling blood, so he accepts the humiliation, working to temper his brother’s baser impulses. But the new king’s reign takes a dark turn, and his collaborators begin to round up undesirables, including those with a magic called the stagsblood.
Tel must decide: Flee or fight? Running means abandoning his people to his brother’s evil whims. Standing his ground means the sin of total war. He has no army and only a few allies—and his magical secret. Caip, his closest friend and protector, brings military experience and blunt advice. Her right hand, Dar, is the picture of loyalty. Tough, battle-scarred Bin doesn’t suffer fools gladly. And Vared, a mysterious singer-turned-diplomat from Omela, speaks the truth to Tel in ways no one else can.

"How do I make war when all I want is to be tender?".

Gideon E. Wood's The Stagsblood Prince is a poignant exploration of duty, addiction, and grief, a beautiful tale of finding one's purpose after a terrible loss, of persevering against all odds. It's a tragic tale of love and loss. The narration is a little weak in pieces, strongly relying on the later recounting of events when it might be better to show them as they happen; but the sheer intensity of the events described, especially in the second half, more than make up for it. The book features a few very descriptive and explicit sex scenes, and a tragic twist that will leave you sobbing uncontrollably.

✨ 4 stars

Snippet: Merciless Waters, by Rae Knowles

Aboard the ship Scylla, there is no future or past. Jaq, her fickle lover Lily, and their all-female crew exist in an endless present. It’s better this way. At least it keeps Lily by Jaq’s side, where she belongs. But the meddling gods care little for Jaq’s longing, and despite her protective rituals, their punishment arrives all the same: a man, adrift on the open ocean. Delivered to snatch Lily from Jaq’s arms forever.
Jaq knows what to do. She’s lost Lily before. Her lover will return—when this interloper, this distraction, is snuffed out. But Jaq’s murderous schemes may not be enough. The intruder’s presence infects her crew with a plague her spells cannot cure: memory. And as the women recall how they came to Scylla, their minds bend one by one towards revenge.

"We crave violence, so we swallow violent men". Rae Knowles' Merciless Waters is a sapphic novella with horror undertones that are inspired by the figure of the rusalka. The narrator lulls the reader with her story, and the slow return of her memories, while thoughts of vengeance tint the narration with blood and gore. The lyrical prose and the oneiric images make for a little gem of a story, where violence against women is punished with relish. The sea krait was a delightful addition.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Providence Girls, by Morgan Dante

for: sea horrors, existential dread