Sweet, sharp, visionary. Black British romance mixed with speculative fiction. Book maths: Sareeta Domingo, Octavia Butler, Deesha Philyaw, and The Memory Librarian (Janelle Monae). 

A sweet, fun backstory to the hit Legends and Lattes. Viv is a young orc trying to find her way as a fledgling mercenary when she gets injured and left behind in a small town by the sea. As she heals, she makes friends and becomes embroiled in a mystery adventure. Featuring baking, bookshops, found friends, and necromancy, Travis Baldree weaves in some very enjoyable nods and cameos from the first story. Satchel is the most excellent addition to the Legends and Lattes universe. When you've read it, that will make sense. 

An emotional five stars for giving all those feelings all over again. Definitely read Legends and Lattes first. 

A rich and complex YA fantasy about the ethics and uses of magic and the substance of myths. We see two characters, Lan and Zen, brought together to protect themselves, a secret magic school, and their respective communities. The pace of the story is like a dance - quick, quick, slow - which takes a bit of getting used to and I think this book could have been one set piece shorter, but Amélie Wen Zhao has definitely set up a cinematic epic that I hope will get a large budget adaptation. 

Charming YA romance, including fake dating, tangled best friendships and dancing in the rain. I found this totally charming but with one too many phases. Would make an amazing series. I hope it gets picked up. I love the characters. I love the rom-com tropes. I love the different family dynamics. 

I really enjoyed this book. It's got intrigue and gods and magic and interesting disability rep plus being a kind of fantasy romance. I still find it novel to read a book like this were the "mortal" is the main character and the attraction/sex is written for female pleasure. If you don't like romance fiction, you may find those sections of writing jarring but I think it adds to the vibes.

I find the Inheritance Trilogy challenging because I really enjoy them for what they are but they are less original, (heavy), and genre-bending than the Broken Earth trilogy and the Great Cities. I can totally imagine being disappointed by them when coming to this (or the Dreamblood series) if you start with any of her other work.