leandrathetbrzero's Reviews (412)

Terrible friends and insta-lust

Calling all light academia/historical fantasy lovers!

This title reminded me of Emily Wilde, The Midnight Bargain, and a bit of the Parasol Protectorate.

I loved the authentic memoir tone, the way characters treated dragons through the lens of biology as a species to be studied, and the periodic illustrations throughout. My only criticism is that the meandering pace speeds up jarringly in the last few chapters. And I will 100% continue this series! 

 I got so close to the end, but then I remembered I wasn't Rihanna and I, in fact, do not like the way it hurts. There goes my collab with Eminem.

DNF @ 78%

"10 Things I Hate About Fourth Wing" on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ToDF95kC1yw 

I was just a bit bored, and the plot wasn't strong enough to keep me captivated. With that said, I really appreciated the commentary on the climate crisis and if I were to finish the book, it would have been a 3-star read more likely than not.

The incest plot was way too heavy in this.

This cozy fantasy is one I feel confident recommending to fans of T Kingfisher and Heather Fawcett. Numerous times, the plot and world-building reminded me of the Emily Wilde series in particular. A journey narrative with emphasis on found friendship and discussions surrounding what it means to exist in a world that a creature like Jenny Greenteeth may no longer belong in...a world where magic and magical creatures like her are no longer welcome or safe. 

L O V E   N O T E S
One of my favorite elements in Greenteeth is the first-person POV we receive from Jenny herself. I couldn't imagine following the perspective of any other character. I especially would not have wanted to be in the head of Temperance, for instance (see: Criticisms). Jenny was such a dynamic and easy to love voice, not to mention her worldview of humanity, society, and magic (having lived several centuries by the book's opening pages) was fascinating. Her running commentary across various scenarios lent itself to humor as well, which provided a great balance for the darker and more emotional moments in this book. And the book does, in fact, get far darker at times than I expected, but I would still classify this as a cozy read. 

The best part of Greenteeth hands down would be the characters' observations of and reactions to the disquieting impermanence of magic that has become widespread, an ever growing concern for magical beings in this historical Britain. And it's a heavy topic that weighs on our ragtag group of heroes as they embark on a quest to expel a truly dark and evil thing from their home. 

C R I T I C I S M S
The most glaring place where I found the narrative lacking involved the missed opportunities to dig deeper into how one might value a human life compared to the life of a magical creature. Twice, the author provides a scenario where lake monster and witch butt heads regarding who should be saved and who should be slain. Both women arguably straddle the same two worlds: one of magic and one of non-magical humans. While the witch Temperance has a stronger foothold in the human world, being human-passing with her husband and children, Jenny needs a glamour when interacting with humans and her "allegiance" leans toward the world of high and low fae even though she did start out her life as a human baby. 

We see two identical scenarios which at their core challenge Jenny and Temperance to ask themselves who deserves to live. The first involves

human soldiers attacking Jenny (and Temperance eventually) without hesitation or pause to consider if these women are even dangerous. Temperance is unyielding in her stance that the men should be allowed to live after Jenny announces her intention to kill them. Not long after this event, Temperance is cold-hearted and ready to kill an innocent unicorn--a creature that is basically an endangered species destined to eventually go extinct. When Jenny stops Temperance from killing the magical creature, the witch declares that Jenny has saved her soul but damned her family. And, here is when I said to my ereader: "Temperance, you better take a SEAT, right now."

Here was the time for O'Neill to have these protagonists observe the hypocrisy of Temperance as she places human life (violent humans at that!) above the life of a defenseless magical creature. Instead, O'Neill decides to explain Jenny's interference in the killing of the unicorn by connecting the unicorn's eye color to that of Jenny's daughter. I understand that one element that connects these women is their identity as mothers, but it honestly cheapened the scene for me.

What would have been more powerful (and made slightly more sense) is if the author placed the two scenes side by side. She could have used them to open the door for social commentary surrounding a very topical and deep-seated issue of humans failing to care about groups they do not personally identify with. Temperance identifies more with humans than she does with the magical beings with which she interacts; therefore, it doesn't even occur to her that a magical creature's life should be respected and protected in the same way. 

In general, I was disappointed with how narrow-minded the witch, Temperance, revealed herself to be in the latter half of the book. The friendship that Jenny forges with Temperance was lovely at first, but eventually Temperance becomes quite selfish in my opinion, and she only considers her own grief and struggle, never pausing to wonder what trauma or worries Jenny may be carrying with her. The two women argue at one point, both making good points and BOTH making harsh remarks, and it is only Jenny who apologizes to Temperance while the latter simply accepts said apology and they move on. Meanwhile, I was left thinking, "And, Temperance, babe, do you have anything to say or apologize for? Hint, hint: the answer is yes..." Eventually, Temperance apologizes for some things but the entire interaction was quite vague and unsatisfying. By the end of the story, it simply felt like an imbalanced friendship in which Jenny mostly gave, and Temperance was happy to take. I just wanted more sympathy and self-awareness from our witch. 

My issues with Temperance's character and the missed opportunities for more depth will not bother all in the same way, and it in no way made me regret reading this book. I am also very much interested in what O'Neill elects to publish next!

Actual Rating: 3.75 stars 
Original Pub Date: 25 Feb 2025
Reading Format: ebook

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!

It brings me such joy to see this marked as the first in the new Dorothy Gentleman series, because I am already looking forward to Dorothy's next case!

At the opening of this novella, Dorothy awakens in an elevator during a magnetic storm on the HMS Fairweather...in someone else's body. Not to mention, there has been a murder on board this interstellar passenger liner making its way to a new Earth. AND someone has been purposely damaging memory books (literal backups of passengers' minds) in the Library. Are these events connected or separate crimes? It's a good thing that Dorothy happens to be one of the ship's detectives. Thus begins her hunt for answers...

I can definitely see why this sci-fi mystery genre blend was marketed as 'Miss Marple in space'. While Dorothy does share Marple's keen eye for human nature and a love of knitting, I would argue Dorothy is her own character and a modernized spinster sleuth in the best way possible. And I loved following her character's perspective. I also enjoyed the blending of science fiction with mystery, and I found the two intertwined nicely together. The technology, the spaceship setting, and the culture created from people living hundreds of years en route to a new version of Earth...all of it affected the crimes at hand. And I think that makes it a true genre BLEND.

My only complaint is that I wish the book were longer. Understandably, this is a novella, so sacrifices must be made when it comes to development and description. With that said, the ending did feel slightly rushed, and I would have liked more space on the page allocated to developing motive for the culprit. As that was lacking, and we had little time with all suspects, I am hesitant to call this plot a fair play mystery.

A fast-paced, easy-to-read palette cleanser for quozy (queer + cozy) mystery readers!

Actual Rating: 4.0 stars
Original Pub Date: 18 March 2025
Reading Format: ebook

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!