lilibetbombshell's Reviews (2.79k)

If you look behind all of the aesthetics and moodiness of any dark academia novel the heart of the matter is this: a contract has been broken between the educational system and one or more character in the book. There is a crack in the foundation, the world has become unbalanced, and that’s where you’ll find the book’s central conflict. 

The Incandescent isn’t the first novel to take a different approach to dark academia than the usual student protagonist: Lee Madelo’s Summer Sons has a student’s brother as the protagonist, and Lauren Nossett’s The Resemblance has a police officer/alumni as the protagonist (including The Resemblance as DA is something I do because I believe it meets all of the markers save the aesthetics and supernatural element). It’s not the first to have a teacher as the protagonist either (The Swallows by Lisa Lutz has a teacher protag). It is the first dark academia novel I can think of to have an elder millennial, pseudo-head of house/part-time teacher as the protagonist. It’s also the first dark academia novel I can think of where the contract that was broken was between academia as an institution and the administration/staff of the school, which led to the central conflict of this book: How do you protect a school full of bright, promising, young students from demons when no one seems to want to foot the bill?

One of the best things about this book is that Tesh (being a Millenial herself, I think) knows that not everything about this book has to be taken so seriously. Doctor Saffy Walden, our protagonist, does her marking in her ratty pajamas, works 14 hours a day, is awkward talking about anything that’s not work, doesn’t date, knows her students are completely unserious about nearly everything, and deeply loathes smart phones (demons just love technology). Saffy knows she’s deeply uncool and she’s okay with that. Saffy is okay with almost anything so long as the 600 students of Chetwood are as safe from a demon incursion as possible. 

This book was very engaging and interesting, with an awkward wit to it and an unexpectedly sweet and caring side to it that comes from the teacher-student dynamic between Saffy and her four Upper 6th Invocation students. There’s a romantic and wistful dynamic between Saffy and a kind-of government-mandated demon hunter/security guard. There are a good deal of dramatic and creative magical scenes that are extremely well-written that fully capture your attention that I wish I could see fully rendered in film. 

The Incandescent will remind you that your teachers and administrators were once students too, often making the same mistakes and now living with the various outcomes, both positive and negative, of those mistakes. Everyone was young and dumb once. Only time will tell how much you learn. 5⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Adult Fantasy/Dark Academia/LGBTQ Fantasy/Sapphic Romance/Supernatural Fantasy

I told some friends about 17% of the way into this book that if all Joe Abercrombie books were like this then I’m in some serious trouble because where will I put them all?

I’d heard of Joe Abercrombie before The Devils, but only in passing. It wasn’t until I read the blurb for this book that I decided to request a copy. All I needed to hear was, “...a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey…”, and that it was LGBTQ+ friendly and I was sold. I’m sat. It’s been a long while since I’ve been this happy to sacrifice 2.5 days to read over 550 pages of epic, sword-swinging, magic-flinging, fangs-gnashing fantasy. 

The Devils fuses all the intrigue and danger of political fantasy (which I already adore) with the fervor and zealotry of mythological fantasy, upping the stakes that much more for our motley crew because an a heavenly host is in charge and an earthly crown is at stake. They have no choice but to accept the mission they are given, but exactly how this ramshackle band of reluctant found family members completes their assignment? Well, that’s kind of up to them. Their methods aren’t pretty. Heck, they’re not even halfway legal. But like some weird life hacks they get the job done. 

This book never lacks for humor, action, food for thought, emotional depth, or character development. The worldbuilding is beyond reproach without ever being overly descriptive. There is never a preponderance of exposition and the exposition necessary to the story is slipped in so deftly sometimes you never notice it is exposition (which is how exposition should be written). The characters are utterly unique and so much fun I can’t wait until the next book, when I can see them again for more blood, guts, and death. 5⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Action-Adventure/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Epic Fantasy/LGBTQ Fantasy/Political Fantasy

Sometimes I’m faced with a dilemma when reviewing and rating books: It’s not that the book is bad, it’s just that the book isn’t my thing. It’s just missing something, usually an unidentifiable ingredient, that would bring it right into my orbit of interest, but the book as it exists is just right outside of what I might consider a good book. Instead it’s relegated to being just another average book. 

That’s what happened with My Name is Emilia del Valle. At face value it has just about everything I love in a historical fiction novel; indeed, while reading it I just kept ruminating on what this book was missing, because Isabel Allende isn’t lacking in writing talent or research skills and her characters are strong. Could it be something was lost in translation? I don’t think I’ll ever know. I just needed something more from this book and didn’t get it. 

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars and below will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: Coming of Age/Historical Fiction