Her Body & Other Parties is a unique, unsettling blend of horror and magical realism at times almost bordering into the erotic. Machado is undoubtedly clever and incredibly playful with her styles and her willingness to take risks with her storytelling and for the most part that serves to be enjoyable. I did not necessarily enjoy all the stories in this collection and some were better than others, but the joy of short stories is their versatility and I can still appreciate Machado's work.

Undoubtedly my favourite short story was 'The Husband Stitch' and it gave me shivers by the end. I love how Machado lulls the reader into a false sense of security and then entirely sweeps you off balance. I also enjoyed 'Inventory' and 'The Resident'.

Machado always brings so much into play with her writing as she tackles series issues through horror and twisted magical realism. Her focus on bodies, identities, sexuality, memory, control, abuse and more come through so distinctly in this collection and having read her memoir it's clearer to me how her experiences have driven elements of this collection.

Whilst I didn't ultimately love this collection as much as I had hoped, I'm not disappointed by having read it. What is clear to me, is that I do enjoy the originality and talent Machado has and for a debut collection, I definitely can't wait to see what else Machado produces.

This was SUPER CUTE and I entirely fell in love. I can see why the book is hyped and loved so much, it just filled me with joy and comfort and I loved it.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

This is the second novella in the Singing Hills Cycle series and is absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed the first novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune when I read it last year and was eagerly awaiting the release of the second novella. Although it took me a couple of months post release to finally pick this one up.

The story follows a non-binary cleric, Chih who collects stories and histories of those around them. In this story, Chih ends up facing three hungry tigers who are fierce and desperate to eat them and the scout Si-yu who is aiding them. To stay alive, Chih decides to retell the story of the tiger and her scholar lover who is smart, beautiful and couragous. In telling the story, Chih unravels the differences to the version the tigers know and we see am intricately layered story show the differences in oral histories.

I love the queerness, the magic and the fantasy woven into Vo's storytelling. I love the richness of the characters and the stories despite the shortness of these novellas.

I actually think I preferred When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain to the first novella, as I particularly fell in love with the hungry tigers and the love story of the tiger and her scholarly wife.

Overall a beautiful fantasy novella, that can be read as a standalone or as a follow on from the first novella in the Singing Hills Cycle.

So much love, so much I don't even know what this book is. So so much love for this sapphic gothic horror!

Also I FINISHED A BOOK OVER 600 PAGES. THIS HASN'T HAPPENED IN SO LONG. I'M SO HAPPY.