My 2021 Reading Challenge is going to be super long mlm doorstoppers and bite-sized wlw novellas, it seems. I'm on a roll with these. I picked up In the Vanishers' Palace for a couple reasons: (1) my wife just read it and loved it; (2) the new Trash & Treasures podcast is doing an episode on it, and hey, it's nice to read along; and (3) I've been meaning to read Aliette de Bodard since forever! 

At around 145 pages, In the Vanishers’ Palace tells a complex story. In a magical Vietnam reeling from the invasion, and then abrupt disappearance of, the alien Vanishers, Yên is a failed scholar who returned to her village in disgrace. She’s been awkwardly shuffled off to her assist her aging mother in healing and educating the village’s youth, but both of them live under constant threat. Once the village’s elders deem someone has lost their “use” to the village, the person is sacrificed to the Vanishers’ constructs, bloodthirsty inventions who haunt the forest. If that isn’t bad enough, pollution and magical retroviruses run rampant. When the headwoman’s daughter is infected, Yên’s mother calls upon a dragon spirit to heal her, but the dragon demands a sacrifice too. Volunteering as tribute, Yên is whisked away to a palace out of an M.C. Escher painting, and the dragon, Vu Côn, asks her to…tutor her children. Yên’s surprised, to say the least. It doesn’t help that Vu Côn is super attractive. 

Reading the other reviews, many readers remark that the world is too complicated or confusing. I will admit it’s a lot, especially for so short a book. However, while I wasn’t always sure exactly what a Vanisher is or why the palace is Like That, I always knew what elements stood for. Vanishers are colonizers, and the repercussions of them are metaphors for colonization’s devastating after-effects. I’m unsure if something went sideways with the book’s marketing, but some readers went in expecting a story exactly like the Disney Beauty and the Beast movie but queer, and no, this is much more complicated that that. And also not YA. If a reader is patient, everything’s explained in more clear terms later in the novella. 

As for my own reading experience, I’m a little bit obsessed with de Bodard’s writing style. Her words are at once under-stated, but evocative. She somehow made me literally nauseous and dizzy with her descriptions of the palace, just like Yên is. The blending of the hard science and linguistic magic is something I haven’t seen so well-done since G. Willow Wilson’s Alif the Unseen, and Wilson’s one of my favorite authors. If I had a quibble, Yên and Vu Côn seemed to spend more time in denial than being in love. Then again, that’s more my personal preference when it comes to romance.

All in all, I love In the Vanishers’ Palace. A masterfully told tale that knows the story it wants to tell. I’m already reading Fireheart Tiger and very excited to delve deeper into de Bodard’s bibliography. 

 I’m squeaking this in right under the wire for Pride Month! Scavenge the Stars was delivered to our home in an Owlcrate box…last year, but better late than never. And I’m glad I can immediately dive into the sequel because WOW what a book. 

In a fantasy world that I’m 75% sure is the Mediterranean Sea, Moray stands alone as a neutral island between the two massive Rain Empire and Sun Empire. Distinguished for its premiere access to waterways and important trade routes, Moray is also known for its Vice Sector, which is full of delights, and its massive economic inequality and rampant ash fever plague, which are decidedly less delightful. As a young girl, Amaya was sold to a debtor ship. These ships function as floating debtor prisons, with children forced to work off their parents’ debt in time/labor or any treasures they find while pearl diving. After seven years, Amaya can almost taste freedom, but her plans go quite sideways when she fishes a noble covered in marigolds out of the sea. Meanwhile, back in Moray, Cayo Mercado is out of money: recovering from gambling addiction, he finds out his family’s coffers will be further strained when his sister contracts ash fever. The required medicine is deathly expensive. 

Strangely, the weakest part of the novel is the world-building. I say “strange” because I read the Timekeeper Trilogy earlier this year, and that world-building is top-notch. Throughout the novel, Sim describes the world beautifully, but often couches these descriptions in reference to fantastical places I couldn’t match to reality. For example, so-and-so has Sun Empire and Khari features, or this building has a Rehanese architecture style. Fantasy novel locations don’t need to have to be a 1:1 match to someplace in reality, but buildings, fashion, and people kept being described as “Khari,” “Rehanese,” or “from the Sun Empire” or “hailing from the Rain Empire” and I didn’t know what that meant. It’s a descriptive tic in the story, and I itch for a world map. My best guess is Khari is India, Rehanese means Chinese, the Sun Empire is on the African continent, and the Rain Empire is…all of Europe? Cause Europe is wet? Maybe it would have gone better if I’d read the Count of Monte Cristo instead of just watched the movie. In addition, there were some logical holes: if trade contracts with the Empires are forbidden, who does Moray trade with; when the big scheme is revealed, I failed to see how that’s easier than a military takeover; this character has been with the Navy for a few weeks and somehow he’s fully trained and trusted, etc. 

Leaving all that aside, however, I enjoyed this book. The plot is immense and interlocking, but Sim is in control. I could feel my head spin at some points, but a quick breath and I grasped the tail again. The characters, if not the brightest bulbs in the bunch (looking at you, Cayo) are painfully doing their best and lovable for it. As I’ve said in other reviews, sometimes I become exasperated with overwrought teenage antics, possibly because my overwrought teenage antics went less traditional directions. Remarkably for me, the Scavenge the Stars teenagers act like teenagers, but I never wanted to put the book down. Amaya is an especial delight, with many layers. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. AND, making this a perfect Pride Month read, we get some excellent asexual and bisexual rep. 

In conclusion, if you’re looking for adventure, if you like your justice bloody, if you want schemes upon plots upon intrigue, pick up Scavenge the Stars. I’ve already requested Ravage the Dark at the library. 

The Love Interest has been on my to-read list basically since it came out. In the sea of Young Adult duologies and trilogies, The Love Interest stands testament that a story can be told in one volume, and it can be told well. Ish. 

In a boring dystopia (i.e. our world), a secret organization profits. Using all sorts of nonsense available to those with terrifying spyware, this organization finds the brightest stars of the upcoming generation and sends in their spies. Theses spies, or “Love Interests” seduce the target, and, under the guise of a loving relationship, find out and funnel the target’s secrets to the organization, who turns around and sells these tidbits to the highest bidder. The Love Interests are groomed from birth for their role in a facility. The organization’s studies have shown that a high school love triangle scenario is the most effective method to long-term cement the Love Interest in the target’s life, so, when a target is identified as ready for romance, two spies are sent. The pair compete for the target’s heart, and, once the target chooses their long-term partner, the leftover spy is unceremoniously killed. Usually by robots that resemble the Guardians in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

Still with me? Good, because here’s a further twist: Love Interest Cayden is gay, and when he’s sent to woo budding engineer whiz Juliet…he falls for the other Love Interest, Dylan. Oops. Survival is so complicated, friends. 

Besides one glaring plot hole, I liked The Love Interest a lot more than I thought I would. I’m not usually one for thrillers, but The Love Interest is, as my wife described it, a “thriller-lite.” The book still has the fast pace and action, but it manages to also take time to dwell on character growth. The subversion and analysis of YA romance tropes are fantastic, especially the objectification of teenage boys and their bodies. Meta, meta, meta: I eat it up. How men suffer under patriarchy’s expectations is a needed conversation. I was reminded of how many fans (and often older adult fans) asked Taylor Lautner to do professional interviews shirtless so they could ogle his abs. Or how Zac Efron cried when he ate pasta for the first time in years, since his diet forbade him from carbs. 

Other reviewers struggled with the believability of the premise, but, and maybe this is just “I read this in 2021,” but an organization that exploits children and spies on world leaders doesn’t stretch my belief, giant robots aside. My suspension of disbelief stretched thin when Cayden explained that the organization had run for centuries, but Dietrich dodged my main quibble in Illuminati stories like this one. If there is a secret organization controlling world events, why would they make the boring dystopia world we live in? If there was central leadership, why on earth would they let COVID-19 get so bad, or climate change, or the global rise of fascism? These miseries are much too destructive and chaotic to control. Instead, Cayden and the other Love Interests simply sell secrets to whoever has money, which freely lets the world be awful in the way it naturally is. 

So why did I only give this 3 stars? The answer is Trevor. What happens with Trevor is spoiler-y and upsetting, so I’m blurring it.

Trevor is one of Juliet’s best friends. Prepped to join the Olympic swimming team, he also has a Love Interest, Natalie, who “won” her competition (and gave me goosebumps over sharing my name). After he qualifies for the Olympic trials, he suddenly breaks up with Natalie, and she’s distraught because she legitimately loves Trevor and the organization will kill her. Obviously not wanting that to happen, Cayden confronts Trevor over the break-up. Trevor reveals that he “cheated” on Natalie. After qualifying for the Olympic trials, a reporter followed him in the lockers, cornered him in a bathroom stall, and performed fellatio on him. It’s implied that Trevor consented, but he also describes the whole thing as an out-of-body experience. Like, his fight-flight-or-freeze response triggered, he froze, and he started dissociating. The issue of consent is a little moot, however, as Trevor is 17. He’s a minor. The reporter is an adult woman. That’s statutory rape.

Nobody in the novel recognizes this rape as rape. Maybe it was supposed to be a commentary on how children are not expecting to be raped, so they don’t know when it’s happening? But it seems worthy of some raised eyebrows, especially after sections detailing how the organization’s minions sexualize and objectify the Love Interests. Cayden, Trevor, Natalie, Juliet, and Dylan all frame the incident as “cheating,” and Natalie “forgives” Trevor for his actions. I’m stunned and baffled. In an otherwise self-aware book, this major incident is glossed over.

 

So besides that dumpster fire, I like the book. It’s good. If you want to interrogate the cliches of the YA romance genre, if you want to ask questions, if you want a thriller with solid character moments, pick up The Love Interest. 

 After reading and loving A Princess in Theory, I planned to read A Duke by Default, but…best laid plans often go awry, haha. Last week, Trash and Treasures, a new sapphic romance media review podcast, reminded me that the Reluctant Royals series existed. Krissy and Scooby’s excitement during their episode on Once Ghosted, Twice Shy made me download it onto my Kindle right now immediately. 

Though Once Ghosted, Twice Shy can, technically, be read as a stand-alone, in my opinion the story’s richer if you’ve read A Princess in Theory (And why would you deny yourself the pleasure of Ledi and Thabiso’s love story?? It’s so good y’all!!!). During A Princess in Theory, you may remember the Prince’s advisor/PA, Likosti, and how she disappears for a portion of the novel before showing up heartbroken and not wanting to talk about it. Once Ghosted, Twice Shy reveals what was going on with her. And that “what,” or rather “who,” is Fabiola, the pin-up girl femme to her dapper butch; a swipe right made in heaven. The one meant to be a one-night stand, but bloomed into a possible romance to last a lifetime…until Fabiola unceremoniously broke off all contact via text. 

The novella has 10 chapters (and an epilogue), and they alternate between Fabiola’s POV during their initial affair in A Princess in Theory and Likosti’s POV seven months and three weeks later when Fab walks back into Likosti’s life during a subway train delay. There was…a lot of fashion talk I had to Internet search, but it was worth it to properly picture these two gorgeous women. Because of the length, a lot of Likosti and Fabiola’s relationship is told or implied, but when they are together, the chemistry is off the charts. Alyssa Cole is considered legendary in the romance world, and one of those reasons is this book. 

Overall, Once Ghosted, Twice Shy is a sizzling short treat perfect for Pride Month. There’s black joy and queer joy, and those grant a revolutionary joy for the reader.

For those interested, you can listen to Trash and Treasures here on Youtube: https://www (dot) youtube (dot) com/watch?v=HRaMJV9yqa0

And my review of A Princess in Theory is here: https://app (dot) thestorygraph (dot) com/reviews/7b161f61-9bc7-4bce-803f-05e68558a746

 After enjoying The Seduction of Goratrix, I was fully prepared for another erotic horror-comedy romp, and The Sword in the Tower more than delivered. I can hardly believe this is real. 

Scooter is a simple Sabbat Malkavian who would rather fuck than fight. So when the Tremere Primogen propositions him mid-battle, he gives an enthusiastic yes. When his enthusiasm is reciprocated with the best sex of his (un)life, Scooter is left at loose ends. He wants that sweet, sweet Tremere booty, but what about his dedication to the Sword of Caine??? 

This novella is just…absolutely hilarious. I laughed so hard, and I’m sharing my favorite quotes with the Vampire: the Masquerade fan community. Scooter and Edison charm each other and the reader with aplomb. Scooter’s Sabbat pack streaks across the page, and I don’t want to play a Chronicle with them so much as witness more of their shenanigans. I love the tirade against trousers. Pick up this bite-sized treat of a story. 

 This was quite the surprise, let me tell you. I was mindlessly scrolling through tumblr when I saw the cover and figured it was a funny photoshop. Then one of my friends let know The Seduction of Goratrix had, in fact, manifested its way to our reality, as a labor of love from LARP and pen-and-paper fans in the New York area. It’s available through DriveThruRPG for pay-what-you-want, and I paid $6.90 to be utterly delighted. 

And I was! At around 28 pages, the 7 chapters cover the sexy, sexy beginnings of the Tremere Clan, their hallmark gargoyles, and the Goratrix-Tremere bodysharing. Each chapter is a fantastic study in horror-comedy erotica, with many “wands of power” thrust upon the reader. Any betrayal done by Goratrix is re-interpretated as a secret act of love and devotion. It took less than an hour to finish the story, but I smiled and laughed the entire time. Part of the novelty comes from the Vampire: the Masquerade setting, which is usually pretty hostile to anything sex. Now we have Clan founders getting it on and growing more magical and vampiric while doing so. Overall, a hilarious puff of fresh air among VtM publications, and the perfect read for Pride.