This Golden Flame was one of my most anticipated debuts this year and I wasn’t disappointed. The story and plotting hits the ground running; Emily does a fantastic job of orienting the reader very quickly regarding the world we are reading about, who our main protagonist is and her motivations. The enter Alix, a sentient automaton who is a total cinnamon-roll (I have no shame in admitting this is my most favourite type of character!). 

 

As with a few other of my reads for pride month, the world in this book is queer-normative. Karis is asexual, and there are a variety of other queer and non-binary characters. Not to mention a sight-impaired character. 

 

I only wish there was a sequel! The world Emily has created is so rich with many countries mentioned in passing. There was a lot of build-up and then so suddenly it felt like the story had ended; I would love some more exploration and fleshing out of this world in the future. 

 I’ll be the first to admit this was a total impulse, cover-buy! A sapphic re-telling of The Goblin Emperor? Yes please! 

 

But while the story was set up with political tension, a unique magic system and a fantastic love interest; it was let down by a slightly flat (and dare I say it, whiny) protagonist and an over excess of slightly dry politics that threatened to eclipse the tension of the plot. 

 

Although, the highlights were the queer-normative society in the book. No-one is assumed to be completely straight and there are non-binary characters with “they/them” pronouns that no-one questions. In addition, the titles in the book are not gendered at all which was totally refreshing. I really would’ve liked to have the relationship between Ekata and Inkar better fleshed out but since the entire plot takes place over 6 days, this didn’t really happen! 

 The Bone Season is an incredibly ambitious series, combining not only a steampunk/dystopian/not-so-distant-future United Kingdom but also a complex “magic” system with many fantasy elements. I admit, I feel like there are some pacing issues with the first two books. These were resolved in the 3rd book and we were absolutely flying in the 4th book! 

 

The Mask Falling picks up almost immediately after the events of The Song Rising, with Paige being spirited (see what I did there?) to Paris to recover from her brush with Scion and begin her new role as an agent for the mysterious Domino program. The narrative balances some excellent character-based story with Paige finally being able to slow down and heal herself and think about what she wants from this life rather than just the constant fight for Unnaturals. 

 

When we do start getting into the plot-driven elements, it’s like Shannon has taken the best parts of all her previous books and slipped them seamlessly into this one; there’s heist, political gang intrigue, a prison-break and heart-break! 

 

I thoroughly look forward to the next three instalments of the series, whenever they may be published! 

This book was the pure fluff palate-cleanser I needed. Mini’s trials and tribulations to organise a Desi wedding for her sister was a real delight to read. There were so many details and wholesome family content that was included that really made everything feel so real; like Mini’s Etsy side-hustle of re-purposing vintage clothes, or her dad’s Bond Lotus car, and the shenanigans that their dog gets up to!

 

There’s some assumed knowledge of the Indian caste system and some Indian vernacular needed but nothing that a quick Google search couldn’t fix. Mini’s love interest added that little bit of extra drama to the story but it was still light enough that it didn’t over-shadow the main themes of Mini’s family relationships with her sister, father, deceased mother and aunty. 

 

Fair warning though, don’t read on an empty stomach; or better yet, made or order some Indian cuisine to eat while reading!

I loved being able to read a queer, Indigenous Australian story and it really doesn’t disappoint! Not only is the wholesome friendship and budding romance between Jackson and Tomas beautifully written but so is the exploration of Jackson’s culture and spirituality. Jackson introducing Tomas to the ceremonies and rituals of his local mob and connecting with the local elders are some of the most touching parts of the story.

 

Jackson is an excellently written 1st person POV too, in terms of being an authentic teenager (when EVERYTHING annoys you at that age!). I also loved reading the depiction of an Aussie summer Christmas; something you almost never see in Northern hemisphere-centric novels. I experienced some serious nostalgia recalling all those hot, lazy days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

 

In the end, the message of hope for black, queer boys is a powerful one and even more so in it’s raw authenticity.

 I stumbled upon a copy of Blackbringer by Laini Taylor at my local second-hand book-store to my delight and reading it made me fall in love with Laini’s writing all over again. Stunning and tangible world-building, delightful characters, and a totally unique and rich language. Not to mention full-page character portraits drawn by Laini’s husband Jim Di Bartolo. 

 

My only complaint is that the second book appears to be as rare as hen’s teeth now and the third book is still unwritten! 

 The first thing I loved about this book was that the glossary was at the front of the book. This may seem like a bizarre thing to like but reading it before starting the story meant of lot of the heavy lifting had been accomplished in terms of trying to orient myself in this fantasy world – particularly the magic system which is based on Hmong shamanism. 

 

I did enjoy that romance wasn’t the main focus of this story. It focussed more on the strong friendship between Sirscha and Saengo and they’re journey to make sense of the events unfolding after Sirscha somehow brings Saengo back to life (not a spoiler! It’s in the blurb). A lot of the story also explores self-worth and how, in the beginning of the story, Sirscha ties her self-worth to what she has to offer to other people. Towards the end of the book, you start to see her take more value in herself for her own sake, rather in what she can offer for other people. 

 

My biggest issue with the book is that I felt rather detached from the plot and the characters. As much as I loved the focus on friendship, the one between Sirscha and Saengo didn’t feel overly fleshed out and Saengo’s character felt a little 2-D at times. This made a lot of the stakes in the story not as high as they should’ve because I just wasn’t very invested in these characters.