titalindaslibrary's Reviews (687)

Just because I understand why it ended the way it did doesn’t mean I have to like it!! 😭

Listen, an artsy, nonbinary monk, a warrior woman, and a pacifist robot dragon team up??? I am IN! This is spectacular! 

My one regret is reading this via audiobook as I did not vibe with the narrator as much. I’m going to seek out a physical copy to re-experience this.

The further I got into this, the more enraptured I became. I’ve never read The Great Gatsby, relying instead on film adaptations for my knowledge about it. So I’m not sure how this retelling would hit for Gatsby fans, but it worked for me! 

I love the way McLemore created their own version of this classic, spotlighting communities in a time period that often tried to erase them. The author’s note at the end further endeared me to this book, and I looked forward to reading more by them now! 

Waaaay too much happening at once with the chaotic infodumping, I don’t think I can take it right now 😵‍💫 Also these chapters are long!

Usually when there are multiple authors included in one book, I find there are standout favorites and some not-so-favorite pieces. But every essay in this book was compelling and well written to me. From the power of drag to reckoning with internalized white supremacy to finding hope in queer liberation, this collection of essays was a quick but powerful read. Highly recommend! 

Listen, I enjoy complicated characters who go through some growth, but istg, Neil has this lightbulb moment way too late of "Oh wow, poor people exist and have money struggles?? Wild!" and I simply never recovered from my annoyance with that. 

Soft DNF. I'm sorry, my brain is so bored and cannot focus on this right now 

I was told this was like a fusion of Hunger Games, Bachelorette, and ACOTAR, and you know what? That’s exactly what it is. I had a fun time reading it!

There was some faint criticism on class and privileges afforded to the wealthy, but none of it came through too strongly. Lor was a fun character to follow through the Trials and she’s easy to root for. It’s funny because she’d constantly think “I’m gonna kill her!” and then pages later she’s risking her life to save other contestants lol.

Gender essentialism seems to be a language romantasy just cannot remove from its writing, so that was annoying. But I did like that our main characters are explicitly described as brown and not some vague, racially-ambiguous skin tone. There’s no mistaking they are POC. There were a couple of queer characters as well, and I’m desperate to find out what happens to Mariceli and Halo! 

Overall, a light romantasy read that’s captured my interest. Curious to see how book 2 goes! 

In June’s acknowledgements she writes how she indulged herself by writing this and made a story for herself, but I’d like to add “AND ME” to that because I was swept away by this book!

I’ve never felt so in conversation with an author who enjoys the same media as I do. This was a wonderful bit of escapism that featured references to anime I’ve love, relationship dynamics from c-dramas that make me swoon, and a mystery that had me racing through the pages to solve! Also, I cannot get enough of Zizi, within the first few instances of meeting him I was obsessed. 

Absolutely cannot wait for the next book and will be picking up Jade Fire Gold now!!

Absolutely adorable and the perfect, lighthearted read I needed right now 🥹