yourbookishbff's Reviews (650)

I loved this Mulan retelling. It is perfectly suited for a young adult audience, centering our female main character on her journey to self-discovery and self-confidence while she and our cast of characters unravel treasonous plots, examine and unpack their own racial and ethnic biases, and save each other's lives (multiple times). I love Sherry Thomas's historical romances and mysteries, and I was delighted to see her attention to political nuance and interpersonal relationships so beautifully woven into this retelling. I read this immediately after finishing her Heart of Blade duology, which also features wuxia elements and chi-based magic, and I loved seeing her bring that same martial arts framework to this story.

There is a light romantic plotline that is, again, very suited to the ages of the main characters (Mulan is 19) and young adult readers. I also have to note how refreshing it is to see gender identity and sexual orientation discussed so frankly in Mulan's story. The relationships among our main cast of characters are shaped by Thomas's clear historical understanding of cultural tolerance (acceptance would be a stretch) for gay and bi men during this time. It is clear that among our primary cast of characters, Mulan's perceived identity as a man is not a barrier to a romantic relationship with the princeling, and there are several other male-male romances depicted affirmatively on page. For those who love queer friendships and found family, our core characters' interactions provide a really sweet backdrop to the war story. The ending wraps up neatly, but in a satisfying way that didn't feel overly simplified to me. I would highly recommend this to young adult fantasy readers, lovers of retellings, and historical fiction readers.

This is the epitome of cozy, lighthearted fantasy. It's whimsical and sweet, with fairytale-like storytelling and a large cast of loveable (and talkative) animals. Inspired by Peruvian folklore, the story feels like a coming-of-age or adventure story, given the female main character's departure from home to seek independence. Though both main characters are in their late 20s, the nature of their story arcs makes them feel younger at times, as each is navigating identity and belonging outside of their family units. This is an open-door romance as well, and while I loved the primary romance and how the two characters build their connection, the open-door scenes actually felt so tonally different from the rest of the story that I found myself wishing this had been closed door. I also felt the conflict separating these two was flimsy by the end, and it became more frustrating to see the miscommunication without a rock-solid reason for denying the necessary tell-all. 

I would recommend to those who love to sink into lighthearted and low-stakes fantasies, and only feel conflicted on if this succeeded for me as a romance. 

This is the prequel to Thomas's historical romance, My Beautiful Enemy, and functions as a coming-of-age story for our eventual main characters, Ying Ying and Leighton. This was published prior to My Beautiful Enemy, but can be read either before or after, as I do feel like they each stand alone. I loved spending more time with these characters after falling in love with them in MBE, and appreciated how well-built this story was (with a tight page count and a story spanning multiple continents, no less). This has fascinating wuxia elements that build out our lightly fantastical world, and is high stakes, tense and action packed from start to finish. I highly recommend for those who enjoy historical fiction - we don't have a primary romance in this installment, but it delivers in MBE!

I really enjoyed this, though it made me realize just how little I remember of the original Peter Pan! This inspired me to go back and read it so I can fully appreciate what Chant has done here. I loved the character growth for both Peter and Hook and the slow drip of reveals. This is a fever dream of a story that explores gender dysphoria, transphobia, identity and belonging, growing up, grief, and adulthood. 

This was the story Free deserved! I have been anxious for her Main Character Moment ever since she showed up in The Heiress Effect, and this exceeded my expectations. This is set ten years after the conclusion of The Countess Conspiracy and feels most closely tied to The Duchess War (seeing Robert and Minnie again made me so dang happy). Free is now operating her own press and pushing boundaries as an investigative reporter on women's suffrage and feminist issues (Milan shares in the author's note how both Nellie Bly and Josephine Butler inspired her character and experiences) and our male main character, Edward, finds himself aligned with her in an effort to upset his brother's plots against her. While his motivation, initially, has nothing to do with protecting Free, this quickly changes as the two develop deeper respect for each other. The final act was just perfect (we even get a grovel?!), and this became my favorite installment in the series.

This novella is the final installment in The Brothers Sinister series, and I was so sad to see it end. This is a perfectly sweet happily ever after for Stephen O'Shaugnessy, a side character introduced in The Suffragette Scandal. It's a tender and well-built story (particularly for its sub-100 page count) that feels so swoony. It centers a Black mathematician ("computer") as our female main character and an Irish Catholic satirist as our male main character. Milan, as always, deftly navigates racism, classism and power imbalance with nuance and respect for her characters, and I fully rooted for this couple's happily ever after. A delightful sub-plot that astronomy lovers will love, and a perfect little epilogue.

I enjoyed this, but I needed more page time and more character development (particularly for the female main character). This premise is so interesting - Washington DC in the first decade of the 20th century (exact year not given), Southern "country boy" escapes racial violence in Georgia and tries to launch his musical career in DC, falls in lust with a "diamond" of DC's Black upper-class. This takes on classism, colorism, racism, and music. But the female main character's behavior is challenging throughout, and I needed more proof of her maturing through the storyline and more evidence of her sincere regret for her and her family's treatment of the male main character to really feel comfortable with the happily ever after.

This is a fantastic, sex-positive exploration of the most common STIs, including herpes, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and bacterial vaginosis (BV). I was initially reticent about the use of STDs in the book's title, and was relieved and encouraged when Park explains this choice right at the outset (an effort to use terminology that is more broadly understood/recognized) before transitioning to using STIs throughout the book. Park is a professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, Medical Consultant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of STD Prevention, and Medical Director of the California Prevention Training Center, and brings a wealth of professional and personal experience to each chapter. Her tone is mostly lighthearted - though appropriately serious for particularly dark historical reflections, such as the early HIV years and the Tuskegee Experiment - and she is direct and sincere. I appreciated how destigmatizing and accessible this read was, and would recommend to anyone with an interest in learning more about sexual health.

I LOVED this installment in the Singing Hills cycle. Each novella brings us a new spin on the story-within-a-story framework, and each explores a new corner within that framework - grief and memory (Mammoths at the Gate), history's storytellers and shapers (When the Tigers Came Down the Mountain), history's celebrated and forgotten (Into the Riverlands), the power of the forgotten to bend and break empires (The Empress of Salt and Fortune), and now, with the Brides of High Hill, the illusion - and temptation - of control. This story is an expertly woven tale that almost feels like a fever dream, as it leans more into horror than previous installments. Highly recommend the entire cycle, but this one now ranks among my favorites.

This was a perfect conclusion to Malcolm and Seraphina's wildly scandalous fall-out (the infamous koi pond plot set-up we get in The Rogue Not Taken) and hit every note I needed to feel fully invested in their happily-ever-after. This is high-angst with significant (and painful) on-page character work that explores how our own deep-seated insecurities are a betrayal of self far more painful and difficult to heal than any betrayal by a romantic partner. For readers with a hard line on infidelity, this plot set-up might simply be a deal-breaker, but I have to say that as someone who is deeply invested in explicit fidelity in historical romance, this was not insurmountable to me at all (and in fact, was so well contextualized that it felt insignificant in comparison to the couple's shared trauma). 

Beyond the individual growth arcs and conflict resolution for Malcolm and Sera, there were so many things I loved about this story: Sera's sisters (who SHINE in this installment), the close and entirely platonic friendship between Sera and Caleb (no friend zone bitterness or jealousy here, these two are just health business partners and it's FANTASTIC), and the incredible comedy of the alt-Bachelor house party. And there were also several small decisions that felt really big - the decision not to include a gratuitously graphic and traumatic on-page childbirth scene, the decision not to replay the koi pond scene in entirety, etc. - that evidence how deeply MacLean respects her characters. 

All-in-all, for high-angst reader who enjoy messy people making a mess of their lives and slowly (very slowly) figuring out how to be together again, this is a beautiful romance, with an absolutely chart-topping grovel and grand gesture.