Genre: dark fantasy (YA)

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: cis lesbian, possibly NB lesbian, general nonbinary (several varieties unclassified)

Warnings: none

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review

Half human half faerie Sadie is part of a resistance to stop humans from  operating on newborn fae, removing their ability to Dream. It’s only through dreaming that new dragons can be born from faerie trees although, amusingly, it is dragon blood, injected into the skull of a newborn, that takes away this ability. Sadie managed to avoid ‘slicing’ as an infant, and she and her dragon play a significant role in the resistance until new Controller, Evelyn, takes control of the faerie forced labor camp and challenges everything Sadie believes about humans, and love.
 
General

Enbies, dragons, magic, and lesbians? Yes, please! The (gorgeous) cover of LUNAV is another easy selling point, although between the fireflies, soothing colors, and back blurb, the book sells itself as more sword and sorcery fantasy (or even romance fantasy) than dark fantasy. And the book is dark. Not gory or gritty, but definitely dark. The first half of the book is dedicated to bringing the reader into the world and the atrocities taking place against the fae. Talking about downed trees as ‘bodies,’ loggers as butchers or murderers, and the general tension revolving around every slicing of a newborn makes for a very engrossing world, and keeps tension high. There was a slightly steep learning curve in the first chapter with the new words (a glossary is provided in the back of the book, which of course I forgot to look for until the last chapter), but after I got the hang of the dictionary I was solidly hooked. There was some redundancy early on, but it didn’t detract too much from the narrative.
 
Plot

We’re not presented with a solid through line at the start of the book, but the strength of the world and the tension in the resistance brings the reader well into the middle of the book before you realize you’re not quite sure where the book is going (but I was pleased enough to be along for the ride). Luckily the romance line picks up about three quarters of the way through and from then on, the book moves with more purpose.

Generally, the plot revolves around the human reaction to a ‘plague,’ which wiped out a significant portion of the population. To prevent against further outbreaks, the king has mandated the end of Dreaming (which he believes is related to the plague). Of course, killing dreaming in humans is one thing, but in faeries, means no more dragons, and a lack of general empathy all around. Several resistance missions during the book are well done and move the plot forward in increments, although an overarching goal is lacking.
 
Characters

Sadie is a very sympathetic narrator, and it was easy to slip into her POV. She will resonate with anyone caught between two worlds, and not able to belong to either. The secondary characters, especially Sadie’s mothers and brother, are rounded out and endearing. The love interest, Evelyn, was fairly flat at the start but once the romance line really got going, she became my favorite character. Interestingly, I think this book could have benefited from being in third instead of first, and having two POVs (Sadie AND Evelyn), since Evelyn’s POV (which we get through a Dream from a faerie) is compelling and deliciously complex. I’m guessing this is a first in a series, so it will be interesting to see if perhaps we get a POV switch in the next book. I’d love to follow Evelyn on her adventures as she returns to the king.
 
Queer Stuffs

So much in-world queer! While the main romance line is lesbian, Sadie’s mothers are also in a f/f relationship. There is tons of nonbinary rep, from an acknowledged third gender, to no gender being assumed of children until they grow enough to make their own decisions. An interesting set of neopronouns was used in the book: que, which I was unfamiliar with but quickly loved.
 
Generally, this book could best be described as heavily atmospheric–something you read for that sense of place, to be immersed in a world you love. It had a lot of parallels to THE GOLDEN COMPASS in terms of darkness, but wraps you into the world much like SUNSHINE.
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You can buy LUNAV in paperback here and ebook here.

REVIEWED BY ANON.

Genre: science fiction – military / space opera (somewhere in-between)


Pairings: lesbian, pansexual


Queer Representation: cis lesbian, pansexuality, nonbinary (nonspecific variety)


Warnings: touch of gore, nothing too unusual though


Rating: 5 stars

REVIEWED BY ANON

Recent college graduates Adda and Iridian are wracked with debt and a deep desire for adventure. An engineering degree won’t pay the bills but piracy might–assuming they survive several killer AIs and a dilapidated station threatening to crumble at a moment’s notice.

Plot

Solid plot on this book, despite a somewhat rocky start. I was never really sold on Adda and Iridian’s reason for choosing piracy over a job (aside from the stock rationale of not wanting to be in crippling debt–like, I don’t want to be in debt either but piracy never really crossed my mind), but it does make for a good book starter. The commandeering of the first ship to get to Barbary Station, the home of the pirates, went on a bit long but once the couple was on the station proper, the book really found its pacing.

There was a constant tension from their arrival at the station through to the end, good plot twists, and enough real science to make the twists really land. In fact, the book would have been fine with a bit more science in it, especially on the microbial side with the biological weapons. Tell me more about the Pseudomonas-like bacteria!

I also really enjoyed the depth of the story. There are multiple ‘threats’ to the station at any given time, and actions of various political bodies and a group of refugees living amongst the pirates further muddies the waters. A lot of good interaction comes from the various factions of people living on the station. Some are the original crew of Barbary, some are the pirates, some the refugees, and still others parts of rescue and extraction crews. Each group of people has their own set of motivations, although all are working towards a common goal of getting off the station and away from the killer AIs. Adda and Iridian, of course, are the only two with skills to really get control (see, those engineering degrees are useful!), which pushes them into the center of almost every conflict.
 
Characters

Although we are given a huge array of characters (which did bother me at first), it does help to give names to the bodies when the AI really goes off the rails. Most of the secondary characters were very three-dimensional, and Adda and Iridian were compelling protagonists. We spent enough time with each of the secondary and tertiary characters that their deaths really helped drive the narrative. Even the AIs were compelling characters, and once we got into the meat of the story, my empathy for their sentience had me rooting for both ‘sides’.

Nonbinary Rep

I’m assuming this book was in my TBR pile because, hello, lesbian space pirates! I was surprised, therefore, to find that the pirate captain was nonbinary, and a well developed character at that! The attention the author paid to nonbinary genders in this book was excellent, and passages such as the one below had me squealing in joy.

​Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Nope, zefriend!

If ‘lesbians in space’ is your thing, this book is a must buy. Bonus, the next book in the series is up for preorder on Amazon (and yes, I’ve already preordered).
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You can buy BARBARY STATION in ebook here, paperback here, and hardback here. It’s available in audiobook from Audible.

REVIEWED BY ANON

Genre: fantasy – sword and sorcery

Pairings: nonbinary (gender fluid)/female

Queer Representation: lesbian, gender fluid (nonbinary)

Warnings: none

Rating: 4 stars

Review

Sal is genderfluid orphan of young-ish indeterminate age and an excellent thief. Haunted by memories of ‘Shadows’ and the death of parents, siblings, and homeland, Sal decides to join the tournament to become the queen’s new ‘Opal,’ one of a small group of mercenaries that kill on the queen’s behalf. Sal hopes that position will come with enough influence and access to take out a pretty substantial hitlist from the destruction of Sal’s homeland. But to get the position, Sal must be the last alive in a sort of ‘Hunger Games’ style competition, and an unexpected romance may lead to some unintended consequences.

The plot

Generally, this was a well done, standard ‘Battle Royale’ style book. One part Hunger Games, one part Throne of Glass, the book’s main arc deals with a number of competitors trying to kill each other off in order to become the last one standing and therefore, the queen’s Opal. There’s good worldbuilding and backstory, a decent number of secondary characters, and the pacing is good (excellent, even, for a YA, which, to me, seem to run slower than adult books–although this book definitely spans into the murky waters of YA/adult). While the ending is inevitable and involves no twist (not really a spoiler – Sal becomes Opal…we all saw that coming), there’s a neat tie-up segment at the end that gives a lot more depth to the story and sets the stage for the second book in the duology.

I think my biggest issue with the plot, overall, was just the more or less constant fighting. Of course I understand that is a major part of this book, but it seemed to come at the expense of character development and depth of story. More on that below.

Characters

The secondary characters in this book were top notch! Maud is an outstandingly 3-D servant woman, and Ruby shines as the pseudo-mentor. The love interest is intriguing, although remains firmly in just the ‘love-interest’ camp, and doesn’t really get any fleshing out until the last chapter or so.

My main issue, and this is my main issue for the book, is the lack of character development for Sal. I read this book entirely because it had an enby main character. And while the gender fluid moments were real and excellent (note: nonbinary is a huge umbrella term that encompasses many different identities. While I am nonbinary, I am not gender fluid, as the MC is, but we do share an umbrella), I had no other points under which I could connect with the main character.

Sal had a lot of anger, but not much else, and seemed to be driven only by revenge. The character reminded me of Katniss from book three of the hunger games, when most of her humanity had been stripped away. That’s more or less where we start with Sal, which makes it hard to really get invested in the journey, especially since we’re left basically in the same place, emotionally, as when the book started.

To be fair, however, there’s as much character development with Sal as there is with most adult fantasy characters (think Vin from MISTBORN), so I suppose I’m just used to seeing more character arc in YA. The action was definitely all there, so readers looking for murder, thievery, swords, knives, archery, and a fun greenhouse filled with poisonous plants will definitely enjoy this book.
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You can buy MASK OF SHADOWS in paperback here and ebook here.
 
Random Notes
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If you have the hardback edition, you may have noticed that Sal has female pronouns on the dust jack blurb. This was not supposed to happen and has been rectified in the paperback, but may still be present in some editions. Don’t let the copy mistake turn you off this excellent book!