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Genre: fantasy (sword and sorcery) (YA) (novella)

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: cis lesbian

Warnings: none

Rating: 3.5 stars

REVIEWED BY J.S.


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Review

Shaun Grayson has always wanted to be a knight, and protecting Princess Sara, whom she definitely does not have a crush on, is her mission. But when the Kingdom of Riverend is sacked and Sara’s life is truly in danger, Shaun finds there’s much more to being a knight than cute girls, petty squabbles, and court intrigue.

General

Okay, I’m a sucker for knight/princess trope when it’s f/f. Give me damsels in distress being saved by other damsels any day. A number of these types of books have come out (heh) in the YA market recently, and CORRUPTION OF HONOR (hereafter CoH) fits well within them. There aren’t any real surprises in this book, and I think readers will find it comfortably familiar: the squabbling with the love interest princess, the courageous, pure of heart knight, and a set of (predictable) circumstances that throws them together.
Not every book has to be a great modern work of fiction. Sometimes its nice to have slice of life books and trope books, and CoF scratched my ‘knights and princess’ itch perfectly. The pacing was reasonable, the action scenes well done, and there was suitable chemistry between Shaun and Sara. The ending as well–a cliffhanger–left me both pleased with the book’s progress but also wanting to read more. Not bad for a 138 page novella.

In late, out early

I don’t believe I have ever said this about a book before, but I think CoH came in way too late in the story. Yes, the conventional wisdom is ‘in late, out early,’ but CoH begins in what I would consider a chapter three or four–thrusting us into Shaun’s and Sara’s conflict without any real worldbuilding or character dynamics. It’s effective as the reader is immediately part of the story, but I felt like some comfort tropes were missed. Since this is a trope book at heart, that some of the formula was skipped made me grumpy.
Where was my ‘Shaun has always wanted to be a knight but XX stands in her way?’ Where was my ‘Sara is feisty and once beat Shaun in a wooden sword duel so is both girly and able to take care of herself?” Most importantly, where is the tension of how Shaun and Sara met and how Shaun became her guard? I think there was a lot of potential in this narrative for a delicious romance, but instead the book was a very short introduction and then one hundred pages of battle. And I like battle, don’t get me wrong, but I needed more character grounding, and an info dump in the back of the book in some backmatter doesn’t help much.

Despite my grumbles however, this was a fun, short read. It lacked any serious problematic elements and could be a teen’s easy introduction into sword and sorcery fantasy. Shaun and Sara are believable protagonists, their sexuality is on-page but never an issue, and the book follows well-known and well-loved trajectories. Readers looking for a fun adventure-fluff read, as well as those who enjoyed OF FIRE AND STARS by Audrey Coulthurst, LUNAV by Jenn Polish (although this is more dark fantasy), and PORTRAITS OF A FAERIE QUEEN by Tay LaRoi, will also likely enjoy CoH.

You can buy CORRUPTION OF HONOR in paperback here and ebook here.

Genre: Horror/Post-Apocalyptic

Pairings: N/A

Queer Rep: Bisexuality

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence,  discussion of self-harm, suicidal ideation, emetophobia, domestic violence, pregnancy, childbirth, and gore.
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REVIEWED BY L.A. ASHTON

M. Rose Flores’ official Facebook is here, and her twitter is over this way.

Note: I am an Amazon Associate and I am using affiliate links. These do not affect you or my reviews.

From Ninestar Press:
The End (ebook) — $6.49
From Amazon.com:
The End (print) — $15.99    |    The End (ebook) — $6.49



[Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

Synopsis

Being a teenager is rough. Being a queer teenager? Moreso. And being a queer teenager during the zombie apocalypse, well... at least it can’t get any worse.

Cate’s life takes a cataclysmic turn on her seventeenth birthday. Now living in a world where the dead live and the living have lost their humanity, Cate and her sister struggle to survive. As if suddenly having to acclimate to zombies being a real thing isn’t bad enough, Cate soon discovers that not all zombies are as simple as they seem, and she just so happens to be immune to their virus.
General
“The End” is a book with a strong voice and a focused plot. If you’re itching for a zombie thriller, the biggest strength of this novel is that it’s everything you expect it to be. Unfortunately, its biggest weakness is that it’s everything you expect it to be.

Plot

My first few moments with The End had me jumping back to the book’s listing to check for a Young Adult tag. The End is not shelved as a young adult novel, and I honestly believe that was an error on the press’s part. The age of the characters notwithstanding, the narrative is highly colloquial and felt geared toward a younger reader. Or, at the very least, for someone looking to read YA.

The book is told on two timelines: “THEN” and “NOW”. This works well for the piece, and helps give the reader momentum. It was a saving grace at times, as the catch 22 for this novel becomes apparent very early: this book will give you the zombie story you think you want, but it will almost never surprise you.

We’ve seen zombie stories plenty: The Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Day of the Living Dead... you get the picture. We know the rhythm and tropes by now. This novel follows them almost to a T, which made some of it fall just this side of boring. I could guess how things would play out, what would be introduced next, etc. Unfortunately, the hook the author promises in the synopsis—zombies who aren’t “just zombies”, and an immune MC—makes almost no impact on the narrative. Yeah, fighting the abnormal zombies is a bit rough, but they don’t do anything truly jarring or horrifying, and you never find out the how or the why behind them. For the most part, there’s not even speculation. Cate and her comrades handle them the way they handle all the rest, and they move on. I wanted something creepier, or something with more narrative weight, and all I got were some zombies that could run.
On the other foot, I’m a picky jerk about a lot of things, but I’m even more of a picky jerk when it comes to written action. M. Rose Flores is good at action, describing things clearly and succinctly with just enough gross “oomf” when necessary. In general all her descriptions and prose were wonderful. She had a tendency to over-explain things to the reader—obvious things that we could glean from context or would inherently understand—but the cadence and feel of her words was good. If she plays it less safe with her next project, she could hit one out of the park. She just needs to do the weird thing, give us the plot twist we weren’t expecting, and give the middle finger to some of the standard genre tropes.

Setting

The descriptions were good, so the setting was fine. We’re given the rundown towns and cities you’d expect from a zombie apocalypse. I actually wish the characters would have spent more narrative time in one place so we could have explored these places more; it was difficult to get attached to places and people when Cate and Melody moved at such a break-neck pace.

Characters

Cate is a cool kid. You get a sense of her character right away from the narrative style, and it sticks with you. She is just a kid though, and I sometimes had to remind myself of this when she did something stupid. Would teenage me have been smart enough to know better? Maybe, but maybe not. She also deals with real problems that make real sense given her current (awful) circumstances, and I liked seeing a proper portrayal of the mental strains a person would face.
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I really liked Marco. I eventually grew attached to Calvin as well, but some of the more superfluous characters (especially toward the end) didn’t really stick with me, which made the climax less impactful.
 
I think if you’re looking for a YA zombie narrative, The End is for you. If you want something that’s gonna knock your pants off with new ideas, it’s not for you. If you just want to chill alongside some dudes while they cleave into zombie heads, dig in! Despite my very par feelings about this particular novel, I look forward to what else Flores will bring to the world.

REVIEWED BY J.S.

Genre: modern fantasy (superhero) (YA)

Pairings: f/f (implied for future books)

Queer Representation: trans lesbian, cis lesbian(?)

Warnings: gender dysphoria, verbal abuse, TERF antics that may be triggering for some readers

Rating: five stars

Review

Danny, a trans girl, is hiding behind a dumpster, painting her toenails and enjoying some alone time, when the superhero Dreadnought dies right in front of her. She inherits his powers, among which include the ability to take her ideal form. But while Danny is delighted with the sudden and mostly-absolute gender change, those around Danny, especially her parents, are not. Also super villains and stuff. Bam pow. You know how it goes.

Let’s just hit the (trans) nail on the head

This was a great book. It was written by a trans woman, and the realness of the emotions really shine through. As a trans reader, I deeply connected with Danny on multiple occasions, and appreciated the author’s diverse probing of trans issues–particularly the subtleties of dysphoria (for instance, Danny doesn’t take issue with her junk). I love how the superhero ‘thing’ was continually pushed aside by Danny because she just wanted to revel in looking like a girl, finally, and that even though Danny has the heart of a superhero, that’s not what this book is about.

Not all of the transition accounts will resonate with all readers, of course (and the trans experience is as unique as the human experience). Danny’s discussion of what it’s like to have tons of estrogen coursing through her system instead of testosterone would have struck me fairly sexist even a few years ago, although I’ve had enough trans friends on hormones describe much the same thing that in this instance, it resonated.

Plot

This book shares a lot in common with C.B. Lee’s NOT YOUR SIDEKICK, in terms of slice of high school life and also superpowers. Both deal with prominent issues, although NOT YOUR SIDEKICK definitely spends a greater proportion of its plot on superhero dynamics, while DREADNOUGHT merely warms up to them, spending more time on Danny’s journey. DREADNOUGHT also doesn’t pull any punches, and readers are walked through transphobic parents, entitled male BFFs, and a particularly problematic TERF superhero (who came across more as a caricature than anything else, and the narrative would have been stronger, in my opinion, if her attacks were more subtle).

In many ways this book read more like a prequel, or an extended prologue, to a greater story. That’s not to say it didn’t stand on it’s own, or wasn’t enjoyable. Indeed, the pacing was excellent, the emotions hard hitting, and there was a depth to the story I was not expecting. That Danny is not only trans but also a lesbian was an unexpected bonus, and I do look forward to where the romance line might lead in future books.

Some side thoughts
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While I have read some critique of the overt transphobic reactions in this book, and while yes, they could be potentially triggering (there was at least one instance where I had to put the book down and take a walk), I think it bears mentioning that cis readers are often not awake enough to the subtleties of implicit bias. If Danny’s experience was diluted down to extended stares from classmates, indifferent and chilly parents, and a superhero legion who tolerated her presence but never really welcomed her, I don’t think this book would reach nearly the same audience. The overt transphobicness of Danny’s interactions may be somewhat dated, or seem over the top, but they certainly are not over, by any means, for queer teens, and there are plenty of us older trans people who remember those types of days all too well.
 
After a slew of disappointing books, it was great to be able to immerse myself in a world where a trans girl gets to really get her wish. And if that wish is to look like a (female) supermodel, and she gets superpowers to boot, then, well, maybe we can start tipping the scales away from all those cis het white dude superheroes with the washboard abs. It’s about time trans girls got to look hot in spandex, too.
 
You can buy DREADNOUGHT in paperback here, ebook here, and audiobook here. For more teenaged superheroes that aren’t cis het white guys, consider also C.B. Lee’s NOT YOUR SIDEKICK.