 Princess Esofi of Rhodia and Crown Prince Albion of Ieflaria have been betrothed since they were children but have never met. At age seventeen, Esofi’s journey to Ieflaria is not for the wedding she always expected but instead to offer condolences on the death of her would-be husband. But Ieflaria is desperately in need of help from Rhodia for their dragon problem, so Esofi is offered a new betrothal to Prince Albion’s younger sister, the new Crown Princess Adale. But Adale has no plans of taking the throne, leaving Esofi with more to battle than fire-breathing beasts.  Category: Romance
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Word Count: 65000 Pages: 175 Sex Content: N/A Pairing: FF Orientation: Pansexual Identity: Cisgender REVIEWED BY REBECCA RATING: FIVE STARS I thoroughly enjoyed this very palatable fantasy story from Effie Calvin. Written in third person through two different perspectives, the story follows two women who have found themselves engaged to be married for the sake of political stability and magical protection against dragon invasions. What's not to love about that kind of plot? Esofi has always known she would marry the heir of Ieflaria and the thought has never really bothered her, but when her betrothed, Albion, dies unexpectedly, Esofi's vision of the future needs to shift as she becomes engaged to his younger and less responsible sister, Adale. The world-building is quite rich, particularly the spiritual aspects of Calvin's imaginative world. It took me a little while to understand the different deities, but it wasn't a chore, and I had a decent grasp of the mythology by the end. I did wonder at Esofi's attitude towards science, in that I expected part of her character growth to include her becoming more open to alternative perspectives about healing, but that plot point didn't seem to go anywhere - but this is a series and you can't address every little idea in the first book. The political, social, and religious situations are fascinating and there's plenty to explore throughout subsequent books. But at the same time, I felt quite satisfied with the self-contained story in Book 1. There was a good balance between descriptions of settings, character interactions, and action sequences. I usually take quite a while to finish books because of my children and my work commitments, but I finished this one quite fast because I kept putting off other things in life to read, having been pulled right in. Personally, I would have liked to see a little more of the resolution between Esofi and Adale towards the end - as it seemed there would have been some "off page/screen" interactions after the climax and I felt slightly left out having not seen at least the discussion where they resolved (or didn't? Won't ruin it all for you) their conflicts. I'm guessing the unicorn played a part, but I'm not sure. This is a minor point of personal preference though, and everything is wrapped up very effectively. Overall, The Queen of Ieflaria is an engaging, turbulent story set within a rich and imaginative fantasy world that I easily fell in love with. I'm keen to see what other books this author will write in future.
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BLURB Dalí Tamareia has everything—a young family and a promising career as an Ambassador in the Sol Fed Diplomatic Corps. Dalí’s path as a peacemaker seems clear, but when their loved ones are killed in a terrorist attack, grief sends the genderfluid changeling into a spiral of self-destruction. Fragile Sol Fed balances on the brink of war with a plundering alien race. Their skills with galactic relations are desperately needed to broker a protective alliance, but in mourning, Dalí no longer cares, seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle, in the arms of a faceless lover, or at the end of a knife. The New Puritan Movement is rising to power within the government, preaching strict genetic counseling and galactic isolation to ensure survival of the endangered human race. Third gender citizens like Dalí don’t fit the mold of this perfect plan, and the NPM will stop at nothing to make their vision become reality. When Dalí stumbles into a plot threatening changelings like them, a shadow organization called the Penumbra recruits them for a rescue mission full of danger, sex, and intrigue, giving Dalí purpose again. Risky liaisons with a sexy, charismatic pirate lord could be Dalí’s undoing—and the only way to prevent another deadly act of domestic terrorism. REVIEW I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. This book. Wow. Y'all know by now that I am picky AF about reading. I work hard at my craft (both the writing part and the editing part) so when I want to stand on top of a rooftop and jump up and down shouting BUY THIS BOOK!? You know it really impressed me. 1st. Genderfluid & third gender Main Character(MC). Can I just say I want to be like Dalí and leave it at that? No? Well. I adore how Dalí could just be their neutral self or more male presenting or more female depending on need or desire. It's just fantastic and handled so beautifully that it speaks to me on my deepest non-binary levels. It's so gorgeous. I needed this book and didn't know I needed it until I read it. 2nd. Princess Bride references. Anyone who loves one of my fav movies this much is worth reading. Anything else is inconceivable. I laughed so hard at some of the references. The author made it believable within the story line of a futuristic space opera too. 3rd. Pacing. I think maybe four books have kept me up past my bedtime in 2017. This is number four and ugh, I dropped my tablet on my face so many times I actually lost count. I really am going to break my nose (again) one of these days. 4th. Bisexual Representation!!! On PAGE. And it's not a story of angst or acceptance or of finding oneself. Those are great stories, but Dalí is Bi, already, and it's normal and beautiful and perfect. I adore it. 5th. Worldbuilding and awesome characters. I really loved the different alien races, and bemoaned the fact that I can't draw well enough to capture them all so I can do fan-art. (I really wish I could draw) the world is believably futuristic and could so easily come out of where we are now. 6th. Dalí is mixed-race. I'm mixed race, I've rarely seen it in fiction (I can count on the fingers of one hand things I've read that aren't my own writing with mixed-race characters.) I did kinda cringe at the one use of 'almond-eyed' but it's commonly used and it didn't ruin the experience for me. Basically, just go buy this book and read it. I loved it so much and I really hope there's more to come with these characters. SCORES Readability: 5/5 Craft: 5/5 Go, buy, do the thing. If youbuy from the publisher directly, the author and the publisher get more money and they can keep providing you with more books like this one. Or from Amazon.  Dalí is a beautifully written exploration of ethics, gender, grief, and SPACE! 5 Stars.
I won't use up space recounting the basic plot, as you can click the GoodReads link above to see that for yourself. Instead, I'll focus on what I loved about this novel and some of the thoughts it left with me when I'd finished. Below, however, you can see the book information provided by the publisher. You can buy the ebook here. ___________________________________________ Author: E.M. Hamill Release Date: August 7, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-947139-57-2 Format: ePub, Mobi, PDF Cover Artist: Natasha Snow Category: Literary/Genre Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Word Count: 85200 Pages: 253 Sex Content: Explicit Orientation: Pansexual Identity: Genderqueer Warning: Depictions of violent death ___________________________________________ Between space rescues, ship battles, gladiatorial bouts, and the sexually charged hand-to-hand-combat scenes, if you're after adventure and action, this book won't disappoint. Dalí is a little more action-packed than what I'd normally read, but it worked well for me. The writing is fabulous and the world-building is even better. Rich, complex, and totally believable, the galaxy of the future mirrors many of the political and social concerns of our own time -- which is always the case with good science fiction. I highly recommend this novel for fans of science fiction and/or adventure. This novel works beautifully as a stand alone story, but I can also see how it would easily become a series if the author has that in mind. The rest of my review contains spoilers - delving into aspects of the novel that I wanted to discuss. SPOILERS AHEAD * * * * * This book is definitely not a romance, which is not a comment I make as a negative, but something to be aware of. That's part of why this novel is great - it doesn't follow the same old formula that quite a lot of traditional LGBTIQ+ tends to abide by. Anyone who has read my previous reviews knows that I'm not a fan of sci-fi being background for a romance plot. A sci-fi romance is a great story (heck - it's what I myself tend to write) but the genre elements shouldn't be, in my opinion, a convenient backdrop for a story that could've been set anywhere or anytime. That isn't the case with Dalí. The relationships were interesting - particularly between the main character and the other changelings - Kai and Dru. Something about Dru really got to me and I found myself hoping she'd get something of a satisfactory ending to her kidnapping journey. My favourite relationship - and this is totally subjective - was between Dalí and Tella Sharpe. I felt that Tella was the only character Dalí slept with who didn't expect them to be whatever sex or gender suited her, unlike the other people Dalí slept with - who wanted them to be only either male or female. I definitely understood why they became so frustrated with Tella and felt so betrayed, given her role in kidnapping the changelings, but I was surprised by how deep that animosity seemed to go. Dalí questioned Rhix's ethics, but continued to (mostly) trust him and kept sleeping with him after knowing he traded in goods that could facilitate mass murder, yet they remained so angry with Tella, whose crimes were pretty awful, but also much smaller scale than Rhix's. Again, this is not a criticism! Humans are like that - we aren't logical in who we do or do not tolerate or forgive. The complexity of these relationships is still on my mind well after I've finished reading the book. I love books that make me keep thinking, and even make it hard to start the next book I want to read. On a totally inane note, I loved the Princess Bride references, and surely that comment about "My mother is a lizard" has to be a reference to another 80s cult classic, Willow, right? My only comment here, though, is that I did question characters who were living so far in the future being that obsessed with such films. It felt a bit like Tom's fascination with the 20th Century on Star Trek - Voyager...more of a way for someone on the crew to explore their own love of cars and music? It was harmless, though, and even though my amusement about the references had worn off by about the mid-way point, as a fan of the movie who can quote the whole thing, it was a little bit of fun, even if I did think they didn't suit the context. So if the only less-than-positive thing I have to say is about inter-textual references, that's definite nit-picking! I'm really pleased that books like this are being written and published. |
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I stayed up until 5am when I had to work the next day. I kept saying to myself... just get to a stopping place, then stop for the night. EVERY time I thought I'd gotten to a stopping place, another plot twist smacked me in the face and I HAD TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED! Arcs: 5/5 
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