Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul’s and Daehyun’s fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

READ THIS NOTE, ESPECIALLY THE END

Author’s Note – King Yeonsan (deposed name: Yeonsangun) ruled from 1495 to 1506 and was considered the worst tyrant in Korean history. Supposedly, he ruled decently for the first nine years of his reign, but in 1504—after learning of how his mother had been executed—he went on a revenge spree that began the bloodiest purge of his reign.
Emboldened by the absolute power he held, Yeonsan began committing widespread atrocities—stealing land from the people to turn into his personal hunting grounds, executing his own family members, murdering government officials in the cruelest ways, and kidnapping and enslaving women from every province.
I believe it’s important to tell history as it is, with all its violence and corruption, and so I did not shy away from the realities of Yeonsan’s reign. His crimes were so numerous, though, that I couldn’t mention them all in the story. But for the ones I did, I’d like to offer the following content warnings:
rape (mentioned), sexual abuse, misogyny, kidnapping women and girls, sex trafficking, incest (mentioned), violence, murder, animal cruelty, suicide (mentioned), infanticide (mentioned), psychological trauma, panic attacks

Dear Ms. Hur,

Two years ago, I read and enjoyed “The Red Palace” which had some dark stuff in it. Well, this one tops that. I’m glad that you included what you did in your author’s note and I hope people pay attention to the warnings. This book is being tagged (given the age of the MCs) as young adult but given the nature of the content, I would be very careful about how old readers are who read it.

Iseul was the pampered youngest daughter of a high ranking Joseon Korean magistrate when her world came crashing down. Her parents were murdered by soldiers on order of the king leaving Iseul and her older sister to seek refuge with their grandmother (who is only mentioned in the book). Then her sister (with whom Iseul has a fractious relationship – all due to Iseul) is kidnapped and taken by the king as a concubine – one among almost a thousand most of whom are subjected to sexual abuse. Iseul is convinced that this is all her fault and she’s going to make it right. How, she has no clue but she’s gonna do it.

Arriving at an inn not far from the capital, Iseul is taken under the wing of the innkeeper and a former investigator. Yul promises to treat Iseul like family in exchange for Iseul helping at the inn (something she only sporadically does) while Wonsik tries to tutor her in how to investigate a series of murders and discover who the serial killer is (something Iseul pouts about as Wonsik actually wants her to use her brain while she just wants him to tell her what she wants to know). Then an illegitimate prince gets involved (as he also scrambles day by day to keep his psycho half-brother the king from killing him). Iseul wants to save her sister while Daehyun has grander plans – to overthrow the king in a coup. Will they get what they want or die trying?

I applaud the use of this unusual setting and the fact that readers are not molly coddled by having Korean words, terms and things used and then immediately translated into English. The meanings are made plain through the descriptions and if that doesn’t work then there’s always Google. Also booyah for (as stated in the author’s note) not shying away from the brutality of what was actually happening in this time. Yes, it’s hard to read but how much harder must it have been to try to live through it.

While I enjoyed being set down in Joseon Korea again, there were a lot of things that didn’t work for me here. Iseul is, quite frankly, a spirited young woman who hasn’t an ounce of common sense. I understand that she was raised to be waited on by servants, has no life skills, is probably still upset about how her life has been upended, and probably looking for a way to get it back. However she’s ready to snap at anyone who (she thinks) is getting in her way and charge off into danger without bothering to think things through. That these people she’s snapping at are often trying to help her or that if her harebrain (lack of) plans might get her killed or kidnapped herself don’t stop her. I’ll give her courage. I’ll give her determination. But she doesn’t seem to learn and she’s also at times an idiot.

Daehyun is a bit smarter and can roll with a dangerous situation while keeping a cool head. He’s had to as the king loves playing “games” that usually end with a courtier being killed for the king’s amusement. Daehyun has plans though. If he and a small, loyal band can seize the moment, they can dethrone the tyrant making everyone’s life hell. Except he knows that this rag-tag band isn’t enough so some (I’ll be honest, boring) scenes of behind-the-scenes political negotiation to induce powerful men to join them take place. First though he has to attempt to keep Iseul from doing anything stupid and rescue her a time or three when she does.

The story has tons of secondary and tertiary characters. Honestly, too many. And it’s not trying to keep the Korean names straight that was my problem. I would feel the same if this were a historical set during the English War of the Roses. After a while, people began to blur. After a while, plot points began to blur as well. There’s Iseul saving her sister, Daehyun plotting, Wonsik giving Iseul tips on murder investigation, Yul keeping the inn afloat, the whackjob king, sleazy courtiers, a group of court jesters who skip in and out, lots of running around the countryside, a violent coup, and tons of background details. As the plot revved up and sped towards the finish I had already gotten more than a bit lost.

I cheered when (some of) the mistreated women rescued themselves. I did love that Iseul refused to give up trying to get her sister out of a living nightmare and then further protected her from the terrible fate that met many of the other women the king had kidnapped and debauched (and society is rarely forgiving of a woman’s loss of “honor”). I never quite got what Daehyun saw in Iseul beyond that she’s feisty as she never grew much as a character. I questioned the need for the murders in the story and also began mentally picking apart and poking holes in how the serial killer managed all that was done. The reality of the post-coup was depressing as well. I think if I had read this book when I was younger, I might like it more but I didn’t and I don’t. C

~Jayne

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The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride’s party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord’s mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.

As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo’s previous wives and the dark history of Do Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.

Though all the novellas are standalone, I would recommend reading at least one or two earlier ones to get a feel for the world and more information on the background of Chih and Almost Brilliant.

Dear Nghi Vo,

A new Singing Hills novella with Cleric Chih! This time it’s got some weird goings on, a strange family, a mystery. But where is Almost Brilliant?

Cleric Chih, a story gatherer from the Singing Hills Monastery, is on the road, traveling with a young bride and her parents on her way to meet a man her parents want her to marry. Pham Nhung is very young, sweetly charming, and acts and is treated as if she’s more fragile than fine porcelain. When the retinue reaches the compound, Nhung takes Chih with her ahead of the rest and surveys the strong walls that surround it, wondering aloud if she will find her future here.

The events get weirder after that when a bizarre young man warns Chih to have Nhung ask the lord what happened to his other brides. Wandering around the grounds that night, Chih and Nhung enter several buildings with Nhung coyly asking Chih to go in first and check for monsters. The mystery of the place deepens when the lord’s son, the young man from earlier, warns Chih and reveals something awful about his situation there and old family secrets. But the monsters Chih is expecting aren’t the ones they find.

“The world starts with a story. So do dynasties and eras and wars. So does love, and so does revenge. Everything starts with a story.”

Once again, a perfectly paced story unfolds in novella format. Some novellas end up too rushed or too thinly written with not enough to keep me interested. With the Singing Hills stories, I know that this won’t be the case. Words are carefully used to create and shade in the background worldbuilding which is filled with characters given nutshell sketches that tell us all we need to know about who they are without wasting pages on unneeded information.

The terrible situation is slowly built up, little by little with an aftertaste of unease, like a fire started and then allowed to heat up before bursting out in raging flames. There are subtle clues but they are softly dropped into the story and the reader is allowed to notice them and ponder what they mean before all the plot points are tied together and everything is let loose.

What didn’t work quite as well for me is

~Jayne

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This is currently on sale at Amazon for 0.99

“The Arrangement” by BF Queen is the latest installment in the Ramadan Night series – a heartwarming sports romance that follows Yassine, a world-famous goalkeeper who requires a green card to continue playing in the US and represent Morocco in the World Cup. His solution: marriage to Nouha, a bookish personal assistant at the soccer club who has been scarred both physically and emotionally by a tragic accident. As their arrangement progresses, Nouha questions whether Yassine’s feelings are genuine, leading to a friends-to-lovers romance with a fresh twist on the Beauty and the Beast trope. A must read for anyone who would love to recapture the excitement of the Qatar World Cup last year.

Dear Ms. Queen,

I enjoyed reading The Serendipity” last year but missed this new novella in the Ramadan Nights series until now. Technically though, it doesn’t actually take place during Ramadan. Lovers of a “marriage of convenience” trope (like heroine Nouha) or sports romances will be in for a treat.

Yassine has worked hard to honor the efforts for better opportunities that his parents made when they moved the family from Morocco to Canada. But he runs into a roadblock when his application for a EB1 visa to the US is denied. He might be one of the best goalies in the US but, as he bitterly thinks, the US doesn’t value soccer players as much as US football players. With his work permit to play on an LA team about to run out and needing to play to possibly be on the Moroccan soccer team, Yassine is at first stunned by his coach’s suggestion of a MOC for a green card. He balks at doing that to any woman and for religious reasons, he wants his marriage to be a real one.

Nouha isn’t surprised when her latest marriage proposal meeting goes badly. She’s got facial scars from the car crash that killed her parents and no, she doesn’t want plastic surgery for them. Her aunt and uncle have loved and cared for them since she and her younger sister were orphaned and Nouha knows they would never push her into a marriage she doesn’t want. When she sees medical bills for her aunt, Nouha worries about how her uncle will afford to pay them. When Yassine, whom she’s known for years through work, comes to her with a proposal, she wonders if she could take him up on it. He’s so handsome, famous and mentioned on social media while she still doesn’t like being noticed – so how could this work?

What I really liked is that Nouha and Yassine are already friends who can laugh and joke together. Yassine knows that Nouha loves romance books which turns out to be one way that he eventually shows her how much he cares. A hero who buys his heroine books rocks, IMO. Yassine is also determined that his marriage won’t just be to get a green card. As he tells Nouha, he’d rather not get one and have to leave the country – even if this means risking what he and his parents worked for – than treat a woman badly by marrying her just for this.

They need to marry fairly quickly in order to start the paperwork for a green card which leads to the main conflict of Nouha having trouble believing that Yassine really loves her. This part is a bit rushed until Yassine – by his actions – proves that he loves his bride enough to sacrifice something dear to him in order to respect her honor.

So yes things are resolved fairly quickly but in ways that reassured me that these two are on the same page and committed to each other and their marriage. I love Nouha’s sister, aunt, and uncle, too. B

~Jayne

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Lillian Rose Atkins is tired. She’s tired of picking cotton, serving as a maid in a hotel, and taking care of her younger cousins. So when she receives an invitation from the mother she hasn’t seen in ten years to move to Chicago and take part in Chicago society, Lily jumps at the chance. This is her opportunity to finally have new things, be on the other side of service, and find a wealthy husband.

Rutledge “Rudy” Addison is tired. As an investigative journalist who reports on the facts of lynchings and race riots in the South, he’s tired of dealing with the dregs of society. But when he is challenged to love those he is starting to hate, he begins to find that life is not as black-and-white as he always thought.

When Lily and Rudy are thrown together, will they realize that maybe the things they’re tired of are more important than they could ever have fathomed?

TW/CW – mention of past racial violence/lynchings, current (in the book) threat to incarcerated African American men

Dear Ms. Susberry,

I’ve been eyeing several of your books/series and finally decided to try this one as it appears to be a stand alone story. Right from the beginning, I realized that it wouldn’t just be a story about a young woman trying to better her prospects. Instead there are dark past and current incidents that investigative reporter Rudy covers as well as mentions of race riots in Chicago and Nebraska. An element of faith is also included.

Rudy Addison never planned on being a reporter but when teaching didn’t pan out, he discovered he has a natural knack for digging into stories, especially ones about racial injustice. Rudy gains such detailed insights because he can “pass.” With blond hair, blue eyes, and light skin Rudy can arrive in towns that have just lynched uppity negroes (term used in the book) and suss out the true reasons why these horrific acts were committed without the whites whom he talks to realizing that he’s Black. Rudy knows he’s playing a dangerous game and that if he’s identified as Black, he’ll be the next “strange fruit” in town.

Lily Atkins wants something better in life. She’s lived without her mother who moved to Chicago ten years ago and who has remarried a relatively well-to-do man. But upon arriving in a city that astonishes her at its size, Lily’s dreams are facing a cold reality. Her mother is intent on bettering Lily but the bond they lost isn’t being rebuilt. Lily feels terribly out of place and at times humiliated by other Black women in her age group who deliberately show Lily – with her seventh grade education – up. A few people are nice, surprisingly her step-father, and two other young women who enlist Lily’s aid to help Blacks who have suffered due to the recent race riots in town.

When Lily meets Rudy, sparks fly. At times Rudy is curt to Lily and ends up calling her Daisy because he couldn’t be bothered to remember her “flower” name. But the two work out a plan to help each other. However things are derailed when news of riots in Lily’s hometown reach them. Lily heads back to help her family and Rudy quickly follows to report on what’s happening. But will Lily remain stuck in Elaine, AR and can Rudy escape it?

Let me start with what didn’t work so well for me. At times the story feels disjointed as there is a lot going on both good and bad. The book starts with Rudy in a TN town that just lynched someone and the needs of the Black Chicagoans who suffered due to the (real) riots there seems intense and is something Lily and her friends try to alleviate. But then Rudy is helping Lily write a poem based on British Romantic poets for her ladies society meeting as well as learning to waltz. The contrast is jarring. I know that the two need to remain in the same vicinity for their relationship to begin but I kept thinking, doesn’t Rudy have more important things to report on and do?

Another thing that felt a bit forced was the element of faith. Rudy’s family has been raised in the strong Christian faith of his parents and his father is urging Rudy to find a way to love those who are difficult to love and we know Rudy is faced with a lot of those. Lily is also religious and there are many church service scenes. But then chapters will pass with little mention of faith until suddenly it’s front and center again. I liked how in the end, both Rudy and Lily find a degree of forgiveness for those who are doing them wrong but it’s more for them to be able to lay down the burden of hate that is eating them up, and as Rudy says, allow them to pity those whites with such racial hatred in them.

Now there is a lot to enjoy in the book. Lily has a dry but wicked sense of humor and doesn’t let people put or keep her down long. Her mother might push Lily at Rudy but Lily makes it clear that he’s not on her marriage list and makes sure he knows it. Lily has also already started improving herself even before she leaves Arkansas because she knows she wants more out of life. When she decides something, she does it. Yet when her family needs her, she immediately heads back to help even if that means possibly surrendering her dreams. Family is that important to her.

Rudy has built a career going into places dangerous to him in order to get the truth and make sure that it sees the light of day. The plot calls for him to be stupidly fixated on a woman we all know isn’t The One and honestly, I never saw much in her beyond she’s pretty. When he quickly decides to go to AK, several of his friends call him on his insistence that he’s not going down for Lily but once he realizes his true feelings, he throws himself into helping her family as well as covering the events of the (real) Elaine Race Riots.

I loved Lily’s family including her younger cousins. Aunt Rachel is a Rock in the troubled waters and Uncle Rufus is a man staunchly determined to provide for and better his family’s lot in life. Lily has white friends in Elaine including a family who has employed her and quietly looks after and helps her. She also makes good friends in Chicago (I’d love to have seen more about one couple’s romance) and works out relationships with her step siblings. Stepfather Frank is a jewel of a man. I would join the Frank Harrison Fan Club.

Even with the issues I’ve mentioned, for me the positives of the book far outweigh the niggles. Lily is my favorite but I think by the end, she’s got Rudy in line and fully aware of what a gem he’s got. B

~Jayne

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Sisters Rose Tillman and Marvina Nash haven’t spoken in decades—not since Rose sent Marvina $40 to register their business and Marvina spent it on something else. Rose begins a long career at the post office and Marvina spends her weekends cooking chicken dinners for the church fundraiser. Marvina never leaves the canister of their mama’s special spice mix in the church kitchen, and she shares the recipe with no one.

Rose never forgave Marvina for that $40 betrayal, but when she retires, she’s still dreaming of opening a restaurant with her sister, using mama’s secret spice mix to make their fortune in fried chicken and Southern comfort food. To her horror, Rose realizes she’s forgotten the spice mix recipe. There’s nothing to do but get in her car to drive the two hours to Marvina’s house back in Fork City, Texas. Marvina’s determined never to speak to Rose again, but figures she’ll meet her on the doorstep to hear what she has to say, before closing the door in her face.

Of course, that’s not what happens next, as the sisters find a way to turn their mama’s legacy into a bright new future for their whole community.

CW/TW – mention of miscarriages, mention of past thoughts of suicide, mention of past homophobia, unwed pregnant teenager

Dear Ms. Stimpson, 

It was the cover that got me. And though the book has some heavier subjects than the cartoon cover might imply, it also has a lot of humor and heart. Plus enough talk of yummy sounding food that I wish I could actually try the Dewberry sisters’ magical seasoning.

Every family has got some grudge or misunderstanding that has soured relations among them. Some of them are honest to goodness “yeah, this isn’t something that we can come back from” and some of them are “we didn’t speak for decades because of this? Marvina and Rose haven’t been close for forty years for a lot of reasons which they’re just about to start exploring. That is if they can get past the anger that still simmers over what they think happened so many years ago.

With Rose now retired from her job with the USPS, she’s thinking about what she wants to do next. Can she revive her dream of opening a restaurant that will use her mother’s secret spice blend to bring in happy customers? It didn’t work forty years ago for reasons which each sister remembers differently. Her trip to see her younger sister Marvina in order to refresh her memory about exactly how many pinches of certain ingredients make up the closely guarded spice blend also threatens to bring up all their past issues which are numerous.  

Marvina is one of those people who live to be hospitable. Their mother raised them in a strict church and with a severe brand of religion. Thou shalt not go against Elders or the church hierarchy. When her church seems poised to pivot in order to try and pull in younger parishioners, Marvina is at risk of losing the thing she’s loved, which is cooking with the youth to sell plates of home cooked Southern food to raise money. The Elders are set in “new and improved” which will push Marvina and others, who have given generously of their time and efforts, out. 

Then the sisters discover there’s a young, unwed pregnant teenager who has been living in an accessory dwelling unit behind Marvina’s house. Kerresha’s relationship with her own mother is strained and Rose and Marvina can’t see putting her out on the street when she obviously needs help. 

There is a lot more going on in the book. Let me first tell people that the book is very Southern. Southern food, Southern culture, Southern dialect. Marvina is very dedicated to her conservative church and her religious beliefs – and Rose’s lack of them – figure prominently. The small town in which most of the book takes place is a hotbed of gossip. Past red-lining of Blacks into a certain section of town is mentioned and there is a reason why Marvina and her adult son don’t communicate much. I refer you back to the description of her church which I think will explain things. 

It’s not so much miscommunications that have separated the sisters as it is misremembering or not having the full picture of past events. Neither sister is at first willing to let go of her “truth” and a major reason they haven’t talked is due to not wishing to criticize their (now dead) mother who was a strong influence on them. It will take a long time before Rose is ready to test the waters about her plans with Marvina and even then things won’t go smoothly. 

At one point, one of the sisters (paraphrasing) describes Kerresha as an old soul in a young body. Nineteen year old Kerresha doesn’t initially understand some of the sisters’ expressions and Kerresha’s Insta-talk baffles Marvina and occasionally Rose but Kerresha isn’t one to not speak her mind. She doesn’t hold with sticking to old customs “just because” and her blunt observations give (mostly) Marvina a lot to think about. I could understand why her character was there – to (respectfully) shake things up and highlight where Marvina and Rose were butting heads for no good reason but after a while, her comments seemed a little bit too on point. Still I liked her freshness. 

Marvina and Rose have a lot to learn about what really happened in the past and unlearn a great deal of what they thought they knew. Given how long these wounds had festered and how settled the sisters were in believing they were right and the other was wrong, it’s understandable that it takes most of the book to work these out. Brava that these things causing the estrangement between them are believable even if I wanted to throw my hands up at times. In the end, they both get a new outlook on the past and move forward with a plan that suits them both. B             

~Jayne

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It’s the perfect Solstice present, even if it’s slightly illegal.

Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn’t give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information leads Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong.

Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It’s been all of those things up until the woman she’s been quietly flirting with at the bar puts in a desperate call for help. There’s no question they need to save the station, but Tyra’s not so sure about saving their budding relationship.

Dear Ms. Martinez,

Catching up with the Pudding Protocol Universe again for another Solstice book. Well, kinda as Solstice is the reason that Shandi wants to get a fellow space habitat worker a gift but the gift is what takes up the majority of the story rather than the holiday.

As with “Safety Protocols for Human Holidays,” we’re in a universe of multispecies space. This time the action takes place aboard a space habitat. Shandi has been trying to get to know Tyra but that woman is not a party animal. In fact, Tyra might be wonderfully competent in her job and had been awarded medals for saving a ship while she was a Marine but Tyra doesn’t easily do “social.” When in company she feels that “words run off where I can’t find them.” Shandi’s idea is to get Tyra a pet for Solstice but as Tyra is part of the department that clears all incoming life forms and Shandi wants this to be a surprise, she, um, goes a bit unauthorized and that leads to things going sideways. 

I happily dove into this world with lots of different species who cohabitate. Each is described a little and given some distinctive characteristics. Pronouns are inquired about and friendships abound. These beings really seem to care about each other. All is not perfect as Tyra has actual reasons beyond her innate reserve for screwing up the relationship that Shandi seems to be starting. The reason is because of what Tyra’s last committed partner did to save a ship of people. And eventually when Tyra and Shandi take a chance, the kisses don’t start perfectly and the sex is fumbled a bit but in the end, all is well.   

As I said, most of the action centers on the pet that Shandi (illegally) gets for Tyra. Described as an ussi the little blob of black fur with black eyes and three sets of legs sounds adorable. Ah-dorable. It nomnomnoms on kale chips and … doubles in size. Hmmm, the guy Shandi bought it from didn’t say anything about that. Then it doubles again and then things get out of control. But Shandi’s friend and Tyra’s colleagues spring into action and try to contain a ravenous beast with a taste for food and hats. 

There’s some protocol to getting the creature – which can ooze a bit in shape and thus is called a “pudding” – under control and when all is said and done, Tyra does get her pet and a second chance at a relationship. This is a bit quick and I would have liked to have seen more of a balance between the ussi wrangling and the romance though. But we do get to see Tyra being supremely competent while they capture the critter. B-

~Jayne      

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Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer’s block, a tense time for England’s women’s rights campaign—the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father’s distractingly attractive young colleague.

Deeply introverted Catriona lives for her work at Oxford and her fight for women’s suffrage. She dreams of romance, too, but since all her attempts at love have ended badly, she now keeps her desires firmly locked inside her head—until she climbs out of a Scottish loch after a good swim and finds herself rather exposed to her new colleague.

Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell’s circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artefacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona’s favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing…

Forced into close proximity in Oxford’s hallowed halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake.

Dear Ms. Dunmore,

I never thought I’d be reading this book. Much like our reviewer Layla, I had started the first book in the series only to discover that it was not for me. I didn’t see the point in trying further books that I was sure I wouldn’t finish either. But I liked the idea of this one in that it focuses on the return of stolen cultural heritage. The father of a friend of mine is Lebanese, and when I was a student, he, my friend, and the other Lebanese students at my university embraced me and introduced me to their culture and their food. I would crawl across broken glass for that man’s tabbouleh. Anyway, I’m happy that this book and I became friends as well.

It begins in a way that ::winces:: I usually hate with a “naked heroine caught in public by the hero” scene. Lady Catriona refuses to cower behind anything but her copy of Virgil and orders the strange man off only to discover that he’s the guest her father told her was arriving. Well, &%$#@. But she still doesn’t cower nor (for Reasons) does she kick up a fuss when her father tells her he needs her to journey to Oxford with and act for Elias Khoury in his stead. Elias is a gentleman and The Incident is soon put in the past.

With his cousin urging him to seduce the Lady in order to further their plans, Elias (who has been a victim of love) balks. So he introduces a game of chess in order to reconnoiter the Lady. However Elias’s true reason for being in Oxford will soon cast a pall on the growing attraction and the hot sex between them. Yes, folks there is lots and lots of hot sex here. Catriona has also been wounded in love by users before and here’s a man after something that involves Catriona and her father.The truth comes out but things didn’t go as I, or Elias, expected. Catriona is all in on helping the stolen cultural heritage be returned in addition to her work with her friends for women’s rights. Can everyone here get what they want?

From reading other reviews, I knew that the other three heroines from the previous books as well as their S.O.s would appear which worried me. Fortunately, they weren’t all dumped on me at the same time and there were sufficient explanations of people and past events without these turning into mini-lectures. The fight for certain women’s rights bills was reaching a head and I can easily see the steadfast determination these women had.

As the book focused on repatriation of stolen artifacts, a lot of time was paid to this. Reasons behind why things are taken (particularly patronizing), by whom, and to where are discussed. Past instances – focusing on the Parthenon friezes – were shown. Characters talked about who had the right to sign off on stuff being taken, especially if the creators of these items and cultures that made them are long dead. Yeah, some of this is repeated a lot but it’s important to know why Elias is so determined to reclaim these things. Yet, the brilliant plan that was dreamt up and worked out to do this was not shown! We were told “There’s a plan” and saw a little behind the scenes maneuvering but the actual execution … nope. That was a let down.

Overall, I liked both Catriona and Elias together. One thing bugged me about Catriona and her father. The estate was falling into ruins but these two seemed far more interested in archeology and linguist studies then getting a good steward and – honestly – giving a damn about trying to make their wool trade profitable. I was a little confused about Catriona’s mental health issues. The author’s note helped but I question only describing her in the blurb as “deeply introverted.” I’m deeply introverted and need my alone time too but Catriona’s got far more going on than that. I did like that she went back and laid the ghosts of her romantic past to rest and that she did it for herself. Thinking that she had no romantic future, she decided to explore physical love (and how realistic that it’s not immediately pleasurable for her) with a man she was attracted to. She had other reasons for letting him leave thinking their relationship could go no further which were variously answered by other sources and friends.

Elias was astonished and flustered by Catriona and his attraction to her. In one scene he watches her move through a room and no men pay attention to her because she doesn’t project flirty femininity and he thinks if only they could appreciate her mind they’d be at her feet the way he feels he is. They discussed women’s issues in the Middle East and how the silk workers of the family business bargained for and got what they wanted. Even Catriona’s crusty chaperon knew this was talking sexy to Catriona. He expressed interest in the women’s fire brigade at Oxford and how there was a need for this for these workers.

The romance was very slow burn even though there was a lot of spice. Eventually it was revealed that both MCs had parents who had love matches and that this was what they too wanted though neither expected to get it. Catriona knew Arabic and a bit about Middle Eastern culture having traveled there before. Elias had been a student at Cambridge in order to learn more about British culture for business reasons. But despite all they had in common, working out their romantic relationship took until the bitter end. I liked that Elias felt guilty about, as well as helpless to resist, Catriona’s invitation to stay with her in London with sex obviously in the cards. I liked that the two of them discussed why Catriona didn’t seem to be enjoying that sex and that Elias ensured she eventually did. After a separation that I didn’t entirely agree with, they finally talked about their fears and reasons and yay, worked things out.

There was an epilogue to tie a bow on the women’s rights fight as well as showcase happiness and fecundity that I probably would have enjoyed more had I read the other three books but it was okay. But this exchange between Catriona and Elias near the end when they were talking was wonderful. I’m not sure that I will go back and read the other books but I enjoyed this one. B

~Jayne

“I think that I . . . I matter. A woman matters, married or not, children or no children. I matter, just as I am, right now. I’m a whole human being.”

He smiled; relieved but bemused. “Of course you matter.”

Her heart was heated and drumming too quickly, like pistons in an out-of-control machine. The words had poured out; outrageous, frightful words, and yet here he was, smiling.

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Readers, first of all please beware that this is a first part of the trilogy. At the end of this one there is no happy ending, I mean it is not a tragic ending, the characters part ways because needs must (that’s the most I can do without spoilers), not because they had any fight at the end of the book.

So, because I bought this book without even reading the blurb first (something that I don’t do for the 99% of the potential purchases), I have had an interesting experience in the first chapter already. The foreword where the characters meet can make you believe that this is a contemporary romance. And then in the first chapter we already see Ravi and his team fighting monsters. It certainly gave me a whiplash, but that was totally my own fault and moreover, I love SFF storylines.  Fighting monsters? Great, sign me up, no matter how unexpected that was at first.

And then Cayenne makes their way in the storyline. Just a note that Cayenne is non-binary so the pronoun “they” are used exclusively for this character, so that’s the reason I am not tagging this story as m/m romance. This is not a warning, I don’t believe one has to be warned about non-binary characters, this is just an explanation.

Cayenne is also, at least at first, one of the most annoying romantic leads I have ever “met” in fiction.  First of all they are very high maintenance and once again, I don’t want to spoiler much, but I have to note that even though they certainly don’t do anything remotely non consensual, I kinda felt that they were almost attacking Ravi from the moment they appeared on the page. Let me stress, nothing remotely not consensual happened ever, it is more like Cayenne was too persistent in courting Ravi for my taste, too fast I guess?

But I have to go into some spoilers here because this was the main reason why I found Cayenne to be so incredibly annoying at first.

Also Cayenne obviously knows something about the events in the near or not so near future which connect them and Ravi and I am guessing that this is partially they reason why they appeared in the past to correct some wrongs as well and they are not answering any questions from Ravi, but demand to know everything about Ravi’s past, his work, etc. I get that whatever mystery will happen they are not answering for plot reasons, I am fine with that, but not answering anything about their family while demanding to know about Ravi’s?

Yes,  I disliked them a lot, but then interesting things happened and I realized that the author actually seems to have a rather tight hold on the storyline and hopefully a lot more things will become clearer in the next book/ books.  Also Cayenne has a character arc, which sadly I don’t see a lot in many m/m books, meaning that they are not just changing in the relationship, they try to make a certain change in their behavior, they seem to learn and maybe that change will even stick.

Ravi is just a noble monsters fighter for now, but they have great chemistry already and we do see that he has some interesting potential as well, and the ending of the book both annoyed me and made me kind of excited for the next one.

Grade: B

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Welcome to the irresistible world of Greenglass House, where thirteen-year-old Milo is spending the winter holidays stuck in a house full of strange guests who are not what they seem. There are fresh clues to uncover as friends old and new join in his search for a mysterious map and a famous smuggler’s lost haul.

Sure to thrill both fans and newcomers, this smart, suspenseful tale offers ghosts, friendships, and a cast of unforgettable characters, all wrapped up in a cozy mystery.

Review:

Dear Kate Milford,

I reviewed the first book in this series here at DA.  I found it very charming and enjoyable even if I was not the target audience for it. In this book a year has passed and we are back in the Greenglass House, basically a small hotel that Milo’s parents run and very often the guests in the hotel seem to have an interesting relationship with the law should we say.  Basically we met some smugglers and some thieves in the last book and two young thieves, Georgie and Clem, came back this time.

We learn that Georgie and Clem tried to do a job together (sort of a last hurrah for Clem before she gets married) and the job went wrong. I am not going to go into details of what exactly they tried to steal and what went wrong, because this is at the heart of the mystery in this book. I will just say that even the items that they did manage to find go missing while they are staying at Greenglass House and this becomes another sub mystery for Milo and his friends to solve.

I really really liked visiting with Milo and his parents again. I enjoyed reading about Milo navigating adolescence in general and him being adopted and being of Chinese heritage specifically and I liked how the narrative continued to explore it here and I thought it was done with a light touch. I cannot stress it enough though, these series are written for middle grade kids. I did give the first book few years ago to a child in my family and she enjoyed it well enough, but I am looking at it with the adult lenses so I cannot be sure if a child will like it as much as I did.

I do not recommend reading this book before the first one, not only the main characters get some character development (not a lot, but they do develop somewhat in my opinion), but also the fantasy storyline of the book definitely gets some continuation and even some closure (I think it will be too much of the spoiler to talk about fantasy storyline actually).

The main beats of the mystery are similar to the first book, even if the mystery itself is different it still basically about finding the hidden and lost things in the house, I think.  While it was comforting in a way, I am not sure if I will read the next book, because it may become too predictable for me, but maybe a child reader will still enjoy it just as much?

I also thought that too many new characters were introduced and I did not really care for most of them, just one had potential to me because this person may establish more permanent connection to one of the characters I already liked ;-).

Grade: B

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I have deployed Neo4j version 5.12.0 on Kubernetes using helm charts in an EC2 server. In neo4j desktop (V 1.5.9) I have created a remote database connection. How to enable all apoc related plugins in the YAML file?

when I run a particular cypher query I'm facing this error:

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In this hilarious and joyous rom com, sparks fly when a piano genius and a Hollywood heartthrob are thrown together for a charity performance of solos, heartfelt duets, and a big, show-stopping finale.

Quito Cruz might be a genius piano player and composer in New York City now but it doesn’t mean that he’s any closer to his Broadway dream. Although Quito knows what the problem is. Or rather who . Because ever since that night in college—with pretty-boy jock Emmett Aoki—his inspiration has been completely MIA . . .

Now Quito’s dad wants him to put on a charity performance in his hometown. And there’s one hella big string convince Emmett—now one of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities—to perform.

It’s all shaping up to be the biggest musical fiasco of Quito’s life. Especially when Emmett agrees to attend, and Quito realizes that undeniable vibe between them is stronger than ever. Because there’s nothing simple about falling for a movie star . . . even when he’s pitch-perfect.

SPOILERS SPOILERS BIG SPOILER

Review:

Dear Dominic Lim,

Talk about the book which is extremely hard to rate and discuss. So let’s talk about easy things first, I think that classifying this book as romantic comedy will be extremely and I mean *extremely* misleading. Oh there is certainly some humor present, but author in the beginning also warns you about “non consensual sex” for example and I am still confused about that warning, because I am still not sure what I have read when the reason for the warning came up.

I actually really really enjoyed author’s voice, to me it had “cannot put the book down” quality and I indeed finished it in less than two days easily. And one of the reviews ( because yes I went to read the reviews the moment I was finished – I needed to know if anybody else was having the same issues I did said something along the lines that author knows how to invoke feelings and I very much in agreement on that. To me the book did have the sensual feel , note, not erotic there is no on page sex, only some kisses and that bizarre scene, but that scene comes up in our characters confused recollections.

I liked the construction of the narrative , flashbacks do not often work for me, but in this book it worked well, it added tension, because while the author was jumping between now and then timeline, I REALLY wanted to know what happened between two main characters and why after being attached at the hip their last year of high school and being very much in touch during the beginning of their first year of college they did not talk to each other for twenty years.

Well, when we finally get to what happened according to the narrator (Quito is the one who narrates the whole book, so we only see Emmett through his eyes ), he basically raped his friend, because he was really really REALLY attracted and I guess jealous of his girlfriend, but he was drunk, but his friend was not responding at all.

He feels bad SO BAD that for twenty years he could not find it in himself to call and apologize . Remember that is his recollection of the scene. He fluctuates between did Emmett forgive him or forgotten, when they are about to meet, because Quito’s father who works as a music teacher wants them both to come back and help with rehearsing with the kids he teaches for the concert before the father was going to retire.

And they do meet, and wait for it, they finally talk. By the way, talk about miscommunication trope in the extreme man. Apparently Emmett was not drunk or smoked weed that night, he was fully aware and just could not make himself to respond, but Quito was drunk! They kiss YAY? One of them was still drunk though? I don’t know , I feel like the consent issue was so clumsily handled but at least they talked and as I said, writing was very engaged and I really really loved how Quito describes his passion for composing and singing when it is there.

Oh and I cried last few chapters in the book. A lot.

I have no clue how to grade this book.  I guess C+/B-

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The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats on the edge of a huge galactic empire—a glittering, decadent society rife with corruption. Now, one of its victims—Quynh, a scholar betrayed and left for dead—has come back for her revenge, under the guise of the glamorous and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills.

Quynh’s path intersects that of Minh, the daughter of one of her oldest enemies, who chafes at her own lack of freedom; and of Hoà, a near-destitute engineer who poses a threat to all Quynh’s careful plans. Quynh finds herself inexorably attracted to Hoà, even as her plans upend the fragile political equilibrium of the Belt.

Falling in love wasn’t part of Quynh’s plans; but will she be able to grasp this second chance at happiness, or will she cling on to a revenge that may well consume her whole?

A poignant, heartwarming romantic space opera about love, revenge and the weight of the past.

CW – Use of State sanctioned torture is mentioned. One character is emotionally abused by a parent.

Dear Aliette de Bodard, 

I’m going to admit that I will think twice about reading another full length novel in the Xuya Universe you’ve invented. It’s magnificently invented, richly described, and it also gives me a headache trying to understand the background parts of it which are not filled in. Each and every book I’ve read set in it drops the reader straight into the action with little worldbuilding to ground us. I feel as if by this point I should be past all that but no, I’m not. It’s as if I’m being lead through a detailed tour of the luxurious cabins and rooms of the Titanic, introduced to a ton of characters – some of whom have more than one name or title, had the details of their clothes described, been told about the rich food and entertainment provided but nothing is mentioned about the icebergs ahead in the ocean and the fact that there aren’t enough lifeboats on board. You know, the important stuff.

As this is a revenge plot story, I also feel I need to understand and connect with the reason for it. But I never got emotionally involved. Everything felt at arm’s length from me. So many of the things that drove Quynh’s and mindship Guts of Sea’s thirst for revenge happened off page and in the past. Other characters think about these events in brief remembrances or tell them dispassionately and this just didn’t get me invested as much as it should have. Yes, this is a space opera about revenge but it’s still about revenge. I needed blood-pumping emotion but got sketchy clinical details.     

There are a ton of characters. Many have interconnecting relationships. Most apparently have extensive past histories. Since I really didn’t come to care about – well, basically any of the characters, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat seeing the revenge plot carried out. Wait, it goes deeper than not caring about them. I actually disliked most of them. The one I didn’t dislike came across as a saintly drip. I know she was supposed to be the “light in the dark” but she came off one note. The children were just plot moppets. The villains were just evil. When they weren’t sulking, the teens were mouthpieces for high flung orations on the future, loyalty, family, personal growth. The main character seeking revenge started strong and mysterious but as she was fleshed out and “redeemed,” she weakened until by the end she seemed as confused about things as I was. Yes, this is a space opera but I need to care about at least some of the people in it.

At last we get to the culmination of the plot. But the denouement of the payoff of revenge dragged on. The characters trying to bring down the baddies kept letting events slip out of their control. They would let the villain monologue or they would appeal to the villain’s better self one last time and – yep, here it is again – get caught, imprisoned, poisoned, taken down, held captive … whatever. Then to rub salt in the wound, the finale fizzled out. I wouldn’t have minded a few explosions or fist fights or something dramatic. And in the end, what do we get? Things swept under the carpet and promises of change that even the characters don’t truly believe in. 

As for the romance, it didn’t work for me either. It’s insta-love and the relationship never felt real to me. Instead it’s merely a means to manipulate Hoa’s and Quynh’s actions. 

So although I got to be immersed in the intricacies of the social hierarchy of this world (yay, loved this bit!) and read endless details about what characters wore, the tea served, the overlay backgrounds, how well each woman’s top knot was smoothed, and about each character’s bots, I felt emotionally cut off about the reason for the revenge, dissatisfied in the romance, disliked most of the characters, and was disappointed in the satisfaction I should have felt when the book ended. Not a good experience. D 

~Jayne

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Step into a Once Upon a Time where anything is possible . . . Radiya Hafiza’s enchanting and funny debut weaves together three stories, spinning the classic fairytale to show that anyone can be a hero.

‘Rumaysa, Rumaysa, let down your hijab!’

For as long as she can remember Rumaysa has been locked away in her tower, forced to spin straw into gold for the evil Witch, unable to leave. Until one day, after dropping a hijab out of her small tower-window, Rumaysa realizes how she might be able to escape . . .

Join Rumaysa as she adventures through enchanted forests and into dragon’s lairs, discovers her own incredible magical powers and teams up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara!

Rumaysa: A Fairytale is a magically fresh, empowering and funny debut, which retells three classic fairytales – Rapunzel, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty – with beautiful inside illustrations by Rhaida El Touny and cover illustration by Areeba Siddique. Discover more of Rumaysa’s adventures in the enchanting sequel Rumaysa: Ever After.

Dear Ms. Hafiza, 

What a gorgeous cover! I first saw this book about 18 months ago and wanted to request a copy but it was only available as a paperback so I held off. Now it’s being rereleased and will have a digital edition. Yay. The book is split into three stories Rumaysa, Cinderayla, and Sleeping Sara and gives the classic stories of Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty a Muslim, POC twist. 

Rumaysa begins with a husband desperately trying to find work and food for his pregnant wife. At his wits end, he ventures into the garden of a reputed witch. The time comes when the price for his theft must be paid. Fast forward to young Rumaysa who has been held in a t-a-l-l tower her whole life and forced to spin straw into gold for evil Cordelia (let’s throw some Rumplestilskin, and later some Aladin, in while we’re at it). All Rumaysa has are her books and her friend Zabina, an owl Rumaysa can communicate with due to the magical food her mother ate before Rumaysa was born. Rumaysa has tried to escape but the tower is tall, the surrounding forest is filled with thorns, and a poisoned river flows all around it. Then one day Rumaysa has An Idea. A Wonderful Idea. She knows how she can escape but can she manage it in time before the witch takes her to a new prison? 

This is cute. Rumaysa does indeed let down her hijab but not the way I was expecting. Then someone else appears and an exasperated Rumaysa thinks, I waited all this time for some help and now it arrives? Forget any wandering Prince showing up to claim all the credit. This is one young woman who saves herself. One thing I wished to see was more of Rumaysa as a Muslim. She does wear hijab and learned to pray five times a day from one of her books but that’s kind of it. B

Cinderayla is a kind, lovely girl whose mother died young and whose father made a terrible choice for his second marriage before dying in a shipwreck while on business. At that point, stepmother Amelia begins to make Ayla’s life miserable. Her two daughters don’t treat Ayla much better. To celebrate Eid, the King announces a grand ball. Of course Amelia and daughters will go – in new dresses – while Ayla is forbidden to attend despite reworking one of her mother’s old gowns. I was delighted that Ayla expresses her rage at the situation and it’s this that brings her “fairy godmother” into the picture. With a new dress and snazzy gold shoes whose attention does Ayla catch? Why a handsome guy, with whom she debates a famous love story, as well as Amelia. Oops. Ayla and her godmother haul out of there leaving the shoe which the Prince now insists every young woman try on.

Lots of little things added up to a different view of the Cinderella story. We actually see a little bit of Ayla’s mother and Ayla feels some anger at dad for marrying a shrew as well as dying and leaving Ayla in a mess. The godmother is a clever twist which I won’t spoil. I had a feeling – based on their differences of opinion – how things would go when the shoe fits Ayla and the Prince is astonished. The final ending is also a nice change. Oh and the royal guard – is a woman! B

Sleeping Sara is not enchanted due to a fairy but rather because her clueless parents haven’t any idea how to rule their kingdom and are so fearful for their only child that they all hide in the palace. An evil wizard takes advantage of the power vacuum, Sara is lulled into an enchanted sleep and then kidnapped before being saved by two characters who have appeared in the previous stories. Everything ends all hunky dory but frankly I wasn’t convinced. This is definitely the weakest of the tales for me. C

The stories are told using modern language, phrases, and slang. They are feminist retellings along with having Muslim characters of color. I wasn’t ever sure exactly how old the main characters are supposed to be. In Cinderayla she is of an age with her stepsisters who are hopeful of finding husbands at the Eid ball. But in the last story, the MCs are referred to (three times) as children. The changes to the classic versions of the stories are good but I kind of agree with other reviewers who wanted more Muslim. Still as the character arc of one person remains unfinished, I’m looking forward to the follow up book. B/C      

~Jayne

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Some would call River Rydell a “chosen one”: born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky. It’s not like anyone actually believes River can do these things, so the way River sees it, it’s best to just ignore anything Otherwoods-related.

But The Otherwoods won’t be ignored any longer.

When River’s only friend (and crush) Avery is dragged into The Otherwoods, River has no choice but to confront the world they’ve seen only in their nightmares—but reality is more horrifying than they could have ever imagined. With only their cat for protection and a teen spirit as their guide, River must face The Otherwoods and their own fears to become the hero they were (unfortunately) destined to be.

TW – MC is publicly deadnamed at school by a teacher
 

Dear Justine Pucella Winans, 

It was the cover with the cat on it that made me do it. But honestly the blurb lured me in almost as much. But I’m thinking that perhaps I need to be more thoughtful about reading middle grade fantasy books just because there’s a cat on the cover. I liked the beginning, felt the middle was good, but it jumps the rails by the end. 

River Rydell is a Chosen One. They’ve known since a young age that what they can see is different from most people. At first their response to the monsters they see is “NO, NOPE, ABSOLUTELY NOT.” But the monsters and spirits continue to haunt and torment them. Their parents don’t know what to make of their child, numerous counselors and psychiatrists (or is it psychologists) are baffled, and River finally stops telling anyone anything and hugs it all close inside. They did have the courage to come out to their parents as non-binary and change their name but can’t find the courage to stand up to an evil witch teacher who belittles and deadnames them.

But the monsters are getting more prolific, the portals to The Otherwoods are showing up more frequently, and when River finally yields to the temptation of a possible friendship, the monsters strike. River will have to pack a backpack, find their courage, and head into the place they’ve never wanted to go to. Luckily they have Mr. Fluffy Pancakes aka “Pancakes” to help them. 

Well as I said this is a Chosen One / Portal middle grade fantasy. It also takes “the monster under the bed” or “in the closet” to a higher level. River actually has these. But yay that Pancakes is actually a bit more integral to the story than just being on the cover. Pancakes impresses even the spirits and monsters.            

River wondered if they should practice talking more on Pancakes, and then immediately wished they hadn’t had a thought as sad as that one.

I was getting the feeling that River being surrounded by monsters all their life, afraid, and just wanting to stay out of people’s attention was an allegory for growing up queer before  this is flat out confirmed. There are lots of instances of gently hinting at things only to later have these hammered home. Perhaps this is necessary for the grade level at which the book is aimed but it sort of ended up ruining the earlier efforts. 

For most of the book it was hitting all the emotional and plot beats I was expecting. I liked that many people told River that they were brave. I liked that River’s parents – while at times publicly embarrassing River as only a tween-teen can feel – love their child and accept them. River gaining a friend is sweet. Pancakes standing by his person and going along to – in a few cases – save the day was fantastic.   

The Otherwoods however, didn’t wow me. A spirit guide appears right when River arrives. There’s some hand waving about The Otherwoods vs The Elsewhere and which spirit goes where and why. Mysterious messages left for River about their fear being good for the monsters while the monster’s magic is good for River. River can’t understand the message. Okay, they’re twelve but still … There are also moments when River can’t seem to grasp that people will lie to you. Repeat after me, River is twelve, River is twelve and cynical Jayne is much older …   

Then something Really Creepy is revealed and River learns the true reason why The Otherwoods has been after them all their life. Cue much villain monologuing and exposition. After this, all hell breaks loose followed by a deus ex machina before River finally finds their inner magic and saves the day. The Ending is all happy and it appears that River has found inner strength to stand up to bullies, be a friend, and continue to appreciate Pancakes. I wish I had been more overwhelmed by the sum total. It was an average “okay” but yay for the queer and diverse rep plus a great cat. Pancakes bumps it up to a C+

~Jayne 

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The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.

Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass–and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve.

But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate. . .

Dear Nghi Vo, 

I started and finished this novella in one day. As soon as I ended it I thought, I’m not quite sure what that all was but it was brilliant. My book notes state “A story of Singing Hills, young novices, justice, and the way life changes.” 

Cleric Chih is returning home to their abbey of Singing Hills after being gone for three years collecting stories and information to add to the immense archives stored there. As they near home, having made it past the candle ghosts and echo spirits that might or might not haunt the way, they realize things are not going to be what they were expecting. There are mammoths at the gates and not the smaller ones Cleric Chih has seen and been around before. No, these are the giant, royal mammoths that are capable of demolishing a fortress by the count of sixty.

Inside the Abbey are more changes. Most of the archivists and clerics are off doing on-site information gathering elsewhere and Chih’s old friend, who was a novice cleric with them, is the acting Divine. More startling is when Ru tells them that this is what Ru wants to keep doing as due to an injury, they can’t leave to collect stories. Also Cleric Thien, beloved to them both and to the abbey has died. Cleric Thien’s neixin, Myriad Virtues, is grieving, too, while Almost Brilliant is both proud to show off her daughter and hectoring Cleric Chih about what’s going on. There are lots of swirling emotions even before the need to keep the peace with Cleric Thien’s granddaughters who have come, along with their immense mammoths, to claim the body.

After hearing about the Singing Hills abbey through the earlier three novellas, it’s nice to finally “see” it. I would advise new readers to go back and inhale the first novellas before starting here as we are dropped into the action with bits and pieces of backstory about Cleric Chih, Almost Brilliant, and the mission of the abbey. 

There is so much story packed into the short number of pages here and yet, all that needs to be there is there. Names and places are casually dropped into the narrative without much more being said but what is told is all we need to know. I could see a thousand different novellas being spun off of what is mentioned but as this novella is not about those stories, I’m fine with how things are handled. 

As with the other novellas, storytelling is at the heart of what happens. At the remembrance ceremony for Cleric Thien, those left at the abbey and the granddaughters plus their attendants, gather to tell something about Cleric Thien with the neixin listening in to commit it all to memory. New facets of Thein are revealed before a story busts up the event – but only after giving a glimpse of why the granddaughters are really here. Myriad Virtues tells her own story after most everyone has left. 

Change is also a major part of the story. Chih has returned thinking that everything will be the same. Many things are, which is comforting, but not everything. New realities must be navigated and accepted. Life is change, after all. In the end, a new normal is coming into being while a pathway to maintaining good relations with those who command massive mammoths is found. Justice will be done and a grieving neixin will find some peace. A

~Jayne    

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A body falls from a town house window in Harlem, and it looks just like the newest singer at the Apollo…in this evocative, twisting new novel from the author of Miss Aldridge Regrets.

Harlem, 1936: Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining.

Will’s friends welcome her with open arms, but just as Lena discovers the stories her father once told her were missing giant pieces of information, she also starts to realize the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And they might just place a target on her back. Especially when she is drawn to the brightest stage in town.

CW – excessive drinking, smoking, mention of past domestic violence, abortion

There are spoilers for “Miss Aldridge Regrets” in this book.

Dear Ms. Hare,

Last year’s book, “Miss Aldridge Regrets,” had some dangerous and twisty turns along with family secrets. I think people who haven’t read that book could read this one with a bit of effort to come up to speed with what has happened to Lena so far BUT, fair warning, eventually most of the twisty turns would be revealed.

(In the first book) Lena grabbed the chance to escape her less than fantastic life in London. Her beloved father, who came to the UK from NYC) was dead from TB and her bestie Maggie was a new widow of a terrible man. On the passage over to NYC, Lena met a pianist who challenged her to sing one evening with his band. Lena knew that Will had realized that she is mixed race. When the ship docked, much more than Lena realizing that the promised job didn’t exist has occurred. (Now) With no job to support her, Will cajoles Lena into staying an extra two weeks – the length of another crossing and return of the Queen Mary – to explore the city. Lena also wants to try and discover anything about her father that she can.

A married couple, friends of Will’s from childhood, happily agree to put Lena up. It seems that most of Harlem knows Will and are interested if not happy that he’s staying a while. Lena meets Will’s step-sister and it’s soon clear that they have had “issues.” Bel’s got a rocky history and a string of bad decisions behind her but perhaps this time things will be different. That is until someone falls out of a third story window at a party with several possible suspects who might want that victim out of the way.

Despite the morally ambiguous characters in the first book, when I finished this one I realized that I liked the first book a bit better. It felt as if it had more heft and immediate impact on Lena. After all, there was a murder running loose on the ship and she could have become a victim. Here Lena was trying to dig up information on her father – which often took a backseat to what was going on in Will and his friend’s and his sister’s lives. The reader gets bits and pieces of what happened in 1909 via the dual-timeline sections and I had pretty much put together what happened by the time All Was Revealed though the icky twist at the end darkened the story some more. Lena learns that when you go digging into the past, you need to be prepared for what you find.

The identity of the falling victim was hidden for most of the book and there was a plethora of possible people it could be. I was pretty sure it wasn’t one person but as the book progressed, I had a good idea of who it was. But why and how had this person ended up on the pavement three stories down kept me reading. Lena met a lot of people in Harlem during her two week stay. Most had known, or known of, each other since childhood. There were lots of eddies and swirling emotions. Frankly some of it got boring. How many women were going to glare at Lena and make overtures at Will before the end of the book?

Lena was also undecided about whether or not she intended to stay or sail back home. Was her new and still tentative relationship with Will enough to keep her in New York City? I’m sorry to say that I never felt on pins and needles about how this would end. And though a few things were mentioned by Lena about how different NYC was from London, I also didn’t get much of a “fish out of water” feel for most of the book. When the truth about what occurred at the party was uncovered, my reaction was “Huh. That was … unexpected” and the aftermath disturbing. I get the feeling that there will be a third book and I’ll probably eventually want to read it if only to see what happens to Lena next but I’m not sure I’ll be in a rush about it. C

~Jayne

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A queer epic fantasy full of bandits, heroes, and revolution, inspired by the Chinese classic Water Margin; She Who Became the Sun meets The Dirty Dozen

n the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

Author’s Note on Potentially Disturbing Content

This book is a genderspun retelling of the Chinese classic novel Water Margin, in which antiheroic bandits rise up against a tyrannical government on behalf of the people. I’ve reimagined it as a melding of epic fantasy and wuxia, an action-packed battle against patriarchy that’s rife with indecorous women and fantastical sword fights.

In that context, this story is intentionally, gloriously violent—mostly in a cinematic style (based on the wuxia genre—think Chinese martial arts films). However, you’ll also find a few scenes of torture, the occasional extremity such as cannibalism, and one attempted sexual assault. The background society, in its regression and misogyny, also holds a number of values as normal that may disturb a modern reader.

That said, I hope this is primarily a joyous, toothy escapist adventure, one in which a group made up almost entirely of women and queer folk—who are in equal parts devastating, powerful, righteous, and terrible—stand up as self-proclaimed heroes to tear the world asunder.

—S. L. Huang

Dear. Ms. Huang, 

After reading “Burning Roses” a number of years ago, I’ve wanted to read something else by you and when I saw this cover I got all excited and downloaded the arc. It’s like a Chinese genderqueer (violent) Robin Hood but with (mostly) female bandits and outlaws who want to stick it to the Man while dispensing justice for the poor and downtrodden and having fun doing it. Wuxia! Fantasy! Female martial arts fighters! While I appreciate the character list at the front of the book, I found it unnecessary as there isn’t a character-dump all at once. The gradual introduction made it easy for me to keep everyone in my head.

At its heart this is good vs evil. In Song Dynasty China Lin Chong has managed to carve out a pretty good life for herself despite her poor childhood and lack of family connections.. But it comes crashing down when a drunken pissant piece of shit tries to rape her. Since that drunk is the friend of the Emperor, even the intervention of her highly born friend Lady Lu Junyi, can only mitigate the sentence. If Lin Chong pleads guilty (to something she didn’t do) and is lashed then tattooed as a criminal, she will be allowed to stagger to a distant work camp. Along the way she overhears that the pissant has bribed her guards to kill her. Without the help of Lu Da (a tall, broad woman you don’t mess with) who kills one of the guards and maims the other, Lin Chong would be dead. Now she’s an outlaw. 

In the mountain camp of Liangshan live the outcasts, outlaws, rebels, and thieves who have either run from civilization or been driven from it. Some of them are not nice people and Lin Chong is at first shocked to be among them but she also realizes she has nowhere else to go. There’s an “all for one, and one for all” feeling and ethos. Some of the leaders tempt Lin Chong by explaining that yes, a lot of the people here have done bad things but under their rule, these people will do bad things for the good of the empire. Right.

The other half of the story hammers home the fact that (close to) absolute power corrupts absolutely. An evil Chancellor wants Lady Lu to assist with a project he has. No really, she has no choice. There are things called “god’s teeth” in this world which, if handled correctly, allow the owner (and the teeth know who properly owns them and who doesn’t – Woe to those who try and make a grab for one) the powers taken from the world when gods and dragons disappeared centuries ago. Think mind-bending wuxia and self/world/past, present, and future awareness. Lady Lu is an intellectual and even if the calm Chancellor didn’t threaten her, everyone she knows and loves plus everyone else who is working on the project with ugly death, she’d be intrigued enough to want to study the problem. Yes, the Chancellor wants new and improved god’s teeth (Lady Lu and her staff quickly begin calling them “fangs”) and he wants them yesterday. 

Of course these two halves are destined to finally clash. The road there is ugly at times, funny at others, and sprinkled with heartbreak. The powers and people that are going to slam together are epic. Remembering that Chinese stories often end tragically, I was braced for what might happen. The battle is scrappy underdog vs powerful government. People willing to die gloriously to the last person but who are determined to take as many of their foes with them as possible. You get better heroic songs written about you that way. It comes complete with a rousing “speech to the troops,” close calls, and tragic deaths. There are winners and losers. I’m not going to say more than that. 

I managed to suck this 488 page book down in three days. I cheered and sighed but I refrained from peeking at the end. I’m mostly happy with the way the story ended but the epilogue was way too long. Readers who want to tackle the book, carefully read the author’s note that I copied out above. There are some disturbing elements in the story. But if you’re looking for an epic standalone fantasy set in historical China with all kinds of diversity and inclusion, this one kicks ass. B+        

~Jayne

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From the author of the international bestseller The German Heiress, a gripping historical drama about a woman determined to avenge the crimes against her family, set at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.

Vengeance is in the family, and the family is a bond like no other…

It’s the worst year of the Great Depression, and America needs all the hope it can get. The Chicago World’s Fair, a glittery city-within-a-city, becomes a symbol of the good that’s yet to come. But every utopia has a seedy side—and that’s Rosa Mancuso’s world. As the mysterious Madame Mystique she mixes magic with a dose of bare skin burlesque, bringing customers to the home of the Fair’s carnival rides and spectacles.

Rosa doesn’t perform for fame, though. She has come from Mussolini’s Italy to America, where she’s plotting her revenge for the murders of her family. The perpetrator will soon arrive at the World’s Fair via a celebrated Italian air fleet, and Rosa is determined to be prepared.

But when her estranged cousin, Mina, comes to her desperate for help, with a dangerous mobster close on her heels, Rosa agrees to protect Mina and her new baby, born across the color line. With the clock ticking, Rosa decides the only way to survive is to make vengeance a family affair and prompt everyone to, at last, confront the sins from their pasts.

A gripping story of retribution, belonging, and survival, Sinners of Starlight City boldly explores the complexity of identities straddling ethnic lines and asks, who gets to decide who we are and where we belong?

Dear Ms. Scott, 

This is one riveting book. I inhaled it in long gulps and only came up for air when needs must, food beckoned, or my cats meowed loudly to be fed. It’s a type of story I love – when I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen next. 

The blurb pretty much lays out the bare bones but you added the flesh and blood, the sinew and muscle. When things kicked off, I was a little bewildered. Separate threads are started and only slowly woven together. Information is carefully doled out but – yay – the dreaded info dumping was avoided. Readers need to just sit patiently and let things unfold as needed. 

I’ll be honest and say that I had doubts about most of the characters along the way. Some are not nice and some are horrible. Some do terrible things while others know the truth about that and are content to accept this or look the other way. Only a very few come through to the end with flying colors. Why are so many awful things planned and done? Revenge in some cases. Power and control in others. La familia and honor are everything. Or nearly everything. 

Rosa endured snubs and then loss after loss. As a mixed race child she knew the love of parents only to lose them.  As a teen she had to flee for her life and then rebuild it before realizing that she could take revenge on the one responsible. Danny had to fight against parental abuse and grew up to be a man who “fixed” problems by whatever means. Tino and Sal Gallo … well, thugs will be thugs. Paolo’s actions can be laid at the feet of the facism sweeping Italy. 

I enjoyed how strong the women are in the book. Rosa, Mina who won’t give in to her family’s demands, Fiammeta, who survived that terrible night along with Rosa, and the other women of the Oriental Fair who are seen as misfits by society but who stick together to face that. The other “found family” members are given their dignity and courage and allowed to stand up against the abuse and demands made on Rosa and Mina. The world at large might view these people as outcasts but together they are a family.    

But how was it going to end? Could things be pulled off? Would Rosa get her revenge and Mina get her baby? Was Danny all bad? Would Rosa’s uncles uphold family honor? I was on the edge of my seat. When the blood congealed and the dust settled, I was satisfied. It wasn’t pretty but it all worked. So (mostly) morally gray and morally black characters in an intricate revenge plot set against a glimmering 1930s World’s Fair that was supposed to uplift people during a time of economic depression for the win. B+    

~Jayne

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