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sashahc's reviews
189 reviews

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

One of the other things I did last week was re-read all of Katherine Addison's #book s in the Goblin Emperor world (Together called "The Chronicles of Osreth").  These are "Goblin Emperor," "Witness for the Dead," and "The Grief of Stones."  I really really really like these books.  They are more vibe than plot, but the main characters are so engaging and have such rich inner lives, and the world building is fantastic.  The first centers an unlikely young emperor who is dropped head first into court politics.  The second and third are intertwined murder mysteries solved by a queer depressed cleric who can hear the dead.  It was great to read them one after another because the lead right into each other.  Highly rec'd.
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Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Just finished “Proper Scoundrels” by Allie Therin.   It’s a 1920’s paranormal queer mystery-romance taking place in England and Paris.  Sweet very sunshine one / very grumpy one relationship.  Good world building.  So fluff.  Very NSFW.  If you’re in the mood for that, it’s just the.

Side note that it’s a spin-off from her previous series, but you’ll get the gist without reading the others.
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love that the current renaissance of queer Jewish fantasy is delving into the rich history of Yiddish folklore. It's full of supernatural beings who are themselves Jewish and who have their own hierarchies and quirks.

“When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sacha Mankins (writing as Sacha Lamb) is about Uriel and Little Ash, an angel and a demon, who are Torah study partners, bickering cheerfully in the corner of the shul of their tiny shtetl in the Pale of Settlement for hundreds of years.  Unfortunately, the shtetl is collapsing in the wake of pogroms and mass migration to the New World. When one of their young emigrants goes missing, they decide to travel to New York, specifically the Lower East Side, where they get caught up with human traffickers, striking garment workers, and vengeful dybbuks.  There are rebbes and bubbes and plucky gay girls making their own way.  It’s funny and sweet and very queer and very very Jewish.  I also love how there is other rep shown in ways that deepen the story.  Little Ash has chronic pain from his rooster feet.  Uriel's pronoun is "it."  And the romance between them is deep and also ace.  
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The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I just read “The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers” by Adam Sass.  Cute YA queer high school romance about artists and social media and summertime and fame and class in Chicago.  Zero homophobia and lots of supportive friends and family.  SO MUCH teenage angst and opportunities for growth.  A good #book for the young gays in your life.
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Blood Like Magic” by Liselle Sambury is both near future Sci Fi and Urban Fantasy YA.  Voya is a hereditary witch from a Trinidadian family living in Toronto in the year 2049.  It is a time of ubiquitous genetic manipulation and ever increasing social stratification.  Voya is given her magical coming-of-age task from an enslaved ancestor: she has one month to destroy her first love or she will destroy her family.  It’s full of the difficulties of being in two cultures and a complicated and sometimes stifling family.  There is a lot of self examination on what being “good” means and how to stay true to oneself while knowing what you owe to the ones you love and to your legacy. There are also thrills and mysteries and conspiracies, a trans love interest, and lots of queer folks.  Also also, some mouthwatering food descriptions.
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Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"Galaxy: The Prettiest Star" is a DC superhero graphic novel written by Jadzia Axelrod  with art by Jess Taylor.  Taylor Barzelay seems like a normal teenage boy here on Earth.  But ACTUALLY, she is an alien princess named Galaxy Crowned who is in hiding due to a galactic war.  Frustrated by the limitations her family imposes, when she meets Kat, a new classmate from Metropolis, she no longer wants to hide, even if it puts her and her family in danger.  It also features a guard corgi, beautiful retrofuturisic art, and a very fun script.  It's also a queer queer queer comic.
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I just finished “A Strange and Stubborn Endurance” by Foz Meadows.  It features an arranged political marriage of husbands, one from a homophobic society and one from a progressive one.  There is light magic and deep court intrigue.  Both characters, while awkward in their own ways, are competent and interesting.  The developing relationship is sweetly written and does NOT feature the kind of ham fisted misunderstandings that make me roll my eyes.  I was very sad that the second in the series won’t be out for nearly a YEAR.
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Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Lose You to Find Me” by Erik J Brown is structured like a contemporary queer YA romance, but it’s much more about growing into one’s self and realizing what we deserve and owe each other.  Tommy works in the restaurant of a retirement community and has a second chance with the first boy he ever crushed on.  In the meantime, he and the great cast of friends have to figure out their futures and what they want from life.  It’s sweet and funny and much more nuanced than this type of #book usually is.  Lovely bit of comfort fluff.
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Today is Taylor Kay Mejía’s YA “We Set The Dark on Fire.”  Dani’s parents forged her identification papers to send her to an exclusive school training wives for Medio’s elite.  After graduating as one of the two wives of the assumed next president, she is immediately and unwillingly conscripted as a spy by a resistance organization that intends to bring down the government however it can.  This threatens to upend the life she’s fought for and that her family is relying on.  It’s got thriller spy vibes, deeply abolitionist and anti-border roots, tarot cards, and enemies-to-lovers queer longing. 
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 "Fireheart Tiger" by Aliette de Bodard is a powerful fantasy novella in Vietnamese inspired setting.   Princess Thanh returns to her mother's court after being a hostage in another land.  Now a diplomat, she must face her first love as an adult and representative of her country.  Court Politics!  Sapphic Romance!  Colonialism!  It's evocative and lush.  It's about abuse, its ripples, and healing from it.  It's also about taking control of one's own destiny and power.  It's not a cozy, but it's intimate and introspective.