Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
CRB Bingo Square “I”. When you know a book has a big huge twist in it, do you try to figure out what it is? I had read that there’s a big twist at the end of Chloe Gong’s Immortal Longings, and even though the book did a good job of setting it up, I was very surprised. So then I thought about what kind of reader I am in general, and I would say I tend to just read and let the plot wash […]
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
When magical seamstress Niamh is contracted to make the wedding clothes for a royal wedding, she’s determined to make her name and her fortune. But never in her wildest dreams does she think it’ll lead to political unrest, blackmail, and a romance with the groom – the prince of Avaland. Disclaimer: This book and I may not have been a great match, because the leads are both people-pleasers of the first water, and I am a very self-pleasing person who enjoys saying the word ‘no’ […]
The Elegant Courtly Life of the Tea Witch vol. 1 by Ameko Kaeruda, Yorifuji
By the cover and title, The Elegant Courtly Life of the Tea Witch looks like a mildly entertaining cozy fantasy. Remy is a tea witch, meaning she can magically make perfect tea, which o the one hand is enough that she gets to work in the royal palace, but on the other hand classifies her as basically a servant. Remy seems a little lazy and not minding this, but as you might guess, there’s more to her and her situation (mostly just hints in volume […]
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Spellshop is not really a cozy romantasy as it has been sold; it is actually a Hallmark movie trying to disguise itself as romantasy. The premise: a young woman flees the city and her big city career to escape a bad thing, moves back to her very rural hometown, meets an annoyingly helpful and cute neighbor, starts a jam-making business. Along for the ride is the sassy sidekick bestie, and a variety of locals, nearly all of whom love her after some initial hesitation, […]
Longshadow by Olivia Atwater
The third novel in Atwater’s regency faerie tale trilogy is a sweet and sapphic delight perfect for Pride. We had first met young Abigail in the novel Half A Soul– she is the adopted daughter of the Lord Sorcier Elias Wilder and his wife Theodora. The workhouse child has now grown into a mostly proper young lady who just wants to use her unusual magic. She sees the perfect opportunity to investigate the sudden deaths of several of her aristocratic peers. The most likely suspect […]
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler
When the narrator/protagonist sounds like a Gen Alpha who has the personality and humor of a 13-year old who is totally hormone driven but also still thinks farts are funny, and you sympathize with the big bad who calls them deeply irritating, there might be a little issue. Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me has a few good characters, but Davi isn’t really one of them. Yes, she’s got real reasons for having deep issues, but if she’s supposed to be in a […]
