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ladyloveandjustice · 3 months

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My Favorite Books I Read in 2023

I read a ton of good novels last year- 36 in all (and uh, 78 manga/graphic novels, but we'll examine that in another post). Here's a link to my Goodreads year in books (the manga is at the beginning, the novels start with Siren Queen) and my storygraph wrap up.

I reread a ton of Discworld this year, and it's as spectacular as ever. But what about new reads?

Well, here are my favorite books I read in 2023!

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is an autobiographical memoir about the abusive relationship the author went through with her ex-girlfriend. It's absolutely gut-wrenching, and at times, achingly beautiful. Machado uses the house she shared with her girlfriend, which she calls the "dream house", as a back drop. It's a place she always wanted and also a place she became trapped in, Machado's language is beautiful as she explores the relationship from different lenses-- The Dream House as Lesbian Cult Classic, the Dream House as Noir, the Dream House as Creature Feature, the Dream House as Stoner Comedy....All facets of the relationship are explored in a way that grips you by the throat and makes you remember everyone who ever tried to suffocate you-- but it also explores the hard work of moving on, of picking up the pieces, of living and embracing tenderness along with hardship.

I especially related to Machado's struggle to talk about abuse between queer lovers because of her fears of giving homophobes more ammunition...and when she says "we deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity", I felt that deeply.

This wasn't just one of my favorite books this year, it goes on the list of all-time favorite books. I wish I had this kind of writing style. I'll be returning to this again and again.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

A middle-grade novel about a Chinese-American teen who feels a bit alienated from his heritage, which becomes a bit of an issue once he finds out the First Emperor of China has possessed his A.R. Gaming Headset. Now he needs to close a portal to the underworld with the help of other kids possessed by emporers.

This was a whole lot of fun, and often quite poignant. I was unsure if I could really enjoy middle-grade books as an adult, and this absolutely proves I can. There's a lot of really interesting Chinese history blended with action-packed fantasy, and exploration of the complicated feelings a kid can have about their own heritage . The dynamic between Zachary and Qin Shi Huang was so entertaining with the Emperor being villainous, heroic, charismatic, detestable-- and Zachary realizing how his complicated feelings about him mirror his relationship with his culture at large. There was also a lot of fun with other historical figures, and Xiran's take on Wu Zetian is a joy. (Also, if you like Yu-Gi-Oh!, you'll probably like this, since Xiran says it was one of their influences).

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Rose is young woman who's raised in a fundamentalist Christian household, and she's a devout, obedient daughter. But some weird things are happening. She's seeing a terrifying demon everywhere, insects are coming out of her mouth....and she's possibly having feelings about other girls. What's going on?

Yes, this is by the Chuck Tingle who makes all those Tinglers. But THIS one... will make you tingle with fear! It's a great horror novel! It's skin-crawlingly creepy at times, but also does a great job digging into how fundamentalist dogma harms queer people, and the hypocrisy of such beliefs. The conversion camp aspect is handled tastefully, and overall it was a great spooky read that's also ultimately very affirming, cathartic, and hopeful.

Qualia the Purple by Hisamitsu Ueo

You might go into this thinking it's just a quirky yuri light novel about a schoolgirl and her crush who sees everyone around her as robots (like literally, when she looks at someone she sees a robot instead of a human). But it quickly becomes surreal queer psychological horror steeped in absolutely wild applications of quantum mechanics and thought-provoking time travel. Some of the quantum mechanics exposition dumps were a bit much but I deeply enjoyed having my mind cracked open by this book.

It's one of the most interesting takes of time loop stories I've seen. But it definitely covers a lot of rough subject matter, including a relationship with a serious age gap and extremely messed up relationships, so be cautious if you have triggers.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

This book follows Miri, whose wife goes missing on a deep-sea submarine mission for six months. Miri thought her wife dead, but she miraculously returns one day...but her wife has changed. She's like a stranger. She may have bought the horrors of the sea home with her.

This is a gripping exploration of grief and loss combined with a delicious, slow horror that creeps under your skin. There's excellent Lovecraftian and body horror elements to the novel, but it works very effectively as a metaphor for a loved one going through trauma, and a relationship starting to crumble because everything seems different. A moment that really stuck out to me is when Miri copes with her wife's disappearance by frequenting an online community where women roleplay as wives with husbands missing in space. The way the online drama of the community interacted with her grief was both funny and heartbreaking.

This is another example of a book that makes me deeply jealous with its lyrical writing, and another one for the ever-lengthening all time favorites list.

Otherside Picnic Volume 8: Accomplices No More by Iori Miyazawa

The latest entry in a series about two girls exploring an alternate dimension full of creepypasta monsters, while also falling in love with each other. See my other reviews here and here.

This volume has the payoff to a lot of careful character work and relationship building, and it was completely satisfying. In fact, it was...show-stopping. Spectacular. Incredible. I loved the exploration of how love, sex, and romance are so different for different people and it's impossible to put it in neat boxes. The frank and messy conversation our leads have about their relationship was perfect and so was that absolutely bonkers, wonderful finale. This is another one for the all times favorite list, and I loved it so much I wrote a extremely long review/recap here.

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer

This was a well-researched, well-crafted, easy to read book that explores queerness (mainly homosexuality, bisexuality, trans and genderfluid expressions in animals, and even the question of if and how animals can related to gender) in the animal kingdom. Though it's definitely aimed at teens, I learned a lot from it (who knew female bonobos were such life goals) and it presented its information in a fun way. It included some interesting examinations of how proof of homosexuality and bisexuality in animals was historically suppressed and filtered through homophobic assumptions. If you want to learn a little animal science in an accessible format, definitely check this out.

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin

The story follows Mia, a woman in her 20's living with her vampire mother. Her whole life revolves around not drawing suspicion towards her Mom. She also has to make sure to feed her Mom some of her blood every night--lest her mother fall back in with her abusive boyfriend and start hunting humans. But when Mia meets a cute girl, she starts to dream of living her own life...

It was a really interesting use of vampirism as a metaphor for both living with a parent struggling with addiction and having an abusive parent. It's just a well-told, heartwrenching tale that got deep into the character's mindsets. I thought the ending was bit abrupt and rushed, but it did make more sense once I realized this was the first in a duology. It's a fascinating take on vampires, and I'm interested in seeing more.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

This novel follows a middle-aged Muslim female pirate living around the Arabian Peninsula. She's supposed to be in retirement, but wouldn't you know it, she's lured in for one last job! I she rescues a kidnapped girl, she'll have all the riches she needs to set her family up for life. So Amina begins her adventure of fighting demons and monsters and ex-husbands. But the job might not be all it seems.

This novel is full of all the entertaining swashbuckling action and shenanigans that any pirate story should have. It's a rollicking good time, and feeds my craving for middle aged women going on quests and kicking ass. Amina's journey is a fun, wild ride full of dynamic characters and interesting mythology!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Juniper is friends with a successful Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, and has always been deeply jealous of her. When Athena dies in front of her, Juniper decides to steal her manuscript rooted in Chinese history and claim it as her own. But plagiarism might catch up with her...

This is a strong example of a book I thought was really well-done, but one I'm probably never going to read again. The way it depicted Twitter drama is just too accurate and I got anxiety. It did such a good job putting you in Juniper's awful shoes so you can feel the pressure close in along with her. The book's commentary on the insidious racism of the publishing industry was effective, and it made a horrible character's journey fascinating to follow. I was so intrigued yet anxious I had to force myself to finish the last few pages.

Bonus read:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldtree

A very cute novel about an orc named Viv who decides to retire from the violent life of a bounty hunter and run a coffee shop instead. She ends up getting a lot of assistance from a succubus named Tandri...and my, is that a slow-burn coffee shop romance brewing? This book reminds me a lot of various cozy slice-of-life anime, and it's nice to be getting more of that feeling in book form. I wish there was a little more specific to the fantasy world rather than making it a coffee shop that line up 1 to 1 to a modern day shop, but it was definitely a sweet read.

#year in books #my reviews #our wives under the sea #in the dream house #zachary ying and the dragon emperor #camp damascus #qualia the purple #otherside picnic #queer ducks #night's edge #legends and lattes #the adventures of amina al sirafi #books #queer lit #yellowface #r.f. kuang #xiran jay zhao #carmen maria machado

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drdemonprince · 4 months

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I read Anna Biller's (director, writer, set designer, and basically everything-er of The Love Witch) new novel Bluebeard's Castle. And I really found it to be quite the addictive and enchanting read, though all of the criticisms of the book that you'll see on Goodreads and Amazon are completely legitimate.

The book very much does read like a screenplay -- there are long descriptions of interior design and costumes, sometimes positioned in the middle of a scene in ways that break up the emotional momentum, to a hilarious effect. For example, in one sequence the protagonist is considering a gruesome vision of suicide, and then looks in the mirror to admire her hobble skirt and reflect that she's looking very sexy.

Some of The Love Witch's less charitable viewers didn't understand the way Biller's work sweeps from the grand and romantic to the self-involved and frivolous, but it's clearly intentional, and it works on the page for me just as well as it did on the screen. You just have to have the irreverent, glamorous toxic girl sensibility for it. If you love the way Lana Del Rey mixes the high and low brows, the tragic with the prosaic, you'll lap it up here too.

In some cases, Biller's descriptions do feel like placeholders, or are so generically written that it would make perfect sense in a script (because there is an entire team working on the film that can bring a "sexy" dress or a "lovely" piece of furniture to life), but which falls flat here. Because I know Biller's aesthetic style so well, when she tells me that room is sumptuous or well-appointed, I can picture precisely what she means, and most of the time she is so specific with her descriptions of outfits and accessories that you can easily conjure what she's going for. At some random moments, though, things are underwritten and demand that you as the reader fill in the details she normally provides.

Bluebeard's Castle is the story of a contemporary romance novelist and converted Catholic virgin, Judith, who falls under the seductive spell of an aloof, gruff, emotionally volatile Baron's-son, Gavin, who sweeps her off her feet following a fated encounter at a wedding. After a whirlwind romance and a hasty wedding, Biller's protagonist moves into a remodeled castle with her brooding lover, and the cracks in his shining armor begin to show. The charm of the love interest is something of an informed attribute; you have to believe the narrator that he is handsome and dracula-like (or believe that she believes it) in order to allow the story to move along. Since this is a tragedy rather than a romance novel, I think that buy-in is relatively easy to provide. The sex scenes are largely left to the margins as well; this book isn't meant to titilate but rather pull you into Judith's rich, sad, delusional inner world.

Some of the most positive reviews of Bluebeard's Castle describe this as a novel about how and why women find themselves entrapped within abusive relationships. As someone who has been in abusive relationships, I think this truly is where Biller's writing excels -- and she truly gets what it's like to become romantically and sexually addicted to someone who is bad for you to a degree that is almost embarrassing to see oneself reflected in. She truly gets it -- the way you excuse small violations, blot out any consideration of your own consent, justify unexpected outbursts from your partner and then take steps to prevent them, the way you must romanticize every single tender moment, rewrite the gradual conditioning of your own behavior as yourself becoming a canny, subtle manipulator of the situation, and color in between the lines of a truly unfulfilling existence with grand narratives and self-serving lies.

It's not a pretty portrait -- Bluebeard's Judith has a fanciful, inconsistent mind, constantly swapping between admitting to herself that her husband has mistreated her, and seeking refuge in religion, fantasy, alcohol, sex, and self-negation in order to convince herself that such abuses did not really happen, or don't really matter. She also uses other people -- leaning on her sister and a former romantic interest, the respectful, reliable doctor Tony -- extracting as much attention and support from them as she possibly can when she and Gavin are in a rough patch, then abandoning them entirely the moment he returns to her. I think a reader who hasn't been in an extended abusive relationship will probably find Judith infuriating and unsympathetic. But as someone who has done and been all of these things, I feel incredibly exposed by Biller's narrative, in a bracing way. It's like a shot of cold water to the face.

Many people will justifiably write this book off as melodramatic and arch, but I think it perfectly nails the alluring drama of being wrapped up within a terrible relationship dynamic. When you're being abused and you deeply love your abuser, you are absolutely fascinated by their unpredictable emotions and your own love -- you think constantly about how you might elicit the treatment from them that your heart longs for, you're reading into their every gesture and expression all the time, and you're inventing satisfying explanations for your situation in your head all the time. It's an isolated, deluded life, but it's pleasurably intense too sometimes, and those of us who fall prey to it often have some deeper longing for connection and passion that makes us easier to prey on. Biller really understands that.

If you adored The Love Witch, you'll probably have a lot of patience for this book's flaws and feel appropriately targeted by its strengths. Sad girls, Virgin Suicides fans, BPD baddies, Jane Eyre lovers, grown up former Twilight readers, and all kinds of other pitiful glamorous freaks will enjoy it.

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labcoatsaresexy · 1 year

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“Only one may climb back out of Hell...”

Covers for starbrigid’s phenomenal Mirror of Eurydice series. The styling is based on on the covers for some of the books on Goodreads, whose creator I was unable to find, but that specific styling was missing for a bunch of the books and so I created them all from scratch using ~*dark magic*~ (a combination of Canva and GIMP). As always, I make these because the Calibre auto-generated covers are fugly and i need better for my kobo, but I post them so other people can enjoy :)

Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue

Draco Malfoy and the Heir of Slytherin

Draco Malfoy and the House of Black

Draco Malfoy and the Wheel of Hecate

Draco Malfoy and the Talon Brand

Draco Black and the Prisoner of Nurmengard

Draco Black and the Bastard Dragon

Lavvic (/Thin) and Amsterdam Four are the fonts, images are taken from Canva libraries, Wikimedia Commons, creative commons google images, and heavily modified HP wiki files. Remember, fuck joanne and fuck terfs.

#fancover #drarry #hp fandom #mirror of ecidyrue #starbrigid #draco malfoy #harry potter #fanart #art #draco malfoy and the mirror of ecidyrue #MoE #did i purposefully mess up the order because I like my cover for 6 more than my cover for 7?#perhaps...#thinking of just making a cover blog lol #mycovers

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haveyoureadthistransbook · 27 days

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Through Verdant Mirrors by Ela Bambust

goodreads

Cinero, born in a body that isn't his and orphan of a war he barely remembers, is sent out to find a handsome, sleeping Prince. Everything seems to be going well until he actually succeeds. An ancient evil awakens but maybe more importantly, so is an exceedingly helpful dryad named Aesling, who takes up residence in his — her?! — head and immediately offers some well-needed physical changes to the repressed Cinero. Now going by Vera, with a body that fits her much better, and with the help of the Prince and the dryad, this young trans girl has to find her friends, stop the evil, and try to figure out how two people living in one body can both be in love with the same person.

Mod opinion: I haven't read this fantasy novel yet, but I've enjoyed other work by the author so I hopefully will get around to it at some point.

#ela bambust #through verdant mirrors #polls #trans books #trans lit #trans literature #lgbt books #lgbt lit #lgbt literature #fantasy #trans woman #own voices

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blurrypetals · 4 months

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros - blurrypetals review

originally posted jan. 3, 2023 - ★★★★★

It's a new year, a new Audible subscription for the first time since 2021, and we're kicking the year off with the sequel to one of the biggest books of the moment because why not! I'm feeling extra adventurous and romantic for 2024 with my wedding approaching in 2024 and I think this set the tone nicely!

As I mentioned in my review for Fourth Wing, dragons are usually not For Me, but this series borrows so much from other books I love that it doesn't really matter that this one thing isn't specifically for Sara because almost everything else might as well have my name all over it.

I did forget to mention in my review for the previous book, by the way, how much I appreciate that the series everyone is talking about right now has a disabled main character! One with a significant mobility aid, to boot (meaning the saddle she uses to be able to ride Tairn). As someone with a somewhat comparable disability to Violet's (fibromyalgia) it is such a breath of fresh air to have good disability rep for a character who doesn't need curing, doesn't need changing, just has EDS (probably) and needs extra wraps and a saddle to help her kick ass.

As with book one, Yarros does an excellent job at wrapping the reader up in the world, making us feel for Violet and her friends and understand what they are facing and going through with very little effort on her part. Things slide into place very well and I never found myself lost or confused with any of the higher fantasy elements, which is something I oft struggle with.

This all said, I know what book has made it to the top of my anticipated reads among the next Shadowhunter Chronicles installments. I absolutely believe the hype. Until next time!

#iron flame #fourth wing #the empyrean #rebecca yarros #2024 #blurrypetals #goodreads mirror

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anolis3 · 1 month

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"A Winter's Promise", by Christelle Dabos.

"Going through the mirrors requires confronting yourself. You need guts, you know, to look yourself straight in the eyes, to see yourself as you are, to dive into your own reflection. Those who hide their faces, those who lie to themselves, those who see themselves better than they are, they will never be able. So believe me, it doesn't run the sidewalks !", from A Winter's Promise.

"Was is just a book, after all ? It had the texture neither of vellum nor of rag paper. Awful to admit, but it resembled human skin, drained of its blood.", from A Winter's Promise.

#a winter's promise #the mirror visitor #christelle dabos #goodreads #booklr #reading #moodboard #les fiancés de l'hiver #la passe miroir

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junypr-camus · 8 months

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Just a good ol’ fashioned girl-hates-government dystopia.

Oh, and mind control.

A CITY WITHOUT BIRDS

GENRE: Science Fiction

SUBGENRES: Dystopia, cyberpunk, hopepunk

THEMES: Found family, change, memories, hope

AUDIENCE: Anyone

P.O.V./TENSE: First person, past tense

Memories can’t be trusted in Seranid. Feisty Terry Silver learns the hard way when she’s forced to flee the utopian City of her childhood, charged with a crime she has no recollection of committing.

Here’s what other people say

“really action packed…. incredibly well written and kept up the pace for the whole book” — Vee Ramage

“I must admit I was totally taken in by Terry and the Professor and the supporting characters.”

“What I like most is that it really takes points from our own flaws in society. The use of the separation between the rich and the poor to cover bigger schemes.”

Interested?

You can find A City Without Birds on Goodreads, and it’s on sale on Amazon.

Or keep reading…

Welcome to Seranid. You’re happy here. Everybody is.

From the ruins of the Pacific Coast rises Seranid, where

“THE CAMERAS AREN’T WATCHING YOU. YOU’RE WATCHING YOURSELF.”

Terry Silver doesn’t know she’s living a lie. She thinks nothing of the status symbol implanted into every Seranidian at birth. She’s unaware of the dissentious thoughts erased from her mind, or the half-truths fed to millions of Seranidians to maintain the paradisial City. Even, of the fact that she may have taken a life. But when the mysterious Professor Camus Remin whisks her from the crosshairs of Seranid’s task force into the Slums, she finds stolen memories — including ones of her long-dead father, and a people trampled by innovation — who call her the Phoenix that will herald the rebirth of the nation. As Terry tries to foment an uprising, she faces more than her own mortality: resurfacing trauma, the deaths of loved ones, and the looming threat of all-out nuclear war. She’s forced to ask herself: what price would you pay for change?

Seranid’s Government rules through division. Knowledge workers: doctors, engineers, teachers, and scientists are kept in the City, a bubble of utopia, while the rest are cast into the Slums, where poverty, disease, and corruption run rampant. Status symbols implanted at birth label Seranidians and feed them propaganda, altering their thoughts and memories to keep them in line. The task force eliminates any remaining rebels.

The Council, the coalition of the six business heads of Seranid, is the guiding force and source of comfort in many Seranidian’s lives. From controlling the weather in the City to providing aid to those in need, they are the sympathetic heart of Seranid. And the driver behind the City’s endless consumerism.

Propoganda

CHARACTERS

Terry Silver: Fatherless and friendless, Terry finds solace in her work: keyboards, droids, and the soldering iron that burned a hole through her cargo pants. Her defiance gets her in trouble when Seranid’s government targets her for something she can’t even remember.

Terry’s first memory | Sketches | Terry’s mirror

Camus Remin: He has a charming smile and a burning passion for physics, but remains a mystery to his students, burdened by past mistakes. He quickly becomes the father Terry never had — but only later does she learn why he saved her.

Quote | Sketch

Marco Luiz: An old friend of Camus and a resident of the Slums, Marco knows the injustices of Seranid’s system firsthand. Both idealist and kind-hearted, he’s quick to sacrifice himself to help those in need — or just cook them some good roast lamb.

OC’s a ten but…

Janette Thornell: Hardened by past failures, the Resistance leader often clashes with Terry. Yet Janette loves those she protects — most of all, Emmy, who knows the secret of her origins.

Janette’s Secret

Emmy Wood: A City surgeon who defected to the Resistance, Emmy is more a scientist than a fighter. But when fate separates her, Camus, Marco and Terry from the rest of the Resistance, the four must learn to fight – and survive – together.

OC’s a ten but…

SETTING

North America, in the distant future…

Three countries share North America: materialistic Seranid on the West Coast, militaristic Leifen in the East, and modest Mirena, caught between the two superpowers. Each has their own way of surviving in this cruel new world, and each has their own flaws.

More Descriptions | Sketches | Leifen | Mirena | Ideals

psst. hey you.

Thank you for making it this far! I got a little secret… I’m planning on making A City Without Birds free for a few days later this year (date undecided). Please reblog/comment if you’d like to be tagged when that happens!

#books on tumblr #indie books #dystopia #bookblr #tbr #books #a city without birds #indie author #authors of tumblr #booklr #sci fi writers #writerscommunity #writing community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #book art #book recs #science fiction #reblog/comment if you would like to be tagged when it's free

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kendsleyauthor · 10 months

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New G/t Novel Available!

THE RESTORATION PROGRAM is available NOW in paperback and e-book! 🎉🎉🎉

Amazon |||| Goodreads

The first book of the PRINT / TRINKET UNIVERSE is finally here! It's time to meet Nicole and Ryan!

Content warning: This book contains mature themes, depictions of emotional abuse, and sexual assault. Intended for appropriate readers ages 18+.

Synopsis:

Nicole’s tragic death was only the beginning. Against all odds, Nicole Zhou wakes up from a fatal car accident to find that she is a beneficiary of a cutting-edge procedure: the Restoration Program. By transferring her consciousness into a new body, her life has been saved. The only problem? Her new body is merely ten inches tall. As she tries to continue building a life with her boyfriend, Ryan Northe, she struggles to grapple with the strange world developing around her. With each passing day, she questions whether the procedure really saved her life or plunged her into a fate worse than death. Regardless of her fears, both the Restoration Program and Ryan agree: what was lost has been restored. The first in a thrilling New Adult trilogy filled with suspense, romance, and the dawning of a new, strange world, The Restoration Program is perfect for fans of Black Mirror, Westworld, and romance books with an existential twist. It appeals widely to fans who enjoy a love story turned darkly on its head.

If you've enjoyed the stories @marydublinauthor and I have posted about the print / trinket universe, this one is definitely for you! Come and read about the origin of Prints in this universe 👀🧬

If you give our book a read, make sure to leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads!! Reviews are the best way to support indie authors, as it leads to more readers discovering our work!

Thank you so much for all the support over the years! It's time to get this trilogy going! 😍✨

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