bisexualwentworth's reviews
761 reviews

I enjoyed the characters, plot, and vibes, but the actual world didn't work for me at all. I'll probably continue with the series, though.

Not a strong as Black Sun (big middle book syndrome going on) but still very strong. Naranpa's story was definitely my favorite (and felt the most complete), and I'm glad that we got more development for Balam, Okoa, and Iktan. I'm interested in where Serapio's arc is headed, but he was mostly in this book as an ominous offpage presence more than a real character (with a couple notable exceptions). Xiala is incredibly frustrating in this book. She defines herself by her relationships, mostly her relationships with men, in a way that she did not in book one and that I strongly disliked, and she spent far too much time pining and doing nothing. I'm very excited to see what will happen with her in book three, though. I enjoyed the pacing and the politics overall, as well as the expansions of the world, though there was a LOT of telling and not enough showing for my taste, and I still don't have a super clear picture of the city of Tova. Still, very much excited to read Mirrored Heavens.

My least favorite of Elizabeth Acevedo's novels so far but still very good. I think her lyrical, vignette-driven writing style works better with poetry than with prose. There were also far too many instances of "I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding" (three in a row!). 

I loved the characters, the story, and the use of food in the narrative (though it maybe could have been interwoven a little bit more). The ending was just right. Emoni's arc really really worked, and I rooted for her and her people the whole way through. 

Fuck you, cruel world.

Suck my dick, America.

The Other Merlin is very straightforwardly BBC Merlin fanfiction with a plot taken from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night combined with Tamora Pierce's first two Song of the Lioness novel. Specifically, it is aimed at people who shipped Merlin/Arthur, Viola/Orsino, and Alanna/Jonathan, as the main relationship here is a combination of all three. This is a compliment. In fact, basically all of my issues with this book could have been fixed if Robyn Schneider had stayed closer to those three source texts.

I personally didn't mind the anachronistic dialogue. It fit with the vibes of the story. If you went into this novel with any expectation of historical accuracy or sticking closer to the most typical versions of the Arthurian canon, I fear it is simply not the book for you.

I really enjoyed Emry as a protagonist. She is a strong young woman who is friends with boys and engages in multiple traditionally masculine activities (acting, wizardry, etc.) but who also engages with the other women in her life in a variety of ways. She is bisexual. She is incredibly powerful but not without limits. I will definitely read the sequels at some point because I want to see where her story goes.

WHY WAS GUINEVERE STRAIGHT? Truly this choice made no sense to me and almost ruined parts of the book. Like I get the direction her attraction goes in due to the Twelfth Night comparisons, but making her sapphic would have been so much more compelling and much more in line with Twelfth Night! Also tragic that any Guinevere/Morgana shipping would be problematic in this particular setting. Booooo.

There is some racial diversity in the cast, but there's a white default to the descriptions that I dearly hope will change in the following installments.

I struggle with chosen one stories generally, but I am cautiously optimistic about how this one will end up going.

Loved that Lancelot was gay. Just wish that more central characters had identified as queer on page in addition to Emry and Lance. Specifically Guinevere, but I would take any side sapphic content at this point. Please.

Overall very fun, if not quite as good as it could have been.

A little too trans 101 and I wasn't vibing with the art style. The cover art is soooooo gorgeous, but the art inside is much more simplistic and not for me.

Very fun and intriguing. Would love more books in this series. Didn't love this one as much as Finna, but it was still very good and I would still recommend it for sure.

I adore this world that Darcie Little Badger has created. This novel didn't blow me away quite as much as Elatsoe, and it got kind of bogged down in the middle section, but I loved the characters and the way the story played out. Shane's Lipan culture is integrated beautifully, including with a supporting cast full of characters with different relationships to their Lipan heritage. I spent much of the book waiting for the mammoths to appear and was thrilled when they did. The grandpa and the supporting sapphics were highlights for me (for very different reasons). I will read anything Darcie Little Badger writes. 

Very good and weird so far but gave me a panic attack so I’m going to return to it when I’m in a better place for the content.