Ok so wow, cozy fantasy may be for me in a way I never thought it would. It wasn't that I doubted a compelling plot could be crafted from the less action-packed parts of a fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons-inspired world, but more so that I wouldn't be kept interested in a slower-paced plot. I think it was the geniusly-crafted characters and fantastic dialogue from the first few pages that really made me stop and sit up . I was intrigued by the stone Viv hides under the floor of her livery turned coffee shop from the start, aware it was important in a magical way as well as symbolic for Viv---will things go right for this retired ranger intent on making a dream come true and settling down in a town that could be hers? I had to know! 
I liked learning how the mechanics of this fantasy world worked in terms of the technology Viv, Cal, and Tandri used to build and create not only the shop itself, but the machinery necessary to make and maintain coffee. I was very happy to see the appearance of an iced latte (that may have been my main gripe in this review if such an appearance had not been made). The descriptions of community among the shop's patrons, the town at large, and the sense of camaraderie that emerges from the presence of the establishment and good beverages really warmed my heart.
From a writing perspective, this novel also just hits all the right beats at the right times, rolling right along with a plot that spreads forward like a fancy red carpet. I felt such satisfaction at seeing a physical end product of Viv's patience and perseverance in the coffee shop (and such despair when the inevitable happens). I was also so so delighted to find that what I thought may have been hints at a romance were, in fact, hints at a romance. Three cheers for a nearly-concealed slow burn I didn't realize I was rooting for until it was right in front of me!



One of my favorite quotes from Legends & Lattes:

"I was just thinking that you don’t have to forget who you were… because that’s what brought you here."

I've been seeing a lot of resounding praise for this novel including the word "masterpiece," and I definitely can say I agree with the use of the word here. While this book holds oh so much, and so well (I loooooved the consistent footnotes), it also tells a story that resonated with me for its beautiful moments of simplicity regarding making friends in a place of learning. 
From the very beginning, Robin's journey to Oxford felt like one I wanted to believe would go as smoothly as possible. But, because Kuang is the fantastic writer she is, and the undertones of colonialism's destruction permeate the narrative from the very first page, I knew this couldn't be the case. I loved, despite this heavier aspect of the novel, how the wonders of academic camaraderie were crafted. The shared exhaustion, codependency in coursework, late night swapping of thoughts, and everything in between---it made me desperately miss grad school. It also made me think about the unique quality of Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty's group, seeing how they butt heads harmlessly in the beginning and terribly at the end due to the environment of the institution they were in and the work they were doing. Victoire quickly became my favorite character, and Letty quickly became the character I was the most fascinated by---from her complicated relationship with Ramy that we really only get to examine from Robin's limited scope, to her Interlude near the novel's end. Yes, she's a white woman in a country that supports her existence for the most part, but the intricacies of the oppression she felt she faced as a woman at Babel (in the shadow of her late brother) really made me stop and ponder her perspective as it related to Ramy, Victoire, and Robin's situations as students in the same country at the same school. When things really started to hit the fan, I knew the group couldn't all see a happy ending, but I wonder what happened to Letty on the other side.
I haven't even touched on this book's completely unique magic system yet, but maybe that's because all I really have to say is that it blew me away. Not once, or twice, or three times, but pretty much any time a new facet of it was explained or demonstrated in a scene or footnote (I really loved those footnotes). The amount of research as well as fascination with and innate knowledge about language and translation it took to write this, and write it well, increases my already vast appreciation for Kuang as an author and human being. I think I need to add The Poppy War to my to be read list.



Some of my favorite quotes from Babel:

"He pulled on his English accent like a new coat, adjusted everything he could about himself to make it fit, and, within weeks, wore it with comfort."

"He enjoyed novels more than anything else."

"Never, Robin thought, would he understand these men, who talked of the world and its movements like a grand chess game, where countries and peoples were pieces to be moved and manipulated at will."

"If they're going to tell stories about you, use it to your advantage. The English are never going to think I'm posh, but if I fit into their fantasy, then they'll at least think I'm royalty."

"It felt now as if they had all the time in the world to do nothing but be happy, if they could just remember how."

"Language was just difference. A thousand different ways of seeing, of moving through the world, No; a thousand worlds within one. And translation -- a necessary endeavor, however futile, to move between them."

This was delightfully short and sweet (with a little less emphasis on 'sweet'). Really, this was eerie and cool. I enjoyed listening to the hour-long immersive audiobook that really felt like walking through a dream come to life. From the whole cast of voice actors to varied music and sound effects, listening to this on a cold and windy winter's morning walk around my neighborhood couldn't have been more serendipitously planned or executed. 
To keep this short and sweet (and void of spoilers), I'll say this is accurately marketed as a Sleeping Beauty retelling with elements of another fairy tale sprinkled in at perfect intervals. The series of final events & resolution makes a lot of sense as a result. I really liked the classic fantasy, bardlike writing style (made even more bardlike via audiobook), as well as the nameless main character queen. The pace and subtle ease with which parts of the plot and its connections to what readers think they know about Sleeping Beauty's original tale are revealed are fantastic. I also enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending.



Some of my favorite quotes from The Sleeper and The Spindle:

"'There are choices,' she thought, when she had sat long enough. 'There are always choices.'"

"She wondered how she would feel to be a married woman. It would be the end of her life, she decided, if life was a time of choices."

*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*

How delightfully twisty and turny this was! I've said it once, and I'll say it again---can we get the Bridgerton people on the phone? Cause really, c'mon! There is so much content in this novel, not only for spine-tingling romance, but also extended commentary on what it may have realistically been like for members of the British ton who weren't able to be themselves freely via choosing who they truly love.
One of my favorite aspects of this book (despite James and Bobby's equal parts sweet and spicy romance) is that you know what Beth and Gwen are up to if you've read the first book in this duology. The two girls are in a great amount of this narrative without it being an extension of their story at all. Rather, they do a pretty great job of orchestrating the double marriage Gwen comes up with pretty much on the fly at the end of Don't Want You Like a Best Friend.
What starts as a tension-filled rivalry between James and Bobby concerning who they think the other person is (or will turn out to be), becomes much more than their once faroff admirations of the other while attending Oxford. The forcing together of their families and social groups quickly forces them to have to turn the other cheek and reform their opinions about one another, or live in agonizing denial that, inevitably, they each have raging crushes on the other.
I appreciate the depth this novel reaches and achieves when it comes to creating a tangible weight attached to London's high society. This tiny little microcosm of social rule and order is the perfect setting to use as a medium for commentary on the fact that the queer community has always existed, but has time and again existed in forced secrecy, supported only by other community members or family. Despite these book characters' limitations, their commitments to true selfhood and true love prevail through clever schemes and brave willingness to trust family and friends.
I think James' character works so well to portray that innate fear of being "found out" for who you really are and having to deal with the reality that what other people think of you does matter (to a certain extent). But then there's Bobby, more willing to embrace his identity and "proclivities," as they frame it, due to being the second son of a wealthy family and not the first. I think it's very beautiful how these two men learn so much about themselves through bickering and coming to terms with their attraction to each other. I also adore a good "we're all going to the country for a few days away from the prying eyes of the ton where we can do pretty much whatever we want" scenario (hehe).
I also absolutely loved the Epilogue. It made me emotional to see how this set of resilient and loving characters found a way to make their own family and happiness despite several persistent forces that would love to see them ruined and apart. And that, in making their own found family, they also provide a family for orphaned children in need of love (and double the amount of mothers and fathers). 

Alban is apparently releasing another queer British ton romance novel soon after the new year, and to say I'm excited would be an understatement!!



​
One of my favorite quotes from You're the Problem, It's You:

"What if the world could be a better place? What if we could make it a better place, for all of us?"

This will be a short and sweet review since I mainly read this to serve as part of my class prep for the upcoming spring semester! I think this volume serves as a very baseline and, without sounding derogatory, shallow look at the general overview of Greek and Roman mythology. I appreciated the book's distinct sections and organization of prominent gods and goddesses to monsters to lesser deities to famous Greek heroes. It certainly isn't easy to categorize mythos into neat and tidy chapters without any overlap, given the intricacies of immortal and mortal familial ties, monsters traversing the plots of multiple heroes' lives, and the beliefs of the ancient Greek people often blending together in terms of their region, worship practices, and sacrificial rites. Again, given these complications, I think this book gives fantastic summaries, key details, and illuminating descriptions for each of its topics, paired with beautiful images of paintings, sculptures, and busts from across eras that add to the prose. My students will definitely be reading vital parts of this work to supplement their reading of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey in all its complicated but ancient glory!

*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*

This surpassed my expectations as the fun, fluffy, and slightly spicy romance read I needed in this current season! I seriously think once the folks over at Netflix finish all their "Bridgerton" adaptations, this book could be their next big project. Cause it reminded me of all the best parts of "Bridgerton" while going a step further and doing a lot of work to actualize what it would've been like to desire someone society deemed you couldn't have.
I thought Beth and Gwen's relationship was very nicely contrasted (and strengthened) by the necessity they saw in matchmaking their parents. I adored how it started out as a "parent trap" kind of situation that slowly but surely evolved into an affair of the girls' own. But Lord Havenfort and Lady Demeroven's tragic past and "will they, won't they" push and pull do so much for the plot. Even though they're technically the B plot romance, I absolutely loved their chemistry and was so invested in their happiness. Lady Demeroven's dramatic proposal in an epic, sweeping, joyful conclusion where all of the puzzle pieces for joint happiness fall together had me teary-eyed! Several moments in this novel had me seeing a bit blurry, like the multiple occasions Beth and Gwen think they're saying their final goodbyes, or Lady Demeroven's quiet admission to dealing with Lord Ashmond if it means that Beth and her will be provided for. 
Some of the side characters definitely got confused and mixed up in my mind (considering there's quite a lot of them milling about London society's balls and garden parties and teas), but I really enjoyed how they added to the scope of Beth and Gwen's world and society. It really got me thinking about how tiny a bubble London high society was, that the people living within it were confined to such limited roles and perceptions of how the world could operate, chiefly, who had to marry whom. By the end of this story, I was thoroughly convinced the Demerovens and Havenforts had found the perfect loophole and outcome for all of their happy endings without feeling like the writing took shallow or unbelievable shortcuts to get them there.
I also think the epilogue's setup for a second book in this matchmaking chronicle was clever and left me wanting to see how I could come to grow attached to James and Bobby as characters. 



One of my favorite quotes from Don't Want You Like a Best Friend:

"They lay them over their vanity chair. Such a simple action, but Beth feels like it speaks volumes. Their under things there, together, atop each other. They stand staring at the pile of their skirts, Beth can feel the brush of Gwen’s chemise against her own, close, but not close enough."

Side note before I even truly begin: the alternate covers for this novel are absolutely gorgeous! Not that this one isn't super cool, but wow, the other ones match the overall atmospheric and haunting vibe this entire book creates so much better.
The entirety of my review latches onto those two words, actually: atmospheric and haunting. I really think that the writing style and strength of description is this book's strongest quality. I felt like I could walk through every room, see every tree and stone in the forest around Hiraeth Manor, and smell the scent of the briny ocean that touched truly everything in this novel. I was bound to like this book at least a little, given its inextricable connection to the sea and its sublime qualities. 
Though I had my moments of confusion (how exactly does the Fairy King possess people, and when?) and feel the ending is a bit more "telly" than "showy," I really enjoyed following along behind Effy in all her complicatedness. I love an unreliable narrator (though this book is technically written in the 3rd person), and Effy is quite a charming one. Whether she likes it or not, she is faced with the possibility of the supernatural leaking into her reality. Despite these dangers, she seeks to find glimpses of magic in everyday life; this perception of the world is one I can sympathize with. I think she's a very brave as well as very relatable young woman. She embodies beautiful aspects of being a woman with feminine power, but also allows room for the representation of feminine power being abused by men to make women feel misplaced shame (enter Master Corbenic, Ianto, the Fairy King, etc.). Sometimes the commentary on this subject felt a little on the nose to me (some of Effy's interactions with random side characters at the university, for example), but overall I think the plot of this book is able to sustain the whimsy of its ocean-related setting and the heavier concepts of female autonomy. 
I also really appreciate how this book approaches the idea of female voices being erased, covered up, or plagiarized. I felt righteous anger, a desire for justice, and sweet relief all in turn. Without spoiling anything, I really appreciated the twist ending concerning the true authorship of the novel Angharad, and all the implications of that true authorship. It was a twist that actually caught me by surprise! 
From my understanding, there's a second book connected to this first. I think I'll be checking it out.



Some of my favorite quotes from A Study in Drowning:

"What's the point in studying literature if you don't want to tell stories?"

"'What's the point,' he began, as they climbed back into the car, 'of drinking coffee if you're going to dilute it to that degree?'
Effy took a long, savoring sip. 'What's the point of drinking coffee that doesn't taste good?'"

"Why was it always girls whose forms could not be trusted? Everything could be taken away from them in an instant."

"Perhaps a romance is a story with no end at all; where the end is but a wardrobe with a false back, leading to stranger and more merciful worlds."

"And changing your mind isn't foolish. It just means you've learned something new."

"You took away all the other wanting from me."

"He kissed her, or she kissed him---it mattered only as much as it mattered whether the house was sinking or the sea was rising. Once their lips touched, Effy could think of nothing else."

"How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you."

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

While I think parts of this are sincerely awesome, I unfortunately think those awesome parts get swallowed up by a plot that's trying to hold too many things at once. And, on top of that, it's a plot that moves only incrementally faster than the ultraslow plot of Iron Flame.
I was able to track with Violet's motivations for the most part: find a cure for the dark wielding, parasitical magic slowly eating away at your boyfriend's mind and find the long lost family of your dragon who may be the key to a cure as well as invaluable allies for a coming war. I started to get more bored than lost when Violet and the "quest squad's" journey just kept going and going. Sure, finding the irids in the very first place beyond Basigath they looked would've been incredibly disappointing. But the only parts of this novel I find memorable are bits and pieces of the random places they visit, such as Trager's death in the land of the luck-obsessed people and the scary panthers in the one ruler's lavish banquet hall.
Character development-wise, I disliked Xaden more and more as the book progressed. I started to wonder why Violet was fighting so hard for the fate of a guy who loves her enough to tell her to run in the other direction. Maybe it's harsh to question why she'd fight so hard, because it is in love's name, after all. But Violet keeps putting herself, her friends, and her dragons in danger time and time again for Xaden who, in the end, uses his dark wielding powers for what he testifies is one last form of resistance. I just simply cannot wrap my head around this logic; it made me really angry, to be frank. For him to spend all of the book exhibiting self-control concerning wielding (except, of course, when they're in places without magic where he sees the opportunity to have some wild sex and takes it), only to then just let go of that self-control in a battle that felt impossible to track from a reading standpoint felt like such a subpar ending. I didn't know what kind of emotional payoff that ending was going for. In comparison to the first and second books' amazing cliffhangers, this one is certainly lacking.
So I guess, in conclusion, I'll be reading the fourth book when it comes out to see if elements of the first book's magic make some reappearances. I haven't completely given up hope on this series.

​

Some of my favorite quotes from Onyx Storm:

"Help her, my love, I’m afraid our daughter has atrocious taste in men."

"'You have been the gift of my life,' I tell Tairn."

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I wish I had more to say about this read, but I really don't. My investment hit a tiny burst of air and flew upward for maybe the first 20% of the book, and then quickly began to fall back to earth with nothing of real substance to sustain it. Which is a shame, because I thought the beginning sets up readers for a really cool, psychological exploration of Lucy's state of mind (that opening scene where she has her hands around Ben's neck? What an opening!). Rather, we don't return to some of the really interesting themes Lucy's situation brings up (sexual shame and betrayal, identity being tied to academic validation, etc.). I felt like Lucy as a character sadly fell flat. Honestly, none of the characters really had any substance, which only contributed to my losing a lot of interest in what was going to happen to them.
I think the authorial decision to cut and jump back and forth between two sets of sisters (or, in weird reality, sisters and a mother/daughter duo) confused more than intrigued me. I kept waiting for an "ah-ha!" moment to find me, but it never did. We also never get an explanation for why characters like Jess, Lucy, Mary, Eliza, and their "mam" are the way they are. I wanted a creation story for these Sirens that are, by the way, never actually called Sirens! This bothers me the more I think about it, actually---that the only time these women are subtly alluded to being Sirens similar to the original mythology is the title of Jess' painting. As someone who originally put this on their reading list with a clear interest in seeing how Hart may decide to incorporate original mythology in her own story, I was sorely disappointed. 
There appear to be several loose plot holes left hanging open at the end of the book as well, or at least just a general hazy cloud of confusion over some of the characters' histories. I really couldn't picture or connect with Jess' parents at all because they just had such weird stuff going on (knowing their daughter is half "Siren"/half human because Dad cheated on Mom with a "Siren," raising their daughter's daughter as their own and just never telling her being two chief examples). The theme of men's violence against women---and, therefore, women's retaliation---felt like it was trying to stand on a foundation that wasn't strong enough to support it, too. I wanted more emphasis on the Sirens' song and their ability to lure so I could better understand how these not-quite-women exist and why. 
So much time is spent in dilapidated Cliff House, too. What about the ocean that's right there?! I wanted more descriptions of the undersea world, which would've required more time spent beneath it, which I think would've benefited a book that's marketed to seem like it'll be about Sirens rather than women who are sorta Sirens. Okay, that's all I have in me. I'm aware it's mostly complaints, but this book really did disappoint me.


​
One of my favorite quotes from The Sirens:

"Lucy thinks, but doesn’t say, how intertwined those things are. Fear and desire. How one can become the other so easily."

Oooooo, I loved this. Was I lost at times because a lot of the concepts are lofty and the literal landscape of the novel is Hell itself, a place we humans on the topside will speculate about for probably forever? Yes. But I had a good time stumbling around the psyche of the insanely complex Alice Law (and by extension, bumbling, genius Peter Murdoch). I think the base concept of this novel is quite grand: critique the inclusive echo chamber that is academia by creating a character who doesn't know how to deal with misogyny or life without academic validation, and send that character (who happens to study analytic magick) into the depths of the Underworld to save her only hope of riding the high of intellectual praise forever: her terrible academic advisor. Oh, and throw in her academic rival who isn't really her rival at all for the promises of a heartwrenching romance (cause cmon, we gotta have that). Truly, I think my favorite part of this novel is the very first paragraph; it doesn't waste any time jumping into the story, but rather communicates that a lot has already happened, and a trip to Hell is the only feasible way to right a horrible wrong. One of my favorite aspects of the actual storytelling structure consisted of entire chapters devoted to explaining character backstories or pivotal events in their lives that occurred before this sojourn to Hell. From Alice, to Peter, and even the infamous Professor Jacob Grimes, each of these seemingly nonlinear sections that press "pause" on the A-plot of traveling through the eight courts of the Underworld builds up the overall story and essence of each character and their motives so well. By the time I got to the end, I felt like I'd been given everything I needed to know how these people ended up risking half of their lifespans for one verbally abusive white man (though Grimes remained pretty elusive to me). The book's continual critique of what it's like to stay in a space like academia despite constant pressure, lack of sleep, gender stereotypes, threats of sexual and coercive natures, and more really pulled at my heartstrings and associations with what being in higher education afforded for women in the 1980s.
I think this book has moments where it kind of skates above the actual plot for the sake of exploring some tenet of philosophy or existentialism, which might not appeal to readers who are just looking for more of a fantasy-based quest through Hell. I recommend it nonetheless. If nothing else, the ending brought me to the very edge of tears. :)
(P.S. Getting to meet R.F. Kuang at an author event at my school and have her sign my Katabasis copy was pretty cool, too.)



Some of my favorite quotes from Katabasis:

"This was the key to flourishing in graduate school. You could do anything if you were delusional."

"I think anything is tolerable when one is asleep."

"The best libraries were like the best churches: old and musty, preindustrial."

"Nice libraries whispered: Everyone who has passed through here is very important, and so are you."

"...no siren's call was as alluring as the sea itself, and the quiet dark beyond the shore."

"That was one of the joys of specializing in linguistics: the escape from pure maths."

"Complete happiness was some form of study, said Aristotle. And they were so happy; covering entire blackboards with chalk in an inspired frenzy, then erasing the whole thing to start over again."

"And if falling in love was discovery, was letting yourself be discovered the equivalent to being loved?"

"'I only like knowing what awaits,' said Alice. 'That's all.'"

"...all books, like wine, had a readerly aroma that ripened with age, which was why bookstores and libraries smelled so good."

"'Pain is interesting, and you can bear anything as long as it's interesting.'"

"She wanted to crash brilliantly against something, and when she went she wanted to leave a mark."

"What a miracle a person was, she thought. They took up so little space. The difference between presence and absence was not even a square meter of matter. Yet now that Peter was here, the whole world shone brighter."

"Peter Murdoch was a book with no ending and all she wanted to do with the rest of her life was to trace her finger down every page."