Tag: LGBTQ books

Horror, LGBT, YA Fantasy

My Review: Sawkill Girls: by Claire Legrand

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Release Date: October 2nd 2018
Number of Pages: 450
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre(s): Young Adult (YA), LGBTQ, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror

Total Star Rating: 3 Stars

One of the worst things of being an avid reader is that it ruins a lot of other books for you. You’ve read so many amazing stories with rich, complex worlds and memorable characters that you followed with along their journey, and seeing anything that either feels like a copy of that or isn’t possibly up to the same standard as that last book that made you fall in love with reading just falls flat in your mind…

This title was recommended to me by a friend, and we’ve read a lot of the same titles and enjoyed them for the most part, so of course I snagged a copy of this when it arrived into the bookstore one day. I had high hopes that I’d found something spooky that would keep me up late into the night and make me jump at every shadow that I thought even slightly moved, but this one just didn’t do quite that.

It’s by no means a bad book at all; any book that has any sort of fanbase with those that are able to explain what they liked about it can be considered a great book to read. Certain writers, of course, are better than others, but thats another topic to get into some other time. The point I’m trying to make from earlier is that I didn’t connect with the book as much as I’d hoped.

Everything about it led me to believe that it would have everything necessary for me to absolutely love it: the beautiful cover design, the exciting blurb, and the personal recommendation from my friend. Unfortunately, for myself at least, it just wasn’t fully able to live up the hype.

What It’s About:

Marion Althouse moves to Sawkill Rock with her mother and older sister, Charlotte, as a way for them to hopefully move on in life after the unexpected death of her father. Sawkill Rock is an island town off the East coast (I believe), and the very day she steps foot on the island, Marion discovers that beneath the seemingly perfect, pristine town hides a deep, dark, terrible secret that goes centuries back into the past, a malevolent presence thats infiltrated the land from its wide trees to the stones and decay. Any sort of hope that Marion had for her and her family is swiftly taken away through the night when Charlotte goes missing, just like the others…

Zoey Harlow, the police chief’s daughter, is continuously haunted by the sudden disappearance of her best friend, Thora, that happened a year ago. Determined to find out what happened exactly happened, she makes the startling discovery that there have been disappearances of girls from the island for many years, and somehow it’s overlooked and covered to the point that hardly any of the townsfolk seem to notice. Somethings not right, and Zoey starts to suspect the elite Mortimer family who may know something, or even be involved…

Val Mortimer has been brought up in wealth and privilege with the generations of women in her family, but beneath the luminescent pearl necklace, the flawless hair, sharp smiles and the spotless, silky exterior hides a secret that they’ve kept hidden that could not only threaten their welfare, but the fate of everyone should it escape…

Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.”

– Claire Legrand, “Sawkill Girls”

The mysterious, hungry presence has preyed upon the young women of the island for so long, devouring them in its long, scythe-like claws, and it’s been slowly gaining strength to untether itself from its willing host and be able to freely walk on this world in which it doesn’t belong in. It’s a campfire story, a child’s folktale, a myth of an insidious monster that lurks in the shadows of the trees and is always watching, and is always hungry…

What I Liked:

  1. The LGBTQ+ Representation! The three main characters are on the queer spectrum of sexual identity! Zoey is ace (asexual for those not with the lingo) along with being black, so she’s representing multiple groups within the story, and it’s revealed that both Marion and Val become openly queer as well and develop feelings for each other. Their mutual attraction felt somewhat out of the blue, but was still satisfying nonetheless.
  2. The Mortimer Reveal Right Away! So there’s an actual big reveal of Val and her dark family secret rather early on in the story, and part of me was questioning as to why the author would have something like that not wait until later to make a shocking reveal, but as you read the story, it makes more sense for how it develops and Val’s character evolution, which is actually pretty amazing because I felt like her character had the most development within the story, even with her interesting initial position.
  3. The Connection of the Three Girls! They didn’t know it at first, and neither did we to a degree, but the girl’s fates were all connected in a strong way that grew along with the story as more and more happened. All three of them have an initial connection– having lost something close to them from the monster (Marion – her sister, Zoey – her best friend, and Val – her freedom), but also learn that they’re connected in other supernatural forces that play a huge part in how things play out. A theme that sticks out is female friendship amongst these diverse characters, and the author illuminated that in a beautiful, if unorthodox way.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Book Unraveled Along with my Interest…The book started off with a bang; it brought up the main conflict almost within the first couple of chapters of the story, but really became a slow burn towards the middle, and I found myself struggling to keep going on for a lot of it. It’s not exactly a long story, but it took me so much longer than expected to actually finish it. I think honestly that it was because that most of the twists were revealed so early on in the story, and some were kind of predictable too. Everything after that, up until the climax, felt more like repetitive filler. I hate to say it, but part of me was considering to add it to my DNF (Did Not Finish) pile on several occasions. I just lost so much interest in it; it was like how I felt whenever I was assigned a book back in school. Somehow the required reading assignment always made me subconsciously want to read the book less.

Conclusion:

Overall, It wasn’t my favorite book, but it does hold quite a bit of potential, and my lack of excitement about it doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, or not worth checking out! The author’s style of writing is gorgeous and so well done in some areas, but this story just felt like it was missing something, like Claire Legrand needed to go another step further with it. I wish I could say what that was exactly, but unfortunately I can’t. All I can say is that I just didn’t connect with it as much as I’d hoped, which makes sense since it doesn’t exactly fall under what I normally read.

I recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a thriller with strong diverse female lead characters, anyone wanting to add to their LGBTQ stacks of books, or those looking for a great feminine read.

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

YA Fantasy

My Review: Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1): by Leigh Bardugo

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Publish Date: September 29th 2015
Number of Pages: 465 Pages
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Genre(s): YA Fantasy

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Perhaps one of the most hyped up books in YA literature, part of me was worried to open the pages of this book and have the possibility of becoming disappointed that it wouldn’t live up to the expectations and fall flat. I can say with all honesty that this book not only lives up to the hype, it immensely surpasses it! Leigh Bardugo has created a masterful, epic story that felt like a mix of Ocean’s Eleven, Peaky Blinders, and Harry Potter all mixed into one; It’s got a dangerous heist set in a victorian era world with magical beings!

A Map of Bardugo’s Grishaverse, image courtesy of fandom’s wiki page

What It’s About:

The story first takes place in the fictional city of Ketterdam, a coastal trade post filled with greed, corruption, and mob violence. Organized crime is the lay of the land, and amongst the worst criminals the city has to offer, a young Kaz Brekker is given the opportunity for the biggest heist in recorded history to make him wealthier beyond his wildest dreams.

A map of Ketterdam, image courtesy of the Grishaverse wiki page

Someone has created a drug named Jurda Parem that enhances Grisha powers tremendously to the point of a deadly addiction (similar aesthetic to an addiction to meth), and the creator of it has been captured and taken prisoner in the impenetrable ice fortress in the northern land of Fjerda.

The impenetrable Ice Court in Fjerda, image courtesy of the Grishaverse fandom wiki page

No one has ever escaped from the Ice Court, so Kaz recruits several others to aid him in this seemingly impossible task:

Matthias Helvar: A Fjerdan Drüskelle (soldier) turned prisoner that burns with revenge on the woman that betrayed him.

Nina Zenik: A Heartrender Grisha who uses her magic to help herself survive the brutal streets of Ketterdam.

Jesper Fahey: One of Kaz’s men, a sharpshooter who can’t say no to any sort of gamble.

Wylan Van Eck: a runaway mechanic with a privelaged past.

Inej Ghafa: Another one of Kaz’s spies, a deadly assassin known simply as The Wraith.

A bunch of rejects, criminals, and thieves; they all must begrudgingly work together in order to rescue the prisoner, escape the Ice Court, and get their reward. Breaking in is one thing, but Kaz quickly learns that one of his biggest rivals is also after the same prize, and that their mission might be a guaranteed failure with all the secrets that are being kept amongst even his most trusted…

Before going into what I liked and disliked, I thought I’d give a short, brief summary of the Grisha. They are an integral part of the author’s world and the stories that she’s created, so below is a short lesson of who they are:

The Grisha:

The world has magical beings called “Grisha,” who have the abilities to practice magical powers. There are three classifications: Corporalki, Etheralki, and Materialki.

  1. Corporalki are known as The Order of the Living and the Dead, and have sub categories of Grisha that are Healers, Heartrenders, and Tailors. Healers are self explanatory, but Heartrenders are those that can damage internal organs like slowing the heart’s pulse or taking air from lungs. Tailors are those that can change appearances of themselves and/or others.
  2. Etherealki are known as The Order of Summoners, and have sub categories of Squallors, Inferni, and Tidemakers. Squallors can manipulate the wind, Inferni can manipulate fire, and Tidemakers can manipulate water. There are have been especially rare cases of Shadow Summoners and Sun summoners, those that can manipulate light and darkness.
  3. Materialki are known as The Order of Fabrikators, and have sub categories of Durasts, and Alkemi. Durasts can manipulate glass, steel, wood, plants, stone, or anything that is solid on a molecular level. Alkemi specialize in chemicals that aid in the production of powders, explosives and poisons.

What I Liked:

  1. The Plotting/ World Building! The author has truly created a masterpiece with this story; it’s obvious that the author meticulously planned it all out to keep it as tight as possible, not a single word or moment out of place. Ketterdam is an incredibly interesting place for the story to begin; I personally imagined the city looked like either Amsterdam in the Netherlands or Prague in the Czech Republic, while the Ice Court in Fjerda looks more like Siberia, Russia.
  2. It’s Able to be Read as Standalone! Leigh Bardugo has other works that takes place before the events in this story with her Shadow and Bone trilogy. While to me, the trilogy probably gives better background information on the Grisha specifically, you can start Six of Crows without having read them prior. There might be small tidbits of information or references that may go over some reader’s heads, but nothing significantly stood out that would ruin the book for anyone. The amount of information given about the magical beings of this world that is given is just enough for the reader to have a basic understanding of it all.
  3. The Morally Grey Characters & Their Development! This aspect is absolutely nailed to perfection as literally every main character grows, have unique personalities, purposes, and goals. Through the book, along with several flashback scenes, you learn more and more about them, and can enjoy how truly fleshed out they become. Inej is an assassin, a thief, but has been through hell and back and wants to ultimately do the right thing, and liberate slaves like herself. She has a hard heart, but she’s willing to open it up to those she truly cares about. Jesper is witty, sarcastic, but knows how blessed his life is from growing up on a farm. He recognizes his personal flaws and tries to fix them. Nina is a delight; she goes from a flirt to a badass force in less than 10 seconds. She is confident in her fuller figure, and is not ashamed of her love for waffles. Matthias, though perhaps the hardest to feel sympathy for, is a man constantly torn between what he’s always known and been trained to believe vs. the world that he sees and learns through his own eyes. Wylan is a shy, goody two shoes type who came from a sheltered background, and while he doesn’t get as much attention in this book, he has many different depths that readers learn in the book’s sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Kaz is a manipulative, twisted, morally black character; he’s the perfect anti-hero. He doesn’t want to rescue the scientist to be a hero or save the world, he just wants his money, and doesn’t care who he has to stomp his expensive shoes with in order to get what he wants.
  4. The Banter/Group Dynamics! Each of the characters has a special relationship amongst the others in their small crew, whether it be through owed debts, bitter enemies, employee-employer; they all form reluctant alliances amongst each other in order to obtain the prize that they are all promised.
  5. The Slow-Burn Multiple Romances! Yes, there is romance, but Bardugo does it in such a way that it never overtakes or detracts from the overall story; it’s never forced or randomly placed. It so subtle and below the radar that it’s almost unexpected until it drives you crazy and makes you want to toss the book across the room with the need to yell “Just kiss already!” Each romantic subplot is unique in itself as well, and are there for entirely different purposes, which is a relief as well, they don’t feel repetitive or too similar.
  6. The Diversity Of The Cast Of Characters! Six of Crows may have one of the most diverse casts of characters that any reader could obtain. Its not just diverse in terms of race, but also sexuality, badass females, and also in terms of disabilities. Kaz is physically disabled with a limp in his right leg and has Haphephobia, the fear of being touched or touching others. Nina is a proud fat girl who also happens to be considered the most attractive member of the group, and there’s even a dyslexic character, which is extremely rare in Fantasy, YA or Adult. It’s portrayed as a way for the character to not be embarrassed and that it doesn’t make them less of a person, so why not add another?…one character even has ADD.
  7. The Real World Undertones! The author deals with real world issues like racism, religion, sexism, LGBTQ rights, and plenty of others. She successfully manages to turn them into something amongst the characters in her work and has it represented in a different way, but the message remains the same.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Beginning Chapters…Honestly, I can’t say much that I dislike about this story, but one thing worth mentioning is that the first few chapters throw readers right into the world and takes off immediately. It’s pretty much like a sink-or-swim type of feeling, and makes it hard to gain footing for new readers, especially for those like me, who come in not having read the Grisha Trilogy beforehand.
  2. Too Many Flashbacks?…I’m someone who becomes impatient when it comes to the stories I dive into, and I do tend to get frustrated when something makes me have to slow down or gets in my way (i.e: real world adulting, work, housework, etc.) its also why I’m not a big fan of musicals…after two songs I’m like “get on with it already!” The flashbacks do provide vital information that gives us new depths to the characters and why they are the way they are, but for me, after awhile I just wanted to see what happened next in present time. This was just a personal annoyance I found, but they didn’t detract from the story in any way. In fact, they only made it more complex and interesting.

Conclusion:

Overall, Six of Crows is a masterpiece of Fantasy Fiction filled with a rich & complex world, a cast of the most diverse group of characters anyone will ever read, and a more original plot than a lot of other works. They aren’t a Justice League of heroes out to save the world, they’re all crooked criminals who want a reward by accomplishing the most impossible heist that anyone could ever imagine!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

LGBT, New Adult Romance

My Review: Red, White, and Royal Blue: by Casey McQuiston

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Publish Date: May 14th 2019
Number of Pages: 423 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre(s): Contemporary, New Adult Romance, LGBT

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

One thing that I love to see is that there is so much more LGBTQ representation in literature nowadays. Identifying myself as a part of the queer community, it really is uplifting and feels like I’m not only acknowledged, I feel like I’m more understood and accepted amongst in this world when there are authors that write these stories, there are publishers that release these stories, and there are fellow readers who also enjoy these stories.

Representation truly matters. People who are different and who don’t fit into the typical social criteria need to feel like they are seen and that they matter, because they do! They need to feel like that when they read stories with characters that are just like them. It normalizes the exposure of LGBTQ+, and thus, helps create a society that realizes that there is no social agenda, only a want and need for unity and respect for our differences.

Yes, books are powerful tools if they can be tools to help us achieve that!

This is a debut novel, so some could say that the writer’s style reads similar to a royal romance fan fiction, but it’s still a great love story that is receiving a surprising amount of publicity as being the big queer romance story of the summer! One of the main aspects of the story is politics, which was expected when the two main characters is the bisexual fictional half-latino son of the president and the (fictional) gay prince of Wales.

I am by no means a big fan of politics, in fact I only skimmed the parts of the story where there’s a substantial amount of information about how it all works, I can still say I immensely enjoyed this title despite all that. Compared to the love story, it’s truly such a small aspect of this book, so don’t let that be the reason to deter you from picking it up!

What It’s About:

It’s a sweet, hilarious, and thoughtful love story between the son of the President of the United States and the second born Prince of Wales.

Alex Claremont-Diaz, along with his older sister and best friend, are the “White House Trio,” the marketing strategy designed by his mom, President Ellen Claremont (Yes, a WOMAN president). They are America’s version of royalty, and are treated as such with the paparazzi that follows them around, and the rumors written in Us Weekly and People. They get invited to the Royal Wedding overseas, to which Alex is less than enthused about because it means he’ll have to see Prince Henry, his long time rival. It turns out worse than expected, and a confrontation leads to an international scandal.

With re-elections on the horizon, President Claremont issues a fake friendship as a PR stunt in order to do damage control, but Alex unintentionally starts a bigger news story; he falls for the royal prince. They begin a hot and heavy secret relationship, and everything Alex thinks he knows gets blown out of the water and he questions everything: Is it all worth it? How can you do the things you still want to do with everything stacked against you? and What can you do to be remembered in history?

What I liked:

  1. The Romance! I am a hopeless romantic at heart, and while I’m not the biggest fan of “fluff,” this story had equal fluff with steam and humor to this a definite worthwhile story. Alex and Henry had a great relationship and were incredibly easy to like and support as they fight for their love despite all that threatened to tear them apart.
  2. The Theme About The Importance of Family! It was a major theme of the story and was shown in many different ways: Alex and his relationship with his best friend along with his sister, Prince Henry and his sister, Alex’s relationship with his estranged father, Henry and his older brother and mother, his friendship with his BFF Pez (picture a flaming male version of Awkwafina in Crazy Rich Asians) even both of their relationships with their heads of security. One of my favorite scenes was one where President Claremont organizes a family dinner one night, and turns off the “power suit” and just switches personas and becomes just their mom again; it was a warm and really touching scene.
  3. There is a Woman President! A female President who’s a badass in the office, and a badass mom who loves her family on top of it, and still makes time for them. I totally picture her being portrayed by Connie Briton if they ever make this into a movie!
  4. The LGBTQ Representation! Like I said earlier, it’s so relieving to see a novel with two gay male characters get so much attention and so much mainstream hype. Back in the earlier 2000’s, it felt like these kinds of books, or any books where LGBTQ was a main aspect of the story, it was pushed aside or kind of taboo, so they didn’t get as much hype, and there was no big excitement over the release of titles like that. Now it’s 2019, and this book is on the New York Times Best Sellers list! I hope to keep seeing this as more and more titles come out in the future.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. Politics…I’m not a big fan of Politics; while it worked for this story, if they could’ve had parents in different occupations, that would’ve been fine too. This has nothing really against the story or how it was written or even against the author, it’s more just a small personal quirk for me. Luckily, the author didn’t become too technical in matters of terms or explanations behind anything that happens concerning Politics.

Conclusion:

It’s a sweet and sexy romance that’s perfect for the warmer months of summer, and I enjoyed this story so much, it was such a joy to read. Alex is a strong willed, smart mouthed protagonist that I would just adore having as an actual friend. The author crafted such a heartwarming story in the aftermath of the 2016 elections and what it’s done to our country ever since.

I won’t ever really talk about Politics or what my opinions are with anyone, not even most of my family, but it was interesting to read an almost alternate-universe kind of story where a woman actually won and became a great President. Even if it stars two men as the two romantic interests, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, well written romance, fiction about politics and stories that showcase the importance of family.

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell