Hello and welcome to spring! This month, we have a gay fanfiction writer falling for his hot boss, three children learning to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophic solar flare, and a blind lesbian hunting for her grandmother's killer.
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Happy Reading!
Title/Author: Total Creative Control by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm
Reviewer: Lo
Summary: When fanfic writer Aaron Page landed a temp job with the creator of hit TV show, Leeches, it was only meant to last a week. Three years later, Aaron’s still there...
It could be because he loves the creative challenge. It could be because he’s a huge Leeches fanboy. It’s definitely not because of Lewis Hunter, his extremely demanding, staggeringly rude...and breathtakingly gorgeous boss.
Series/Standalone: First in a Series / can be read as a Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Book Format: Print
Length: 365 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Achiliean/ Gay
HEA/HFN: HEA
Content Warnings: Loss of a parent
Ratio of Sex/Plot: Actual sex to plot ~3%, however there is a lot of internal imaginings of sex that’d probably bring it up to ~8%.
Well-Written/Editor Needed: An editor was definitely needed; It didn’t fully pull me out of the story, but I would say it was noticeable.
Would I Recommend it?: Yes, I did thoroughly enjoy it. I’d offer the caveats that it does need an editor, and it is VERY British. If you are not familiar with British culture or vernacular, it might not be as enjoyable for you.
Personal Thoughts: As previously mentioned, I did thoroughly enjoy it. I do, however, think it wasn’t marketed well. It is marketed with “Sunshine PA, meet Grumpy Boss," but it didn’t hit those grumpy/sunshine story elements. This story really shines in its showing of “that person who sees you, truly sees you and who knows more about you than anyone else.” It has a lot of emotionally charged scenes from both of the main characters, they are just expressed differently. I will say the ending is a little fast in how it ties everything up in a neat little bow and everything magically works out. Additionally, there is a truly putrid character called Charlie Alexander, but all the characters that interact with him call out his behavior—just unfortunately not directly to him most of the time.
Title/Author: The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon
Reviewer: Dani
Summary: In the aftermath of a catastrophic solar flare, step-siblings Millie and Rose have different ideas about how to keep themselves and their baby brother alive. Rose wants to crack the coded radio transmissions coming from what might be a thriving community somewhere in the mountains, but Millie is more stubborn in her determination to trek across Appalachia to find her Seminole grandmother. On their way, they hitch a ride with a motley group of kids searching for their families and find themselves forming unexpected bonds and discovering new truths about themselves. The ups and downs of their journey ultimately bring them up against The Hive, a resource-hoarding corporate stronghold that will mow down anyone it sees as a threat.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Middle grade
Book Format: eBook
LGBTQ+ Orientation: One of the two main characters is nonbinary; side characters of various queer identities
Content Warnings: Death, parental death, fire, violence
Well-Written/Editor Needed: Well-written
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal thoughts: I picked up The Flicker after seeing it had received a Stonewall Honor this year, and it was easy to understand why it was chosen as an award-worthy LGBTQIA+ book. Edgmon's middle grade debut is post-apocalyptic fiction that takes its readers seriously and doesn't shy away from the extreme consequences of environmental destruction, tapping into fury about the state of the world and the systems preventing positive change. In a harrowing story of forced self-reliance and corporate violence, the silver lining for kids setting out on their own is the chance to find community and support each other in being their fullest selves. The Flicker illuminates a clear path toward a better future through chosen family, queer self-expression, and indigenous practices for caring for the natural world. I'd recommend it to kids who’d enjoy a nail-biting adventure with interesting characters and anyone looking for hope in a grim time.
Title/Author: The Labyrinth's Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed
Reviewer: Jordan
Summary: Azulea has been striving to become an archivist of the Labyrinth like her mother and her grandmother before her. Unfortunately, being blind is a hindrance, and Archive rules state she cannot work with a partner, even though she works well with her cousin Peny. When her grandmother is found dead, Azulea is sure she was murdered and sets out to prove it by herself when no one believes her. In the process, she even pushes Malehti, the head of the souq guards and her ex-girlfriend, away until her quest becomes too dangerous.
Series/Standalone: Part of the Broken Cities Shared Universe: The “series” is made up of stand-alone novels, short stories, and novellas by various authors and may be read in any order.
Genre/Sub-Genre: Fantasy
Book Format: Print
Length: 132 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Lesbian
Content Warnings: Gruesome deaths as experienced by someone who is blind
Well-Written/Editor Needed: Needs to be longer. See my personal thoughts below for more.
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal thoughts:
I actually really really liked this one! First, let me explain that I have not read any of the other books in this shared universe. I didn’t realize this was a shared universe story when it first came out. This is my second read of this novella. It can be read as a standalone, but I do wonder how the world building would be experienced differently if I’d read the other stories. I’ve been waiting for Day Al-Mohamed to write more in this world and now I understand that this is likely her only work here and it may stay that way. Personally, I’m bummed by that because I really like her work and her characters and I would love to read more about them!
Azulea, our main character, is a blind lesbian of color, and that, along with the fact of her working to become an Archivist, is what initially drew me to this story. What’s even better is that the author herself is also a blind lesbian of color. Honestly, there just aren’t enough stories written for adults featuring disabilities, characters of color, and LGBTQ+ characters, never mind all three at once. My trouble here is that because this is a novella and because there are so many characters, we don’t get to know very much about them, even Azulea and her girlfriend, Melehti. But I could feel there was a lot more about each character in the author’s head that just didn’t make it onto the page, and I wanted to see that.
I felt the same about the world building. I thought it was really interesting, but I wanted to experience more of the adventure that was close at hand but still just out of reach.
The plot is a murder mystery in a fantasy setting, which I’m totally down for, however, with so many different characters walking around, the mystery didn’t get much of a chance to grow and develop before it needed to end due to the length of the book. When you find out whodunit, it feels at once too obvious and yet completely out of nowhere.
Thinking back on this now, it seems so odd that I did really enjoy it, enough to read it twice! But there is something very compelling about these characters in this setting. I just want more, which is why I think this should have been a full-length novel, rather than a novella. I’d like to see the mystery plot fleshed out more, the characters more well-rounded, and to experience more of the world-building. There’s still a lot to like in this super fast read though!
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