Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta is one of those books that somehow passed me by when it came out in 2021. It follows two teenage girls, Sona and Eris, as they try to destroy the Godolia empire from the inside: Sona as one of the students from the Academy who earns a spot as a frighteningRead More
A Fiery Finale: The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri
In 2021, three brilliant, yellow-covered epic fantasy books came out, all of them with sapphic leads, and thus the Sapphic Trifecta was born. I have read and loved them all (and talked about them here, along with several other Lesbrarians), but I think if I were to pick a favorite, I would have to say TheRead More
A Lush and Lesbian Political Fantasy: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
In honor of The Lotus Empire being released on November 12th, I decided to reread The Jasmine Throne and actually continue with the series past the first book. I first read it back in 2021 when it came out and I remember enjoying it, but aside from that, not much stuck in my head. I never got around toRead More
Colonialism and Revolution in Fantasy France: The Faithless by C. L. Clark
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! When I finished The Unbroken by C. L. Clark, I wasn’t sure I was going to continue with the series. It was brilliant, yes: thought-provoking and gut-wrenching, with commentary on colonialism and a passionate, doomed F/F romantic subplot. The strengths of the book, though—theRead More
Gory Bisexual Horror/Fantasy: The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! One thing about a Cassandra Khaw book: I never know what I’m getting into. Even two-thirds of the way through this, completely invested in the story, I still kept thinking, “What genre is this? And also, what’s the plot?” Julie is a 30-year-old exorcistRead More
A Dark, Magical Story of Gender Versus Tradition: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, written by Juno Dawson, is an enthralling urban fantasy that explores gender in a magical world that, similar to our own, finds itself strictly divided along the binary. It questions concepts of power, friendship, love, and feminism in a world in which traditional power structures are challenged and,Read More
Getting the Band Back Together: It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link It Goes Like This is a story about friendship, second chances, and not giving up on the people who care about you. The story follows the former members of Moonlight Overthrow, a band of teenagers who split up a year and a half before the events of the novel. Celeste and Gina, twoRead More
Evil Gods, Murder, and Angry Women: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Tara Sim’s The City of Dusk has been on my to-read list for a while now, and with the second book in the series—The Midnight Kingdom—having just come out, now seemed a great time to get around to it. This dark fantasy novel follows the four heirs of the noble houses of Nexus: Taesia,Read More
Marthese reviews Seer and the Shield (Dragon Horse War #3) by D. Jackson Leigh
“She wanted the guard to relax and see them as people, not just the enemy” Seer and the Shield by D. Jackson Leigh is the third and final book in the Dragon Horse War trilogy. This book focuses on the conclusion of the story and on Toni and Maya, who was introduced in the previousRead More