Scan barcode
lunarchfey's review
5.0
4.5/5 stars
What's more fun than two people having to team up to rescue their mutual lover? This was lovely and charming, well-written, and very delightfully queer through-and-through. At some points it felt like I was a little bit along for the ride with a lot of ideas that didn't quite find their place, and there were things I would have liked to see more of, but as a dreamy cohesive whole I still finished it with a sense of fondness. A book I'll definitely push at people, especially near December.
What's more fun than two people having to team up to rescue their mutual lover? This was lovely and charming, well-written, and very delightfully queer through-and-through. At some points it felt like I was a little bit along for the ride with a lot of ideas that didn't quite find their place, and there were things I would have liked to see more of, but as a dreamy cohesive whole I still finished it with a sense of fondness. A book I'll definitely push at people, especially near December.
ruxandra_grr's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the idea of this more than the thing itself. And I actually loved the idea. This chaotic magical person disappears and his two night-and-day partners, Nat and Layla, try to find him, fumbling with magic they don't really understand.
My most favorite thing: Ari and Kay, Nat's friends, who really need to call me ASAP, because I want them in my life.
I'm all about exploring polyamory in fiction and I liked how this was handled here, with the two metamours learning how to work together and becoming a larger part of each other's lives, including meeting their own families, but I feel like there was a lot of space there to go in deeper in the characters and the conflict.
I liked the diversity of the characters, but the story seemed more like a sketch of a story and the characters more like sketches of characters. They weren't super fleshy. And this is weird for *me* to complain about, but too many variations on the 'pretending to be a cis-hetero patriarchal person' jokes or just mentions of this. I'm not complaining about PC here and telling kids to get off my lawn, and I use a lot of these jokes in real life, but in this story, it felt like too much after a while.
My most favorite thing: Ari and Kay, Nat's friends, who really need to call me ASAP, because I want them in my life.
I'm all about exploring polyamory in fiction and I liked how this was handled here, with the two metamours learning how to work together and becoming a larger part of each other's lives, including meeting their own families, but I feel like there was a lot of space there to go in deeper in the characters and the conflict.
I liked the diversity of the characters, but the story seemed more like a sketch of a story and the characters more like sketches of characters. They weren't super fleshy. And this is weird for *me* to complain about, but too many variations on the 'pretending to be a cis-hetero patriarchal person' jokes or just mentions of this. I'm not complaining about PC here and telling kids to get off my lawn, and I use a lot of these jokes in real life, but in this story, it felt like too much after a while.
ihlonial's review
4.0
wThis is probably the first time I've seen a wholesome portrayal of a polyamorous relationship in literature. I read one other before that really felt imbalanced and exploitative so this one felt more real, more genuine and honest about the feelings that come with sharing love between more than just two people. We love to see it!
I'll never be in a relationship like that, but I really can empathize and revel in the care and anxiety that revolves around this. It's really comforting and lovely to see love being expressed so sincerely and openly. The honesty and communication between each partner kind of makes me wish I could see this honesty in every relationships. I really loved seeing the growth that happens between the characters and delighted when Nat and Layla had to pretend to like each other in order to save their boyfriend.
There is so much representation in this story and all of it felt happy and joyful. We need more stories that celebrate queer joy.
C/W: some language
I'll never be in a relationship like that, but I really can empathize and revel in the care and anxiety that revolves around this. It's really comforting and lovely to see love being expressed so sincerely and openly. The honesty and communication between each partner kind of makes me wish I could see this honesty in every relationships. I really loved seeing the growth that happens between the characters and delighted when Nat and Layla had to pretend to like each other in order to save their boyfriend.
There is so much representation in this story and all of it felt happy and joyful. We need more stories that celebrate queer joy.
C/W: some language
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Before I get into the good stuff, I wanted to note two areas with which I struggled here: the writing style and the ending. The writing style was done in the third-person present, which has to be one of my least favourite combinations. I also think some passages needed to be edited for clarity, because there is still one at the beginning of the first chapter that I can’t fully parse. Aside from these gripes, I did enjoy the humour of the writing style. My issue with the ending wasn’t how things ended, but the pacing of it. The first half of the book slowly increases the pace and tension, and then the story loses all of this in the extended church scenario for the second half. Like, we were solving multiple clues in the first half and ONE in the second. So there was no build-up to the climax, and then the climax itself happened at break-neck speed. One other little criticism I had was that I wish we’d seen more of Meraud and his partners in retrospective introspection, as him being missing is the focal point of the book, yet we don’t really see him or his relationships with Layla and Nat in depth.
I did, however, think the character work with Layla and Nat, our two MCs, was great. Despite this being a novella, I really got a feel for who these two were. They also had solid character development. Layla’s was centred around opening up to her partner more, as well as taking her relationship with Meraud more seriously. Nat’s was kind of similar, in that he realised he wanted to define his relationship with Meraud more clearly. Moreover, both of them learned to respect one another and grew to love each other (platonically).
This story had such a beautiful depiction of polyamory. It’s shown as this normal, loving way of being. The depiction is honestly indicative of the way queerness in general is portrayed in the book, namely as something everyday and something subversive, that makes the world both beautiful and better. I loved this quote in particular: “Meraud queers the air around him: makes it burst into warmth and light when it had no intention of doing so.”
The magic system was really intriguing and unique, which is a feat for a novella. I liked how objects in the world could be representatives for concepts when spellmaking; for example, driftwood representing drifting.
I was pleasantly surprised with how the plot turned out to be a treasure hunt, and apart from the aforementioned final church clue, I thought it was well-executed. Overall this was a solid 4 star read and I’d be keen to check out other works by the authors.
Rep: polyamorous bisexual British-Indian MC, Jewish genderqueer MC, polyamorous bisexual SC, sapphic SC, nonbinary Jewish SC, nonbinary SC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content
Major: missing loved one Minor: pet death, 1 HP reference, climate change, misgendering (unintentional)kathrinpassig's review
3.0
Gelesen wegen dieser Goodreads-Rezension, die mit dem Satz beginnt "This novella reads like Connie Willis if Connie Willis were aggressively queer". Genau so ist es auch. Ich würde sehr gern mehr Bücher sehen, in denen Poly-Beziehungen normal und nicht das Thema sind, aber das hier war mir ein bisschen zu "Queer Nat took a queer sip of queer tea from his queer mug". Ich habe eine Weile darüber nachgedacht, ob ich den üblichen Fehler mache, sichtbare Queerness viel zu sichtbar zu finden und über Cis-Hetero-Angelegenheiten, die andere Texte auf genauso aufdringliche Weise durchziehen, einfach wegzulesen, und ich kann das nicht ganz ausschließen. Aber ich glaube, das Problem ist vor allem, dass ich es generell nicht mag, wenn man mir in Büchern irgendwas überdeutlich sagt. Ich muss mehr Bücher lesen, in denen queerer Tee aus queeren Tassen getrunken wird, dann kann ich das besser einschätzen.
carmiendo's review
5.0
i want to read all of the magic queer polyamory books!!
..unfortunately i'm a bit worried that i just did
..unfortunately i'm a bit worried that i just did
mrswythe89's review
5.0
I loved this unusual novella -- contemporary fantasy set in a London illuminated by the light of another world. Elegant, tender and funny, it's a perfect book to curl up with on a winter's night, along with your favourite seasonal accessories (mug of hot drink, festive jumper, pet cat or loved one, etc).
amphitritedreams's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The best stories are the hardest to review.
Nat and Layla must not only do the impossible to save Meraud, but wrestle with conflicting identities, prejudices, fears and all the many kinds of love along the way.
Refreshingly, romantic love (which is present in existing relationships) takes a back seat to friends, families (found and otherwise), community and even finding room to love oneself. Similarly, it offers really excellent queer and polyamorous rep, but while it is important in shaping characters and the story, it is not in and of itself the story.
The writing is sharp and clear and rich, with vivid characters and fantasy modern London world building in very few words. It smells like cedar and river mud, mulled wine and icing sugar. It's frosty and dark and lit up with fairy lights and crowded kitchens. It is scary and sad and funny. It is kind. It is clear-eyed and still hopeful without being saccharine or cynical.
I cry every time I read it, but I come away hopeful and that much more ready to do and think hard things.
Obviously it also makes me gush and flail and try to get people to read it.
Nat and Layla must not only do the impossible to save Meraud, but wrestle with conflicting identities, prejudices, fears and all the many kinds of love along the way.
Refreshingly, romantic love (which is present in existing relationships) takes a back seat to friends, families (found and otherwise), community and even finding room to love oneself. Similarly, it offers really excellent queer and polyamorous rep, but while it is important in shaping characters and the story, it is not in and of itself the story.
The writing is sharp and clear and rich, with vivid characters and fantasy modern London world building in very few words. It smells like cedar and river mud, mulled wine and icing sugar. It's frosty and dark and lit up with fairy lights and crowded kitchens. It is scary and sad and funny. It is kind. It is clear-eyed and still hopeful without being saccharine or cynical.
I cry every time I read it, but I come away hopeful and that much more ready to do and think hard things.
Obviously it also makes me gush and flail and try to get people to read it.
thestarlesscasea's review
5.0
This novella probably isn't for everyone, but it is absolutely for me. It's one of those rare books where after reading it, I feel changed--recentered, more alive, more ready to live authentically (and figure out what the heck that even means for me). It's deeply queer, poignant, funny, suspenseful, and beautifully written. I'm crying again writing this--this one really got me, and I'm deeply grateful to have come across it. The list of queer books that led me here described this book as a "warm hug," and at times I fully agree, while at others it was too stressful and sad for that description. Throughout, this book feels supremely wintry, right down to the nostalgia that often comes with that season, which so few books do this well. I wish there were a physical book and an audiobook; I would buy both.
usuallyhats's review
5.0
I had a lot of things I was supposed to do this morning, but I read this instead, and I have 0 regrets. It's queer, funny and beautiful, full of warmth and magic and hope, and I loved it. I want to read a million more things in this world and with these characters.