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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
A fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable love story. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough.
this was totally not the story i expected.
i wanted helen to be the main character & the love story isn't that convincing tbh, haskell was alright but i feel like the most boring [and privileged?] characters got the most book time. i loved some of the butch/femme stuff, community, bars, art etc but this novel isn't about a butch/femme love story which is what i thought it was so i was rly disappointed tbh. as far as i remember none of the white characters are described as white/+ their skin tone is never mentioned but helen [the one woman of colour in the friendship group] has her asianness pointed out a lot at the beginning. and there's this weird bit where she says a slur after calling someone a witch ?? which seemed unnecessary and weirdly voyeuristic [i'm pretty sure the author is white ?] and they are all ??!! skinny??!!! fat people exist!!! and are hot!! and gay!
also haskell draws extremely racist caricatures for her job designing pulp magazine covers which like... okay... but the only reference to it being morally/ etc gross is that it pays the bills and she's traumatised and draws scared but resilient women to help her heal. but we dont see her create any other art [except for one thing] so like that made me uncomfortable - .
+ there should have been more magic!!!
tl;dr I wanted it to be this fan fic I love (with or without the sex lol) but it’s not, I shall just have to reread that !!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/4797563
i wanted helen to be the main character & the love story isn't that convincing tbh, haskell was alright but i feel like the most boring [and privileged?] characters got the most book time. i loved some of the butch/femme stuff, community, bars, art etc but this novel isn't about a butch/femme love story which is what i thought it was so i was rly disappointed tbh. as far as i remember none of the white characters are described as white/+ their skin tone is never mentioned but helen [the one woman of colour in the friendship group] has her asianness pointed out a lot at the beginning. and there's this weird bit where she says a slur after calling someone a witch ?? which seemed unnecessary and weirdly voyeuristic [i'm pretty sure the author is white ?] and they are all ??!! skinny??!!! fat people exist!!! and are hot!! and gay!
also haskell draws extremely racist caricatures for her job designing pulp magazine covers which like... okay... but the only reference to it being morally/ etc gross is that it pays the bills and she's traumatised and draws scared but resilient women to help her heal. but we dont see her create any other art [except for one thing] so like that made me uncomfortable - .
+ there should have been more magic!!!
tl;dr I wanted it to be this fan fic I love (with or without the sex lol) but it’s not, I shall just have to reread that !!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/4797563
This was a lovely little read. Klages has a crisp but engaging prose, and really painted a picture of 1940s San Francisco without getting lost in it, which I think a lot of novels set in big cities tend to do. I found the characters interesting and engaging, and while the story it told was fairly simple, I was enchanted by it.
I'm not sure how I felt about the magic--I'm always here for magic, but it didn't seem very interwoven into the story, to me. It only came up very briefly once or twice in the story, and then suddenly again at the end. While I loved Klage's ideas and interpretations with magic, it just felt... a little out of place. I'm not saying the book would have been better without it, because it wouldn't have--but I guess I wish there was a bit more of it. That may just be the fantasy addict in me, though.
Either way, it was still quite enjoyable, and the way the narrative was framed worked very well.
I'm not sure how I felt about the magic--I'm always here for magic, but it didn't seem very interwoven into the story, to me. It only came up very briefly once or twice in the story, and then suddenly again at the end. While I loved Klage's ideas and interpretations with magic, it just felt... a little out of place. I'm not saying the book would have been better without it, because it wouldn't have--but I guess I wish there was a bit more of it. That may just be the fantasy addict in me, though.
Either way, it was still quite enjoyable, and the way the narrative was framed worked very well.
I wanted to love this but god was it fucking tedious. I read most of it and it was a boring slog. Hated the writing and the characters. At its best it had insights to queer culture at the time, but I could read nonfiction for a better lens on that.
oh, this was very good. I hadn't been sure of how the beginning fit into the rest of the story, but I adored that aspect of it. a lot less magic than I'd expected, though, but I loved that this focused on queer women and queer love, in a time that wasn't as accepting as it is now, in a place where they had to carve out their own spaces to be happy. and this Circle was amazing together!
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was sold to me as a historical fantasy, and to be honest it is a historical fiction with the smallest amount of magic which is used solely for plot convenience at the end. I did really like the main couple, but the reason that I tend not to read historical fiction is the amount of overt hate for non cis/white/straight people just isn't a good reading time in my fiction. This story is set in 1920s America and so there is a lot of gross language towards immigrants of colour, especially Chinese. As this is a story with a f/f centric couple, there is also a lot of page time devoted to the prejudices and harassment that wlw faced at that time.
Overall, this wasn't a bad novella, it just wasn't what I was expecting and thus was not really my cup of tea.
Overall, this wasn't a bad novella, it just wasn't what I was expecting and thus was not really my cup of tea.
3,5 stars.
Another one of those Tor free ebooks of the month and this one was a bit different. It is more of a historical romance with a dash of magic thrown in. The first part and last part are set in our world but everything inbetween tells the story of two females finding love with one another.
I didn't end up falling in love with this one because I didn't love the characters it was about. After the first part I had secretly hoped that Helen Young was the mc and she didn't turn out to be so I was miffed haha. I liked her a lot.
On the other hand this book is still important to show what life was like in the 1940's for lesbians, bisexuals and like minded people. As shown above in the trigger warnings, it deals with a lot of difficulties these femals had to live through. And I think this might resonate alot with those who see themselves represented on the page.
Another one of those Tor free ebooks of the month and this one was a bit different. It is more of a historical romance with a dash of magic thrown in. The first part and last part are set in our world but everything inbetween tells the story of two females finding love with one another.
I didn't end up falling in love with this one because I didn't love the characters it was about. After the first part I had secretly hoped that Helen Young was the mc and she didn't turn out to be so I was miffed haha. I liked her a lot.
On the other hand this book is still important to show what life was like in the 1940's for lesbians, bisexuals and like minded people. As shown above in the trigger warnings, it deals with a lot of difficulties these femals had to live through. And I think this might resonate alot with those who see themselves represented on the page.
It will be tough for any love story I read this year to top Passing Strange. It's the story of two nice girls in love, in San Francisco before WW2 and there is a little magic too.
More like 3.5 stars but rounded up!
This was a lovely, sweet novella that features sapphic relationships at the center with a happy ending. I need more of this, please!
The goodreads summary would lead you to believe that this novella will focus on 6 lesbians in 1940s San Francisco. Only part of that is true because the focus is actually more on a singular love story between one of the couples. Emily and Haskell had me all in my feels! Also the initial shift in perspective in conjunction with the jump to a different time period were jarring and it took me some time to readjust. The length of this novella was also an issue because I wanted to explore all of the friendships and all of their dynamics more.
HOWEVER, I really enjoyed this despite those narrative choices. I really loved the passages about life in this era when being out wasn't an option. The magic for me existed in the atmospheric setting of San Francisco rather than in the traditional sense seen in most fantasy. There are some minor magical manifestations that lend directly to the plot that I'll let you read for yourself though. Also I loved the appearance of Diego Rivera and the possible relationship between Haskell and Frida! It was so smart to include this to get a sense of the artist's scene at the time and I ate it up! This story is quiet but is also beautiful in its message of living your most authentic life with those you love. That ending is enough for me to recommend this!
Thank you so much to Kazen for allowing me to read her copy with the above quote included!
This was a lovely, sweet novella that features sapphic relationships at the center with a happy ending. I need more of this, please!
The goodreads summary would lead you to believe that this novella will focus on 6 lesbians in 1940s San Francisco. Only part of that is true because the focus is actually more on a singular love story between one of the couples.
HOWEVER, I really enjoyed this despite those narrative choices. I really loved the passages about life in this era when being out wasn't an option. The magic for me existed in the atmospheric setting of San Francisco rather than in the traditional sense seen in most fantasy. There are some minor magical manifestations that lend directly to the plot that I'll let you read for yourself though.
Here's a wonderful quote from 2017 and Klage's twitter:
"Magic is not for everyday use. Magic is the special platter that lives up in a high cupboard, used only for very special occasions."
Thank you so much to Kazen for allowing me to read her copy with the above quote included!
This was magnificent. Historical fiction with lots of lesbians and MAGIC.