A review by neuroqueer
High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Note: I’m still figuring out how I want to format my sporadic reviews

Quick takeaways:
Protagonist(s): Happy-go-lucky lothario (lotharia?)
Side Characters: Uninteresting
Antagonist(s): Exist
Plot: Confusing
Writing: Good
Overall: C+

Thoughts:
I randomly added this book to my holds list on Libby, forgot about it, dove in when it showed up and was confused with what was going on. So in this female only world, fairies and humans made a pact. They have a parliament which votes on various things (humans are the legislators and the fairies are more like enforcers). If votes keep coming up as hung, all the humans in the building will drown and war will break out as a result. It’s weird how everyone says the parliament is not important but isn’t it important if their votes can change the course of history? I didn’t get it or I’m too sleep deprived to.

I liked Lana, our lead character. She is an unabashed womanizer. It wasn’t taken to the extreme where you get annoyed with her constant flirtations. She is just a character that operates on emotions but not to the point of screwing up constantly. It was fun following her around. I liked her and Bugbite’s friendship which went from tenuous to busom-buddy after a few hits off of yeast (this world’s equivalent to weed). I didn’t really feel the romance for Eloquentia. Felt generic. The other scribes and fairies were forgettable.

As stated before, the plot is kind of confusing in the beginning (if you didn’t read the blurb like I didn’t). The bad guy’s endgame did not make sense at first but then I got the allusion to Brexit and figured it out. The novella was silly so makes sense the ending is silly too. This is supposed to be a stoner comedy but I didn’t really guffaw at anything. I wasn’t rushing to see what happens next but it also wasn’t bad enough to drop.