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A review by ck_merlyn
Summer Court by S.M. Reine
3.0
This is the book I have the most to say about.
Awesomely, positively, the MC is an immigrant Hindu woman, pregnant, unmarried, & most excitingly, DISABLED!! We don’t see NEARLY enough disabled folks in fiction, let alone Disabled POC. Yay! Our heroine has some really great views on Disabled autonomy, the place mobility aids have in a Disabled person’s world, & how accessibility might factor into an apocalypse.
Less awesomely…
Samita has a LOT of internalised Ableism. That’s a really big problem.
Also a big problem is Samita’s view on love, sex, & relationships. She’s hugely judgemental. Scathingly so. Given the way the ending is framed, it seems the author advocates these viewpoints. That’s a MASSIVE problem. Sex isn’t bad, it shouldn’t have to be hidden away. Monogamy, we KNOW, isn’t the best way for humanity to progress. Samita has a distressingly unhealthy view of mental health issues, & took the massive step of isolating herself, her spouse, & her child at the first opportunity. That’s hardly healthy. It shouldn’t be put on any sort of pedestal.
As for the overarching series plot…
This book feels like a hasty, badly planned way to wrap up what was supposed to be a much longer series. We’re given a concrete date for the happenings in this book, but they’re obviously many years after the undated events of the previous books. We’ve gone from three tarot witches at the end of the previous book, to Samita making 22. The disconnect is jarring.
This book is called the Summer Court, but it’s not really got much to do with the Summer Court at all. We get glimpses of previous MCs, but they’re all very much changed people. Leah in particular. This book undermines the premise of the previous books, in my opinion.
Having said that…
Were there POC? Explicitly. And Disabled POC at that!
Were there Queer/GLITTFAB characters? Explicitly! Yay!
Would I re-read? Not if I can help it. I’ll happily push highlighted points where Samita had great points about Disability, but that’s it.
Was it worth my time? A terrible story with a Disabled POC main character? ABSOLUTELY this was worth my time. So very worth my time just for that element.
Would I recommend this book? Not at all. I will promote the character of Samita, because WE NEED MORE DISABLED CHARACTERS. I won’t sugar coat her faults, though. They help make her real, even if they’re still problematic.
Awesomely, positively, the MC is an immigrant Hindu woman, pregnant, unmarried, & most excitingly, DISABLED!! We don’t see NEARLY enough disabled folks in fiction, let alone Disabled POC. Yay! Our heroine has some really great views on Disabled autonomy, the place mobility aids have in a Disabled person’s world, & how accessibility might factor into an apocalypse.
Less awesomely…
Samita has a LOT of internalised Ableism. That’s a really big problem.
Also a big problem is Samita’s view on love, sex, & relationships. She’s hugely judgemental. Scathingly so. Given the way the ending is framed, it seems the author advocates these viewpoints. That’s a MASSIVE problem. Sex isn’t bad, it shouldn’t have to be hidden away. Monogamy, we KNOW, isn’t the best way for humanity to progress. Samita has a distressingly unhealthy view of mental health issues, & took the massive step of isolating herself, her spouse, & her child at the first opportunity. That’s hardly healthy. It shouldn’t be put on any sort of pedestal.
As for the overarching series plot…
This book feels like a hasty, badly planned way to wrap up what was supposed to be a much longer series. We’re given a concrete date for the happenings in this book, but they’re obviously many years after the undated events of the previous books. We’ve gone from three tarot witches at the end of the previous book, to Samita making 22. The disconnect is jarring.
This book is called the Summer Court, but it’s not really got much to do with the Summer Court at all. We get glimpses of previous MCs, but they’re all very much changed people. Leah in particular. This book undermines the premise of the previous books, in my opinion.
Having said that…
Were there POC? Explicitly. And Disabled POC at that!
Were there Queer/GLITTFAB characters? Explicitly! Yay!
Would I re-read? Not if I can help it. I’ll happily push highlighted points where Samita had great points about Disability, but that’s it.
Was it worth my time? A terrible story with a Disabled POC main character? ABSOLUTELY this was worth my time. So very worth my time just for that element.
Would I recommend this book? Not at all. I will promote the character of Samita, because WE NEED MORE DISABLED CHARACTERS. I won’t sugar coat her faults, though. They help make her real, even if they’re still problematic.