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jaelynx's reviews
252 reviews
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Holidays apparently have royal families so obviously when the Prince of Christmas gets thrust into an arranged marriage with the Princess of Easter by his asshole dad, Santa, he’ll instead fall for the Prince of Halloween and stage an anti-capitalist coup against the commodification of Christmas.
So, I’m back reading queer Christmas romcoms again and this one is a mixed bag I feel. It’s funny and cute but the characters didn’t quite work for me, that might be a lack of tension between the love interests. The world of holiday royals, politicking and paparazzi was different but maybe distractingly crazy if you’re not invested in the chaotic cheese.
Lastly, the broad message about the dominance of Christmas and how it becomes about cheap plastic gifts was good for the large part. But it got a bit focused on telling us how it should be rather than actually living up to it.
So on the whole, a cute romp with some fun themes but I felt like it needed a lot more polish behind its structure and messaging.
Random quote: “I do not BLAST ICE when I orgasm!”
The Edge of a World by J.D. Rivers
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
I found the prose far too dry and plodding. I can barely tell you anything about these characters and world, let alone enjoy reading about them.
Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
A small region is stuck in a perpetual winter. Offerings from locals to the goddess to bring spring have gone unanswered. Ellery, no longer believing in the gods, leaves his family’s frozen farm to work in a city diner to help support his family trying to scrape by with greenhouses to grow crops.
When Ellery meets Knox, a runaway familiar from the Other World, his understanding of the world and the perpetual winter is thrown upside down. Ellery helps protects Knox from the shades who seek to drag him back in exchange for finding out the truth about the winter. But as Ellery helps Knox experience more of human life, they both begin to feel more than they bargained for.
This is a very cute YA romance with an enby protagonist, an adorably OTT sapphic couple and contemporary magic with goddesses and underworlds to boot. The characters are lovely even if Ellery has that teenage insufferability sometimes (just stop antagonising demigods for once, please).
When Ellery meets Knox, a runaway familiar from the Other World, his understanding of the world and the perpetual winter is thrown upside down. Ellery helps protects Knox from the shades who seek to drag him back in exchange for finding out the truth about the winter. But as Ellery helps Knox experience more of human life, they both begin to feel more than they bargained for.
This is a very cute YA romance with an enby protagonist, an adorably OTT sapphic couple and contemporary magic with goddesses and underworlds to boot. The characters are lovely even if Ellery has that teenage insufferability sometimes (just stop antagonising demigods for once, please).
The Municipalists by Seth Fried
3.5
An adventure story with a bureaucrat at the United States Municipal Survey and his alcoholic partner who also happens to be the agency’s supercomputer investigating a terrorist threat to the gleaming Metropolis City.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
A Harlem Renaissance classic, it follows a black woman in early 20th-century Florida as she searches for independence outside of others’ expectations.
The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
3.75
A Post WWIII divided America lives under an uneasy compromise of total obedience to the law. On the cusp of joining the Kongo elite, Arika begins to realise the unjust nature of the compromise, the law and how deeply their history has been censored.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
4.0
This wonderful 19th-century classic has French oceanographer Pierre Aronnax go on the hunt for a sea monster ravaging shipping only to find his quarry is an advanced submarine led by Captain Nemo who takes them on an adventure through the bizarre world on the ocean floor.
The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson
3.0
An English governess throws herself into the Russian Revolution in living in a commune with Nikita Slavkin, who in attempting to build a time travel device to view the utopian communist future ahead of them, vanishes.
Weather War by Paul Posnick, Leonard Leokum
2.75
In ’78, a sexy weatherman unwinds conspiracy that freak weather events bringing disaster are actually weapons of war! If you like a slightly dated thriller sci-fi that presumes we might destroy our planet through extreme weather strategically rather than as a by-product of greed and ignorance, then this might be for you!
Carmilla '86 by Avery Morstan
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.25
A short story retelling Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic lesbian vampire story as a romance in 1980s small town America.
Laura has a quiet life looking after her conservative dad who wants her to date his dull farmhand. But one night at a club she is entranced by Carmilla, an electric encounter with her lips that is interrupted by the discovery of the body of her (supposedly) dead college roommate.
This perhaps fails a bit on any horror aspect, mostly being about their whirlwind romance with a strong queer and feminist underpinning (I did appreciate a vigorous calling out on men fetishizing beautiful young female murder victims). It's very short, and might be served by something more fleshed out but it does well at telling the story it sets out to. The only gripe I have is the number of times Laura addresses her diary - I'm never a fan of that cliché). But if you want a modern day body positive lesbian vampire short story, this is a good shout.
Laura has a quiet life looking after her conservative dad who wants her to date his dull farmhand. But one night at a club she is entranced by Carmilla, an electric encounter with her lips that is interrupted by the discovery of the body of her (supposedly) dead college roommate.
This perhaps fails a bit on any horror aspect, mostly being about their whirlwind romance with a strong queer and feminist underpinning (I did appreciate a vigorous calling out on men fetishizing beautiful young female murder victims). It's very short, and might be served by something more fleshed out but it does well at telling the story it sets out to. The only gripe I have is the number of times Laura addresses her diary - I'm never a fan of that cliché). But if you want a modern day body positive lesbian vampire short story, this is a good shout.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood