meirinasoe's reviews
167 reviews

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 1 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-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

Dangerous Devotion by Robin Jo Margaret

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Blood Orange by Yaffa As

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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

3.25

This was my first read for the Trans Rights Readathon, and I really wanted to love it. But as I kept reading, it's getting harder to ignore the flaws.

The Good Stuff:
The Trans Rep – Easily one of the best parts of the book. It's always nice to see a trans character whose story isn’t a fight against transphobia. It’s refreshing to read a fantasy where all kinds of queerness are just accepted and normalized.

The Autistic/Neurodivergent Rep – This was handled really well. Silvyr’s passion for herbal medicine and reading makes his character even more enjoyable, and as someone who’s ND, I really appreciated that little touch.

The Simplicity & Predictability – Some people might not like how predictable the main plot is, but honestly? It adds to the book’s cozy, comforting vibe. Plenty of mainstream cishet books get away with simple, predictable plots, and there’s a reason they’re so popular. Queer stories don’t always have to be complex—we deserve simple, familiar, feel-good reads too.

The Not-So-Great Stuff:
The Worldbuilding – I don’t mind a simple plot, but the worldbuilding really didn’t work for me. Silvyr’s father, “The Tyrant King,” is just a generic embodiment of all evil. He’s abusive, has no real connection to his wife or family, and rules through fear and violence. No one benefits from his reign, and he doesn’t even have any real supporters? A ruler like that would spawn a bunch of traitors and wouldn’t last long, let alone for generations—we’ve seen this in actual history.

The Worldbuilding (Part 2) – The orc lands being treated like a perfect utopia as opposed to the all evil elven kingdom makes it so blad. And one of the reason is because they have democracy rubbed me the wrong way. Coming from a democratic country, I know that democracy only works if people are educated enough to make informed choices. Nepotism laughs at the idea that democracy is always merit-based.

The book is just too damn long! I think it would be a more compact read with half the length!

Fantasy worlds don’t have to be ultra-realistic, but they should at least make sense within their own logic.

If you’re looking for a similar story with stronger worldbuilding, I’d recommend The Orc Prince Trilogy (Claimed by the Orc Prince), which is also by a trans author.

Curlfriends: New in Town by Sharee Miller

adventurous inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

adventurous challenging hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Single Player by Tara Tai

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish: Canji Baojun de Zhangxin Yu Chong (Novel) Vol. 1 by Xue Shan Fei Hu

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad slow-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

Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance by Sarah Winifred Searle

inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0