Tag: LGBTQ books

Review: The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin 

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The Sins on Their Bones on a bookshelf next to Home Office candle

Alexis:

The Sins on Their Bones is a gorgeously written story about grief, abuse, and moving on from the past. ⁣

It has a loveable yet flawed cast of characters, a fantastically written evil villain, and enough humor to balance out the dark themes. ⁣(At one point, the main character, Dimitri, has to hold a goat, and it’s hilarious). 

I loved the LGBTQ+ characters, the Jewish mythology, and the Russian-inspired world. 

Samotin did an amazing job with the body horror elements in this. The descriptions are dark and gruesome—but I liked that the story isn’t dark just for the sake of it. 

I also really enjoyed the multiple POVs—I think Samotin balanced them out really well. 

⁣I would avoid this one if you’re squeamish or uncomfortable reading about abuse. But if you like Anastasia, Frankenstein, and Shadow & Bone/the Grishaverse, then I recommend it! ⁣

Pub Date: May 7, 2024

VERDICT: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴/5 

⁣TW: Blood/gore, body horror, sexual abuse and violence, death/murder, trauma/PTSD, drugs and alcohol use ⁣

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Canada for my e-ARC!

Synopsis From Goodreads: 

Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.

But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen.

Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he’s come to love.

Alexis: Last, Now, Next—June

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A library copy of both Yellowface and Winter's Orbit sit next to a Kindle copy of The Bone Shard War on a black bookshelf

Alexis: Last, Now, Next📚

Last: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 

If you want to read a dark satire with an unlikeable main character that delves into the craziness of both the publishing and the writing world (especially online and on Twitter), this is for you. This book was crazy, timely, and easy to fly through!

Now: Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell 

I’m only about a quarter way through this one, but it’s an LBGTQ, political space opera with an arranged marriage. I’ve been getting back into space operas and sci-fi, and I like this one so far. It’s definitely a little slow-paced and heavy on the politics (as expected!), but I’m enjoying the worldbuilding and the two main characters. 

Next: The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart

I might have already started this one! I went out of town recently for the first time in a long while, and I started reading it on my plane ride home. I loved the first two, and even though I honestly don’t remember much of what happened in the second book, I’m excited to dive back into this final installment and learn how this trilogy concludes. 

Have you read any of these books, or are they on your tbr?

Review: A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow

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A Kindle with A Song of Salvation rests on a gray blanket next to a READ notepad, a white hat with a puff ball, and a dilute calico cat

Alexis:

A Song of Salvation is my first Alechia Dow read, and umm, wow! I’m going to have to check out her other books!

A Song of Salvation is a YA space opera. It has two primary POVs. The first is Zaira, the last of her species known as nightweavers…oh, and she’s also the reincarnation of a god named Indigo. The second is Wesley, an empath and a smuggler who loves ditching school to fly his ship. When Zaira and Wesley’s fates collide, alongside a celebrity podcaster named Rubin Rima, the fate of the universe rests in their hands as they vow to help Zaira defeat the god of destruction named Ozvios and the tyrannical Ilori Emperor. 

This is such an adventurous and heartfelt read. The worldbuilding is honestly phenomenal. All of the different planets and species are so well fleshed out.

I love how it feels like a classic YA read, as all of the characters have tragic backstories and a lot of angst, but it also tackles colonization, genocide, and war. On top of the main theme of handling and embracing your emotions, this book focuses on love, togetherness, family and friendship, fate, and justice. 

A Song of Salvation has a found family, romance, including a gay romance, and plenty of song magic and space travel! It even has a cute octopus-like alien named Blobby. It was a fun, fast-paced story with lovable characters and a hard-hitting heart and soul. 

I know Dow’s other two books take place in the same universe and probably ease the reader into the world(s) more, so I’m looking forward to checking those out.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for providing me an ARC for review!

Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Review: The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

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The Sunbearer Trials rests on a marble table next to a white stuffed pumpkin and two candles.

Alexis:

The Sunbearer Trials follows Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds.

This book is described as Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games, and that’s the perfect description. 

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all—they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.

In The Sunbearer Trials, I really enjoyed Thomas’ trademark voicy characters and fun writing style. The story is nice and fast-paced, and everyone’s outfits and superpowers sound so cool. I also like how this Mexican-inspired fantasy world is very diverse and inclusive, and how Teo’s wings play a role in the story and his trans identity.

While this was a fun read, there are some aspects that keep me from rating this higher.

For one, I never feel like the stakes are high enough. I mean, sure, one of the contenders will be sacrificed at the end, but the trials themselves don’t feel big enough to me. The games in The Hunger Games are thrilling to read because the stakes are so high, but in The Sunbearer Trials, Teo doesn’t even want to be there, much less take them very seriously. His motivation is to just…get through the trials so he can go back home. His lack of motivation plus the lack of high stakes meant I skimmed certain sections of the trials.

At times, this story feels more like Percy Jackson, aka middle grade. Now, I’m aware that I’m saying this as an adult reader who mostly reads YA, so maybe younger readers will feel differently. However, Teo is 17-years-old, and oftentimes, I thought he sounds like he should be closer to 14. Keep in mind reading is a personal experience and everyone interprets and reads things differently, but that’s how I perceived the character while reading this book. 

My last point is that the blurb makes it sound like this is going to be a high fantasy story, so imagine my surprise when the characters have phones and are watching TV. While I definitely think more fantasy worlds need modern technology and this is a cool aspect, moments of it took me out of the story. The world has its own version of Instagram and TikTok, and there’s also a reference to furries (what is up with books mentioning furries?? I read another one earlier this year that did the same thing).

That being said, the ending cranked up the stakes, which is exactly what I wanted! This is only the first book in a series, and the series definitely has a lot of potential. I’m interested in getting to know the large cast of characters better and to see what happens next. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐