Two thumbs up for Matrix by Lauren Groff. Historical fiction.
A fictionalized biography of Marie de France—king’s bastard daughter, abbess, mystic, writer. (She may have been two different Maries in actuality, a fact which I think would amuse the character.) Marie is a badass. A physical giant among women, with an ambition to match. She loves, she fights, she builds, she prays, she outwits her enemies, she plots and plans and often succeeds.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Threads of Life: A History of the World through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter. History/Memoir.
A worthwhile but flawed book. Each chapter explores the history of needlework via one lens– “Power” talks about Mary Queen of Scots; “Captivity” discusses the quilts made in POW camps in WWII Singapore; “Journey” investigates Miao/Hmong story cloths; and so on.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. Historical fantasy.
Emily Wilde, a not particularly charming professor of Dryadology, is in “Ljosland” to research the final section of her Encyclopedia of Faeries. Her attempt at pure research is instantly thwarted by her inability to make friends with the locals, and then by the arrival of her academic rival, the dashing Wendall Bambleby.… >> Read more
Two thumbs up for Ithaca by Claire North. Historical fantasy.
When you read a lot and then you find a book that knocks your socks off, it can be hard to explain why. I am going to use some words about Ithaca that sound like the Guardian reviewing a Shakespeare interpretation: this book is mature, assured, poignant, witty, and cutting. Since it is a story from Homer retold from the women’s point of view, the comparison to Madeline Miller’s Circe is obvious, and I did love Circe, but this book has a lot more bite to it.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. Historical romance.
Let me lead with what’s not so great: the writing in this book is clunky. Bring commas, please, I beg you. Maybe a semi-colon or ten. And the (many) spicy scenes are written in, well, a very 90’s style: throbbing manhoods, firestorms of passion, all the rest. It is, nevertheless, a great book, and I can see why it’s so many people’s favorite.… >> Read more
Neither thumbs up nor thumbs down for Perdido Street Station by China Miéville. Dark fantasy.
I love a big book with lots of worldbuilding, and, well, that’s good, because Miéville never describes anything in one paragraph when he’s got ten pages to spare. Sometimes it’s brilliant; sometimes it comes off as sheer wankery. (He also goes out of his way to be gross, which I found comical after a while: this book contains the word “filth” 49 times and then there’s his hilarious passion for “glutinous”) The story itself–monsters!–doesn’t… >> Read more
Thumbs down for A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. Science fiction.
My coworker sold this one to me with the description “it’s about a monk who serves tea and a robot” and that sounded delightful. But…what a frustrating book. I do love cozy books. But I like books that are cozy because the characters are competent and kind, not because nothing bad happens.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Hen Fever by Olivia Waite. Historical romance.
A novella-length Victorian-era sapphic romance centered around a village fancy chicken contest. I very much liked the stuff about the chickens (droll, and all too believable) and the Crimean War (nicely brutal and sad). However, the actual romance fell a touch flat for me. What do they have together other than physical chemistry, and, I suppose, the limited options available to lonely lesbians in a small town?… >> Read more