urban fantasy – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings

(Buy this book here.) (Disclosure: I met Alex aka @magicknegro at Under The Volcano 2022 and have been known to message him whiny existential writer complaints on occasion. This is still an honest review and I bought my own copy of this book because Paying Writers Cures Foolishness.) The publisher blurbs for this book allContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings”

[REVIEW] Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas

A Black woman's hand(my hand) holds up a black e-reader in front of a leafy green plant inside a sunny cafe. The reader displays the black and white cover of Cemetary Boys, which shows two cartoon-style Latinx teen boys standing back to back with Santa Muerta rising above them in the background.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) What’s in the sociocultural water inspiring all these queer YA ghost stories lately? Yadriel is a brujo, born into a powerful family of Latinx witches in East LA. The problem is, no-one believes him. Yads is also a gay trans boy and his community’s magic is gendered–therefore everyone insists he’sContinue reading “[REVIEW] Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas”

[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic

PHOTO ID: Black and white e-cover of Girls of Might and Magic displayed on a black Kindle. The device is on a wooden table, resting on a strip of red volcanic rocks and another strip of grass.

(This book is only available on Amazon, and y’all know how I feel about that. Still, as an indie, it gets the rare link-to-Amazon special–find it HERE.) Does anyone remember when it was “weird” for women to read fantasy? I distinctly remember getting into an argument with a total stranger who walked up and startedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic”

[BOOKLIST] Como Una Gota En El Mar: My Woefully Inadequate Latinx Heritage Month Reading Re-cap

patiently awaits someone to come along and correct my horrid Spanish… In the US, February is Black History Month, May is Asian-Pacific Islander-American Heritage Month, November is Native American Heritage Month and…September 15th – October 15th is Hispanic History Month, also known as Latinx History Month. If you’re wondering about the comparatively awkward timing(why straddleContinue reading “[BOOKLIST] Como Una Gota En El Mar: My Woefully Inadequate Latinx Heritage Month Reading Re-cap”

[REVIEW] Battle Ground, Jim Butcher

(Buy it HERE.) transcript of actual footage of me reading this book⠀sips wine⠀“Oh…this is a *fighting* book.”⠀longer sip⠀“Wait…is that gonna…are they gonna…OH SHIT!!”⠀gulps wine⠀“Is that (character we haven’t seen for several books)? That’s (character)! And they have big powers now? Go off, (character)! Get it! Hit the…OMG WHAT? Did that just happen?”⠀downs wine, pours newContinue reading “[REVIEW] Battle Ground, Jim Butcher”

[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older

(Buy it HERE.) First things first–I read this on the MyMustReads app for Android and absolutely hated it. It’s poorly designed and made my reading experience far less enjoyable. 0/10, will not use again unless they overhaul it entirely. Delete, block, ban. UGH.🧟‍♂️⠀Fortunately the book in question was more enjoyable than the app I usedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older”

[REVIEW] Peace Talks, Jim Butcher

(Buy it HERE.) 🧙🏻‍♂️⠀(This is the 16th book in a 20 book series…so here be spoilers, aargh, beware. They’re for the series, not this book. ) Harry Dresden is my problematic fave. I’m well aware that if he were a real, non-magical person the crime-solving, wizard-for-hire hero of the Dresden Files would probably be aContinue reading “[REVIEW] Peace Talks, Jim Butcher”