See All the Stars by Kit Frick

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Simon and Schuster UK Children's in exchange for an honest review.

See All the Stars is a book that is very evocative of other books. I don't necessarily mean that as a negative but throughout reading this, I was sort of waiting for the magical thing that would make it stand out to me. I'm not sure that ever happened but this is still a very strong read.

This is the story of Ellory, a girl who a year ago had a strong friendship group and a boyfriend and, in the present day, has neither. It's told in chapters which alternate between the present day and the past and this is how the mystery unfolds. I thought this might be more of a thriller than it really is but it's closer to a contemporary in both tone and writing style. The book it most reminds me of is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, although I did find the plot of See All the Stars more relatable and the characters more compelling. It has the same dreamy narration peppered with metaphors and deeper meanings.

My only real criticism of this book is that it lacked something, though I find it hard to place what. Near the end I began to suspect that the big reveal would in fact be a minor highschool problem and I began to worry, although thankfully this wasn't the case. Ultimately I did really like this book and I'm excited to read more from the author. The writing style and characters are the strongest elements, it's just a shame that the plot wasn't a bit more standout.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Quercus Books in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly never thought I would rate a thriller 5 stars. I gave If We Were Villains 5 stars at the start of the year and that is indeed a thriller but it is quite differently tonally than most I read. The Perfect Wife on the other hand is pretty much a traditional thriller, albeit with a neat sci-fi twist. And I absolutely adored it.

This is the story of Abbie, a woman who wakes up only to be told that she's not a woman at all. In fact Abbie is now a robot, built by her husband to replace his dead wife. As she tries to resume her life five years on, she realises that her memory is not quite complete and there are some things that her husband isn't telling her.

I wouldn't dream of spoiling anything else about this book. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was completely gripped by both the basic plot and the execution. Fascinating questions about AI and what it means to be a person are raised and, while this is nothing new in sci-fi, it is wonderful to see it explored within a thriller setting. I was not only surprised by the plot but I was surprised multiple times, and each one made me more excited to find out what happened next. This rarely happens for me with thrillers and so I was delighted to experience it here. I hesitate to mention twists in my reviews because I feel like if you expect them then they have less of an impact, but fans of thrillers won't be disappointed here.

The writing and characters are another strength. The story is told in dual perspective, with the chapters from robot Abbie's POV being told in the second person (an unusual choice but one that works really well) and the alternating chapters being told from the POV of an unknown narrator back when human Abbie first met Tim at his workplace. Every character is nuanced and I particularly love how Abbie is explored in such detail.

Overall, I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this thriller. It's unusual, gripping and has a plot I found really satisfying. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you like the genre and I'm so happy to have found a new favourite.

Overall Rating:

Fabulous Monsters by Alberto Manguel

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Yale University Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting little collection of discussions about literary characters, for want of a better description. The title 'Fabulous Monsters' is meant to represent all of them but I find it a little confusing on the whole given that many of them are heroic characters. Each discussion is accompanied by a doodle of the character and I really liked these. They added a layer of charm and really helped linked the discussions together. The content of the discussions were sometimes interesting but there seemed very little link in terms of what Manguel chose to discuss about each character. I guess there doesn't need to be but for some of them, the character themselves was barely mentioned. This was particularly baffling with Alice in Wonderland for example, whose discussion was a lengthy comment on Wonderland rather than anything to do with Alice herself, who is actually a pretty interesting character given her origins. I did enjoy this and found it very charming but a few of the literary references were lost on me. A great gift for a fan of literature though.

Overall Rating:

I'm a Gay Wizard by V.S. Santoni

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

This books is a whole ton of fun. I wasn't really sure what to expect from I'm a Gay Wizard given that it is a Wattpad book and I couldn't really remember the plot when I started reading it. This is the story of Johnny and his friend Alison, two young people who are kidnapped by an institute when it's revealed they can do magic. Their powers mean that they must now attend school at this institute, although the plot focuses more on the shadowy goings-on of this world. There is also a lot of teen romance and tons of representation in here (gay Latinx main character with a trans best friend).

One of this book's greatest strengths is its creativity. To be honest, I was kind of expecting a Harry Potter rip-off but this has nothing in common with that series at all. The institute is not a fun magical school but a place of imprisonment, and the bulk of the magic system focuses on the use of a dream world. The characters are also pretty good. Some of the side characters suffer from being a little one-dimensional but Johnny was very likeable and I was rooting for him.

Sadly, I could not make it all the way through this book. This is more down to my own personal tastes than any real criticism. This book introduces a LOT of new terms that exist in this magical world and I just couldn't keep track of any of them. At the halfway point I realised I wasn't following it very well and so I just skim-read the rest. I'm not a fan of fantasy books that have lots of new terms or really convoluted plots, and sadly this one was just a bit too much.

If you can read books with those elements though, then I'm a Gay Wizard could be a good book to check out. It is definitely Young Adult and some of the elements (especially at the start) betray its origins as a Wattpad book. There are a couple of high school cliches and other small details which maybe should have been ironed out in the editing process. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it definitely deserves kudos for having such creativity and representation in it.

Overall Rating:

The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow. Now I read A LOT of thrillers and sadly, most of the thriller ARCs I request end up disappointing me. I was not prepared to be blown away by this book the way I was. The Third Mrs. Durst is the story of Marlena, a poor girl with big dreams. At the start of the novel, she has sought out a modelling career with the hopes of catching the eye of Michael Durst, a wealthy and powerful man. However, Michael Durst has been married twice before and both of his wives have met unpleasant ends. Marlena is well aware of this but she has a plan of her own...

There isn't much more to be said about the plot of this book without spoiling anything. For a thriller, it doesn't focus on incorporating a lot of twists but this is absolutely not a weakness. Where this book shines is its fantastic writing. I was utterly consumed by the story and I almost read it entirely within a day because I simply didn't want to put it down. There is this brilliant sense of tension woven into the book and you never quite know what Marlena is planning despite her being the main character. This is a genius stroke because while the plot isn't necessarily surprising most of the time, the uncertainty about Marlena means that you are constantly on the edge of your seat anyway and you never become complacent. It also feeds off the popularity of other thrillers in that at times, you start to wonder if it will mirror the plot of other famous thrillers. This might sound like a negative but again, it's done really well to keep the reader on their toes. As an avid reader of thrillers, I love it when I genuinely can't guess where a book is going. And when you get there, it's still so good!

Honestly I am delighted to have found this book and this author. I cannot wait for her to write more and I know the plot of this one will stick with me for a long time. If you enjoy thrillers, I strongly recommend checking this one out.

Overall Rating:

.5

Kill River by Cameron Roubique

This book was such a weird experience. I was really excited to read some oldschool-style over the top horror and that's exactly what you get...after you've slugged through the first thirteen chapters. I just feel the set up to this premise was so unnecessary and drawn out. Instead of starting the book with the teenagers just finding the abandoned waterpark and breaking in, it instead starts with our main character Cyndi going off to camp. At camp she meets the other teenagers and then nothing really interesting happens until they decide to escape the camp in the middle of the night, float down a river and end up at the waterpark. At this point nearly half the book is over. I can understand maybe not wanting Cyndi to know the others that well but the camp has nothing to do with the rest of the book and there are much easier ways (have her be new to the town and casually mention she knows the kids from school but they've not hung out before, for example).

After this halfway point though, this book delivered everything I wanted. This is a traditional slasher with an unknown attacker and a bunch of graphically violent scenes at a great setting. The characters were a bit stereotypical but had enough depth for you to not completely detach from them. The waterpark is a perfect setting for some really good horror moments and I had an utter blast reading this. My only other criticism is that I felt the characters should have been around 15 instead of 13. There's not a ton of sexual stuff but there are hints of it and while this might be technically accurate for 13 year olds, it made me slightly uncomfortable to read about. It was just distracting.

If I had to rate this book accurately, the first half would be 2 stars and the second half would easily get 4. I've averaged this out to a 3 but it seems a shame when the second half was so strong and it delivers on the premise so well. I'm hoping the sequel will have less unnecessary setup.

Overall Rating:

The Shapes of Midnight by Joseph Payne Brennan

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Dover Publications in exchange for an honest review.

Horror anthologies can be so hit or miss for me. I tend to avoid collections published by one author unless I know their work because I have specific tastes for horror and I dislike the ambiguous short stories the genre often results in. I made an exception for The Shapes of Midnight and I am so glad I did!

This is a VERY short collection (~100 pages) of horror stories which are mostly basic in concept but are executed really well. The first two were my least favourite and the most straightforward of the bunch but it was all uphill from there. If you could plot my ratings of these on a graph, it would almost be a perfect bell curve because I felt the middle stories were definitely the strongest. My Kindle ARC was sadly missing two stories (Canavan’s Back Yard and Slime) which might also be why it felt so short to me.

No of stories: 10 (12 in actual collection)

Diary of a Werewolf-What it says on the tin. This was definitely one the weaker ones. It wasn't bad but it was very straightforward and there were no surprises or depth to it.

The Corpse of Charlie Rull-A man dies in a radioactive river and comes back to life. Slightly better than the one above because I couldn't tell where it was going and it was less of a standard plot. I also loved the way this opened, it had a fantastic style to it.

The Pavilion-A very creepy story about a man who murders his friend and returns to check if the body has been dislodged by the sea. This grabbed my attention and kept me excited to see what was going to happen next.

House of Memory-A different type of horror story to most and a refreshing addition to the collection. A woman is forced out of her childhood home and refuses to accept it has been demolished, much to the confusion of her family. Another very decent and enjoyable one.

The Willow Platform-A man in a small town finds an evil demon book. The writing style of this was very entertaining but I wasn't a fan of the story topic itself, which is probably just personal preference.

Who Was He?-A man in hospital keeps getting visits from a hospital barber. This was hands down my favourite of the whole bunch. I read it late at night and was genuinely very scared by it.

Disappearance-Another very strong story about a man whose brother has gone missing and the narrator suspects he killed him. The 'twist' of this was very easy to guess but it was still entertaining and possibly my second favourite.

The Horror at Chilton Castle-A man lives near a castle which has a secret sealed room, the contents of which are only shown to the heirs of Earls. This started off strong but the actual contents of the room turned it into not my type of horror story. It was still one of the best and definitely had some good horror moments.

The Impulse to Kill-A man who has the urge to kill devises a way to do so without being arrested for it. This is a neat enough idea for a story and it was well-written but it suffers from being very linear and not having a lot beyond the basic concept.

The House on Hazel Street-Upon entering a house, a man realises he has no memory of why he is there. The occupant of the house has a specific request of him. This story has one of the more unique concepts in the anthology and it was good but not one of my absolute favourites.

I debated between 3.5 and 4 stars for a while but I felt 4 stars was right since I enjoyed almost every story in here and the writing style was consistently strong throughout. At points Brennan has almost a Lemony Snicket-esque narration style and this was very enjoyable when it cropped up. This collection is very short in the form I received but that was minus two stories so I decided to not lower the rating due to that. Overall, this was a wonderful horror anthology and I would definitely want to read more by this author.

Overall Rating:

Little Girls Sleeping by Jennifer Chase

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

I am not usually the biggest fan of police procedurals but I couldn't help but be intrigued by one with a premise as creepy as this. Our protagonist Katie Scott has just returned from serving in the army when she stumbles into a missing-girls case in her home town. Someone has been putting the girls into glass coffins and preserving their bodies for years. With the help of her support dog Cisco, Katie is determined to find out who is responsible.

Straight off the bat, I really liked Katie. There is occasionally the odd clumsy line which is designed to hype her up as a character which was somewhat annoying, but overall she was a brilliant protagonist. The other characters are sadly a lot more basic and there are very clear standard roles here. You have the persistent newcomer in Katie herself, you have the derisive detective who hates her inexplicably, you have the hesitant partner who learns to have her back...there's not really anything new here. Having said that, these features are common of most police procedurals so that's not necessarily a negative.

The plot itself was very well-paced and I felt like the book was just the right length. There was no padding or pointless story threads and this created a very tight narrative which kept you reading through it quickly. The solution to the whole plot was satisfying and didn't have the usual problem of it just being some random, fairly obscure character. Perhaps some readers will find it a bit basic but it was done well so it didn't bother me in the slightest.

Overall, I think people who love police procedurals will probably enjoy this a lot more than I did. This is a strong example of the genre with a likeable detective and a decent hook. I would definitely consider reading more in the series, especially if a more complex plot was incorporated.

Overall Rating:

.5

Growing Things & Other Stories by Paul Tremblay

I received a free copy of this book for review thanks to William Morrow and Edelweiss.

Oh boy. I really honestly thought I would love this short story collection. I read A Head Full of Ghosts by Tremblay earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to experiencing a greater range of his work through an anthology. Sadly this book was not designed for the casual reader. Honestly I was surprised by the sheer amount of references to his other work present in this and, as someone who has only read one of his books, I did not find the stories easy to understand despite not getting those references. This was my major problem with the anthology and I found myself skimming and skipping stuff as a result. Maybe if you're a mega-fan then you would get a lot more out of this but I also feel that this should stand on its own as a collection rather than relying on knowledge of other works.

My other main problem is I just wasn't that interested in many of the stories. Normally I review every single story for an anthology but for this one I would be repeating myself a lot so I'm just going to mention a couple and do my overview stats.

Number of stories: 19
Number I liked: 2
Number which were okay: 3, maybe?

Something About Birds-A somewhat meta creepy story about birds where a journalist writes about meeting a horror author who wrote a creepy story about birds. Okay, so this one definitely felt like I was maybe missing something from the context but it was one of the few where it didn't matter and I still got absorbed into the story. It was probably my favourite of the collection and it had creepy moments whilst still making sense.

A Haunted House is a Wheel, Upon Which Some Are Broken-A choose-your-own adventure story about a woman visiting a haunted house. Despite the page numbers not being available for the ARC (meaning that I could not choose my own adventure but had to read it linearly) this was a very beautiful story and I loved every minute of it. A tied favourite with the previous story and this would probably be my favourite had I been able to read it in the way it was intended.

These two stories save it from being a one star read for me. Now for some of my least favourites:

Notes from the Dog Walkers-An incredibly meta story which is exactly what it says on the tin. This story just went on and on and on and I tried to read all of it but it was just getting worse and worse. I have actually read the work I needed to in order to get this reference and yet I still didn't get it which is a terrible sign. It was very surreal and read very narcissistic to me. Only for mega-fans I feel.

That's the only one I can talk about in detail as I have forgotten the rest. Sorry.

Overall, I am deeply disappointed I didn't enjoy this. It won't stop me from reading Tremblay's other books and being excited for them but I think I'll avoid his short stories from now on. I understand Tremblay is a huge author but it seems a strange decision to release a collection which is so alienating to people who don't know his work inside and out. I wish I could have given this a more positive review.

Overall Rating:

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 11 edited by Ellen Datlow

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

An anthology calling itself 'The Best Horror of the Year' certainly has a lot to live up to. How did it fare?

Total number of stories: 22 (my Kindle ARC missed two for some reason)
Great stories: 7
Good/Okay stories: 4

I Remember Nothing by Anne Billson-A woman wakes up next to a strange man in a creepy room and neither of them remember what has happened. This started well and did some cool stuff but it quickly went downhill. It's not a bad concept for a story but as is my usual complaint with horror short stories, it could have done what it did a lot simpler and it would have been stronger for it.

Monkeys on the Beach by Ralph Robert Moore-A family goes on holiday and terrible things happen. I don't get the point of this story? The events didn't seem linked to me and it feels like I missed something important. Very lackluster.

Painted Wolves by Ray Cluley-A crew of people are filming a nature documentary about painted dogs. This was great right until the very last section when it became weirdly vague. I'm pretty sure I know what happened and I liked it but it was executed so well until that point that it left a bad taste.

Shit Happens by Michael Marshall Smith-I have read and reviewed this story previously so here is my original review: This story has the weirdest premise and it shouldn't work but it does? While on a business trip taking place on a cruise ship, a mysterious affliction strikes people who are close to the sea. This is one of those short stories I could see being expanded into a whole book and it would make a great comedy horror one. It worked extremely well as a short story in my eyes but I did kinda want more from the world and the characters. One of the strongest in the (original) anthology.

You Know How the Story Goes by Thomas Olde Heuvelt-SO GOOD. This story gripped me right from the start and is a perfect example of a simple concept done well. A man recounts of a time when he hitchhiked and something terrifying happened to him. It builds tension fantastically and holds it from start to finish. One of my favourites.

Masks by Peter Sutton-This was so short and tbh, I don't really know what it was about. It didn't hold my attention very well.

The Donner Party by Dale Bailey-Another brilliant one. Set in the past in a society where the rich dine upon the poor at annual feasts, our main character is invited to such a feast but then problems arise. This one doesn't contain many surprises but it doesn't need them. The horror is woven into the world of the story so well that you feel dread and disgust without as opposed to it having punchy moments. Definitely one of the best.

Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester-This one was so short that it was over before I had the chance to really process what it was about. There's something about a dead mother and teeth and hunting but I wasn't a huge fan.

Haak by  John Langan-A teacher tells his class a historical story that is linked to Peter Pan I think? I switched off really early in this due to the historical element so I can't really say much more about it sadly.

Thin Cold Hands by Gemma Files-A pretty creepy story about a changeling child. The writing wasn't the best for this but it had a strong concept and was genuinely quite disturbing.

A Tiny Mirror by Eloise by C. C. Shepherd-This is about a woman telling a man a creepy story from her childhood whilst they're on a plane together. It was enjoyable but incredibly short and over way too soon. Pretty average on the whole.

I Love You Mary-Grace by Amelia Mangan-This story came from a horror anthology entirely about dogs and you can definitely tell! It's very weird and about a guy who idolises a girl, which is all I can pretty much say about it. Not for me unfortunately.

The Jaws of Ouroboros by Steve Toase-I think this is set in the future and two people are collecting a resource from giant mouths which have appeared around the world. Another incredibly weird one and this was also hard to follow. I got the jist but it could have been done a lot better.

A Brief Moment of Rage by Bill Davidson-People are afflicted with a condition that makes them incredibly violent for short periods of time at random. It was fine.

Golden Sun by Kristi DeMeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters, & Michael Wehunt-So this story started off really well. It's about a family on holiday and their daughter keeps singing a specific song and then a weird event happens. This event is told from four characters' perspectives and each author writes one segment of it. The problem is that the segments weren't different enough in my opinion. The only one which adds any new details after the first one is the final one, so it becomes a repetitive reading experience. I understand what they were trying to do here and they almost accomplished it but that stopped this story being great.

White Mare by Thana Niveau-An American family visit England around Halloween and discover a creepy local tradition. This was so good! It was really well-written and pretty creepy. I didn't 100% understand the ending but the rest of it was strong enough for me not to care. Maybe my absolute favourite?

Girls Without Their Faces On by Laird Barron-A girl has been dating this guy and at a party, she realises she doesn't really know him. Creepy stuff follows. This one was almost really great but it fell short at a few hurdles. The guy 'J' became weird in a way which was hard to follow and the ending suffered from that stock confusion. There were some strong moments in this, it just wasn't consistent.

Thumbsucker by Robert Shearman-I did not like this story one bit. It's about a world where thumbsucking is stigmatised and the main character's dad becomes a thumbsucker. It was really weird and uncomfortable to read. I kept waiting for a line at the end to explain the metaphor but it never came, so the whole thing fell a bit flat.

You Are Released by Joe Hill-A very powerful story about a plane that runs into trouble, framed by swapping the focus to a different passenger every few paragraphs or so. This wasn't really horror in my opinion but I am so so glad I read it. It has a lot of really thought-provoking moments and was just excellently done.

Red Rain by Adam-Troy Castro-A story about a horrific incident that starts with a man jumping from a roof, uniquely told entirely in questions posed to the reader. I did really like this one on the whole but the gimmick wore a bit thin near the middle. It's a nice idea but it became incredibly repetitive and moreso than I felt it needed to be. The story itself was so strong though.

No Exit by Orrin Grey-A woman tells the story of her sister who was involved in an accident. This was a good story but it felt like it almost could have been a great one from the concept and it just fell a bit short.

Haunt by Siobhan Carroll-I have read and reviewed this story previously so here is my original review: I possibly didn't give this story the chance it deserved because I was sort of done with the anthology by the time I reached it. It has the strong general premise of a ghost ship relating to slaves being drowned but the execution just wasn't there. It had some good moments but overall it wasn't enough to keep my attention or leave a lasting impact.

Overall Rating:

.5

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley, Edelweiss and publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in exchange for an honest review.

What a refreshing thriller this was! I requested this ARC mainly because I have a real thing for thrillers based around games and/or two people psychologically battling each other. This book mentions having both of those things in the blurb but the game aspect is very downplayed in reality. It's almost a shame because it's clearly used as a gimmick to draw people in (and it works) but there is enough going on in this story that the tenuous link to 'Never Have I Ever' is a bit of a baffling one. Calling the book and the game 'The Worst Thing I Ever Did' would be more accurate and is still intriguing enough in my opinion.

Thankfully as mentioned, this book has enough going on that I didn't even mind about the misnamed game. The plot is a new woman moves to a neighbourhood and tries to blackmail our protagonist over an event which happened years ago. You find out extremely quickly what said event was and indeed, the first half of the book is a very unusual reading experience. I was frankly a bit bored during it since there is almost no effort made to build tension. Anytime there is any sort of mystery, you are handed the answer almost immediately without any fanfare. There is also an annoying thing where our blackmailer (Roux) constantly compliments our protagonist (Amy) on how clever and unlike other housewives she is. I get what the author was going for but it wasn't done particularly well.

Having said all that, at almost exactly 50% of the way through there is a spanner thrown into the plot and I got my first big surprise of the book. I did not see this first twist coming and instantly my interest was reignited. Honestly I feel like this was the real start of the book and it's a shame it came so late because I was utterly hooked after that. It was genuinely brilliant to be surprised by this book not once but twice, and both surprises had the added bonus of not being completely ridiculous.

I mentioned right at the start that this thriller was refreshing and that is mostly down to the originality. Amy is a scuba diver and this is woven very well into the story to both add to her character and create some nice plot moments. She was utterly believable as a character to me and was much more dimensional than most thriller protagonists. I also fell in love with the relationship she had with her stepdaughter, which was far stronger than that to her husband in my opinion. The other characters were flatter but still reasonably fleshed-out and compelling to read about.

Overall, this was a really solid thriller after the halfway point. If I was just rating the second half, it would be a 4 star easily but I did knock some off for the somewhat dull opening. However, I was very impressed by the characterisation and it was brilliant to read a thriller that felt more unique.

Overall Rating:

.5

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Grove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, where to start with this book. I have labelled it a 'DNF' but I did actually pretty much read all of it, I just wanted to DNF it so many times. I requested this book after reading an excerpt and I'm ashamed to say I wish I hadn't. The unusual writing style caught my eye and I thought the plot had huge potential. This is kind of a futuristic retelling of Frankenstein based around sex bots and AI? Honestly I don't know what was going on with this book. The plot became really hard to follow due to the writing style and there were flashback chapters to Mary Shelley which just made me confused and bored. There is however a much bigger problem with this book.

It's transphobic. Very transphobic.

Initially I was excited to read about a trans doctor as the protagonist. Unfortunately the language surrounding the discussion of this character is rife with unfortunate implications. Ry frequently describes himself as now identifying as a man (Ry is a female-to-male trans character) but then explains that he is a hybrid and still a woman and not a real man and aaaaah. Gender fluidity is absolutely a thing and I would happily read about a gender fluid character but this is done all wrong if that's what the author was going for.

This trans character is also specifically fetishised for being a 'hybrid' by his male doctor partner. There is a lot of discussion about genitals etc and this was extremely uncomfortable to read about. I really think more research should have been done because I found this book incredibly problematic so I can't imagine how it would read to a trans audience (Although I did float a few of the problematic things past my trans friends to check I wasn't being unfair. They all agreed that this sounded AWFUL).

Terrible transphobia aside, this book is just super dull. I did skimread until the end and at 80% through, nothing had really happened yet. It's such a shame because I could have really gotten into this book but ultimately, it felt like it was trying too hard to be literary.

Overall Rating:

The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, this just about melted my heart and I am so so happy I read this. The Tea Dragon Society is an absolutely lovely graphic novel/webcomic that you can read entirely online for free (you can also buy a bindup). It tells the story of a young girl who is learning to be a blacksmith when she stumbles upon another potential profession-caring for these small creatures called tea dragons. The Tea Dragon Festival is the followup to that story, though it is not a sequel and you don't need to read the first one for this to make sense. Instead it is merely set in the same world and features some of the same characters.

In this story we follow Rinn, a nonbinary person who loves foraging ingredients and supplies for their town. This village communally cares for a group of tea dragons who are the adorable titular creatures. One day Rinn comes across a real dragon called Aedhan who has been asleep for 80 years. With Rinn's help, Aedhan must now assimilate back into village life and find the creature who caused him to sleep for so long.

I'm not sure how many times it is appropriate to use the word 'adorable' in one review but it perfectly encapsulates this whole graphic novel experience. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, the characters are likeable and the story is compelling. After reading this I was just filled with so much joy and love for the world the artist had created. I could read a thousand stories in this world and never be bored. It is the ultimate feel good experience.

The representation in this is also topnotch and it makes me so happy to see so many concepts in a children's work. I think people of all ages could enjoy this graphic novel but it is definitely kid-friendly as well and I love how effortlessly the artist incorporates diversity. This is how it should be done!

There's not much to be said about this apart from I loved it and I want as many people as possible to experience the joy this work brought me. If you're looking for a cute graphic novel, this is the perfect example. If you like dragons, tea, fantasy worlds, slice of life stories featuring a ton of diversity, romances that aren't overt or take over the plot, compelling characters or beautiful artwork, then please please read this. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating: