#davinia evans

[melanielocke]

Book recommendations: queer adult SFF

It's been a while since I did one of these posts but I'm thinking of doing more regularly. I have read a lot more new books that I hope some of you will pick up and I've made another selection. I'm reading more and more adult SFF lately because lots of YA is getting a little too young for me. But I also find that transitioning to reading more adult can be difficult, and it's not always easy to find what you're looking for. I found YA a far easier market to navigate, so I figured I'd make a post featuring some of my favorite adult SFF books.

The Unbroken & the Faithless I read recently.

This is a trilogy, with book 3 coming out most likely in 2025? Not sure actually. The series focuses on Touraine and Luca. Touraine is a conscript in the Balladaire army, stolen from her homeland and trained to fight from a young age. She is originally from Qazal, a country colonized by Balladaire, but doesn't speak their language or understand their customs. In the first book, she returns home for the first time since she was taken, to stop a Qazali rebellion.

Luca is the princess of Balladaire. Her parents both died when she was young, and her uncle is ruling as regent, refusing to allow her to be crowned Queen until she proves herself. She too is sent to deal with the Qazali rebellion. What makes Luca interesting is that she often means well and is definitely more benevolent towards the Qazali, but she's also very power hungry and wants her throne, and no matter how much she does to help the Qazali she is still the princess of the empire that colonized them, and the author continues to hold her accountable for her role in the empire and some of the choices she makes.

Luca is also disabled, she injured her leg when she was young and uses a cane.

There is a sapphic romance between Luca and Touraine. It is not really the focus on the series but at the same time it is what shapes much of the negotiating between them since Luca has a very obvious soft spot for Touraine and Touraine has to use that to improve things for Qazal.

The world is inspired by North Africa and French colonialism (in Balladaire they speak French so I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be France), and the author themself is Black and North African. The series as a whole is very political.

Next is Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

This is the first in a duology (I think?) with book 2 coming out this November.

This is set in a world where there are four different planes, and Siyon is a poor man who can delve into the different planes to get ingredients for wealthier alchemists. He wants to be an alchemist himself but can't afford the education. There's also the problem of magic being technically illegal, which means rich people can do alchemy but poor people can't.

Then one day Siyon accidently unleashes wild magic and is thrust into the world of alchemists where he wants to belong but doesn't. And there's also the matter of the four planes being instable and at risk of collapsing, and Siyon might be the only one capable of stopping it.

Siyon is bi/pan and his main love interest is a man, though this is not the main focus of the series.

Then Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

I think I had this one last time too, but not enough people are reading it so I'm going to discuss it again.

Check out the summary, but honestly not sure if that does it justice. Some Desperate Glory is the story of a girl who grew up in a fascist cult and was raised to believe in everything this cult stands for.

The earth was destroyed before she was born, and the Majo, aliens, were responsible. Kyr has been training her entire life for revenge. She wants nothing more than to be the perfect soldier for earth. As a result, she is a terrible person and everyone hates her.

Kyr first starts questioning Gaea station when she is assigned nursery to have babies even though she is the best fighter in her mess. When her brother disappears, she teams up with his friend Avi, a queer genius who works with the station's systems and was always aware of how fucked up Gaea station is. They discover Magnus has been sent on a suicide mission and go after him, and Kyr is confronted with the outside world, including a Majo she grows close to, and has to unlearn everything Gaea station taught her.

This book has a difficult to stomach mc at first, though it is very obvious what she believes is not what you as the reader are supposed to think. But there is some wonderful character development going on in here. It's hard for her to change, and she's thrown into lots of difficult situations before she gets there, but in the end you can see she's nothing like the person she was before.

There's an amazing cast of side characters, though not a very big cast. There's her twin brother Magnus who never wanted to be a soldier and is actually very depressed, which Kyr never noticed. Yiso, the cute non binary alien Kyr develops a weak spot for even before she comes to realize Majo are people. And my personal favorite, Avi, who is an unhinged little guy who is way too smart for his own good. He's a great example of how a cult can affect different people in different ways. He doesn't believe in Gaea station like Kyr does and is aware of how fucked up he is, he experienced that first hand as the only visible queer person on the station. But he did internalize their messages of revenge and violence which plays out in interesting ways.

This edition is the Illumicrate edition of the book from April's box, which has the UK cover.

Witch King by Martha Wells is next

This is a confusing book for people who do not have a lot of experience reading adult fantasy. It has a lot of world building that is explained gradually, the book doesn't really hold your hand, so be prepared for that.

Kai is a body hopping demon. He has been betrayed, killed and entombed under water. When he is freed by a lesser mage hoping to hone his power, he kills them and frees himself and his friend, the witch Ziede.

Together, they have to uncover what happened to them, who betrayed them and what is going on with the Rising World coalition. He's not going to like the answers.

Alternating is a past timeline in which Kai and his band of allies rebel against the tyrannical rule of the Hierophants, which happened decades before the present timeline.

The strenght of this book is really in the characters and how they grow and the bonds they have with each other. I loved the relationship between Kai and Bashasa, who is the rebel leader in the past timeline in particular. It's not quite clear what the nature of their relationship was, though it is implied to be romantic and I do think Kai is supposed to be queer. He is a body hopping demon after all, and spends his early life in the body of a girl. There's also a sapphic side pairing between Zieden and her wife Tahren, who they spent much of the present timeline looking for.

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

This is a science fantasy set in a world inspired by New Zealand and Maori (I think? The author is Maori and a trans woman herself)

The main character is a police officer from a poor background who believes she's making the world better for people like her. She's already been demoted for being queer but believes she can make the police force better from the inside.

Then she's murdered by fellow officers and thrown into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she comes back from the dead with new magic powers.

She teams up with a pirate crew with similar powers and has to stop a plague from being unleashed on her city.

This book focuses on how police functions in many modern societies to protect the wealthy and harm and restrict poorer, non white communities. The main character doesn't believe this at first but it's obvious to the reader that they're not helping anyone doing their job. Next book is coming out next year.

Last is the Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Two books are out and book 3 is coming sometime in 2024.

This series is set in a world inspired by India. Priya is a maidservant with a secret. She is one of the few surviving temple children and still has some powers from being once born.

Malini is the princess of Parijatdvipa, the empire that conquered Priya's land. Her religious zealot brother has taken the throne and imprisons Malini because she refuses to be burned alive.

Priya is one of the maidservants sent to take care of Malini in her prison, which is the old temple where Priya grew up. Together, they can change the fate of an empire, but they can never quite trust each other.

This is a sapphic fantasy with magic but also lots of politics and I think if you like this series you'd also like the Unbroken and vice versa. I've talked about this one before but it should definitely be included on a list for adult fantasy.

I hope you can find something you like on here. All these books are not super well known and deserve a bigger audience

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @aliandtommy @ikissedsmithparker

#the jasmine throne #the oleander sword #tasha suri #the burning kingdoms #magic of the lost #the unbroken #the faithless #cl clark #some desperate glory #emily tesh #the dawnhounds #sascha stromach #witch king #martha wells #notorious sorcerer #davinia evans #book recommendation #adult fantasy #queer fantasy #adult science fiction #queer science fiction #books

[cupiscent]

btw guys I have a book... 👀

In a city filled with dangerous yet heavily regulated alchemical magic, a man from the slums discovers he may be its only hope to survive certain destruction in this wickedly entertaining fantasy. 

Welcome to Bezim, where sword-slinging bravi race through the night and rich and idle alchemists make magic out of mixing and measuring the four planes of reality.

Siyon Velo, Dockside brat turned petty alchemist, scrapes a living hopping between the planes to harvest ingredients for the city’s alchemists. But when Siyon accidentally commits an act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight—which is a bad place to be when the planes start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send Bezim into the sea.

It will take a miracle to save the city. Good thing Siyon has pulled off the impossible before. Now he just has to master it.

A dazzling fantasy bursting with wild magic, chaotic sword-fighting street gangs, brazen flirting, malevolent harpies, and one defiant alchemist.

Out 13th September 2022 from Orbit in the US and UK!

[ Add on GoodReads | Buy US | Buy UK ] (Support your local bookstore!)

#notorious sorcerer #fantasy fiction #fantasy books #writing #davinia evans #fantasy novel #burnished city #needs more alchemy

[qbdatabase]

Check out these five titles to try next! The vibes are: snarky underdog protagonist(s) leveraging a fresh and fascinating magic system to Get What They Want, in a city that may as well be a character on its own 📖 🧙‍♂️ 🌃

Full list of titles, authors, and blurbs below the cut!

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. Now two sisters must heal their broken world–no matter the sacrifice it demands …

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Treasure-hunter Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment’s missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity―until one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared. All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction.

#The Never Tilting World #Rin Chupeco #The Merciful Crow #Margaret Owen #The Gilded Wolves #Roshani Chokshi #The Last Sun #K. D. Edwards #There Will Come a Darkness #Katy Rose Pool #Notorious Sorcerer #Davinia Evans #alt history #fantasy #historical fiction #mythology #urban fantasy #YA books #YA fantasy #bookblr

[contracat25]

It is finally September which means hopefully cooler weather, fun fall clothing (sweaters my love), seasonal adventures aaaand of course NEW BOOKS! Admittedly the fact that we are finally getting Nona has me just.... vibrating out of my skin. Like no joke I'm barely keeping it together. Buuuuut there are a handful of other books that I'm pretty stoked about. As always, this list doesn't include sequels (I have a different set of lists for those), but without further ado, some of the books I am most excited about coming out this month!

The Sunbearer Trails by Aiden Thomas

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

#booklr #queer books #2022 books #2022 releases #upcoming releases #upcoming books #queer sff #queer historical fiction #the sunbearer trials #aiden thomas #the genesis of misery #neon yang #Self-made boys #Anna-marie McLemore #Notorious sorcerer #Davinia Evans #september 2022 books #september 2022 releases #ya books #adult books

[wearethekat]

April Book Reviews: Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

This seems like the sort of book that was a recommendation, so if it was you, thanks. In this book, amateur sorcerer Siyon Velo lives in a city where magic is highly regulated after it caused a massive disaster years ago. Which is a terrible environment for Siyon to commit an extremely public act of sorcery, right as the city's destabilization begins to worsen...

Notorious Sorcerer, alas, is the first real victim of my terrible four month book review backlog. I distinctly remember enjoying reading it and finding it catchy, but for the life of me I can't remember why. The other-dimension, element based sorcery worldbuilding is fun. The way Siyon is placed as a disadvantaged outsider, uneducated and unable to afford learning the theory that would make him a real sorcerer, is narratively juicy. I thought the minor m/m romance was cute as well.

I'll be reading the sequel, if only to try to remember the details of why exactly I liked book 1 at the time.

#my book reviews #april book reviews #davinia evans #notorious sorcerer

[biblionerdreflections]

Book Review - Shadow Baron

Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing a sequel that I’ve been so excited to read, Shadow Baron by Davinia Evans. I enjoyed the first book in this series, Notorious Sorcerer, last year, and you can find all my thoughts about it in my review. I had high hopes for this sequel after loving the world the author created in the first book. Read on to find out if it lived up to those…

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#Davinia Evans #shadow baron #The Burnished City

[nzbookwyrm]

#on the tbr #shadow baron #davinia evans #burnished city

[ninja-muse]

So, what are you currently reading?

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans. But because I'm borrowing it off a friend and want to keep it nice, I'm starting The Diary of Dukesang Wong on my commute tomorrow. (I try to keep two books on the go at any time.)

How about you?

#currently reading #answered asks #notorious sorcerer #davinia evans #the diary of dukesang wong

[n1cklybear]

Y'all, I scored so hard at the library today. I went there to pick up my holds (Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4 & Doom Patrol Season 3), and walked out with three newly bought Christmas CDs (our library sells what no one is borrowing), a book to read and somehow, miraculously, a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I'm still stunned that a copy of that game was sitting there on the shelf. I didn't think a copy would be available until late next year. I'll take it!

#library haul #library #star trek #st: tng #doom patrol #notorious sorcerer #davinia evans #xenoblade chronicles 3 #the piano guys #cds #christmas music #trans siberian orchestra #idina menzel

[venusbloo]

January Wrap-Up & February TBR

**Links below are for the books’ StoryGraph pages for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.** The first month of 2024 is already behind us, and now, it’s time for a recap of what I read in January 2024.  I also want to take this opportunity to review where I am on keeping up with my reading goals, compare what I wanted to read to what I actually read in January, and…

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#2024 #aimee pokwatka #cozy fantasy #davinia evans #eliza chan #elizabeth may #Fantasy #fathomfolk #february tbr #horror #jennine cap crucet #kimberly lemming #mead mishaps #nathanielle webb #orbit #Reading Wrap Up #say hello to my little friend #shadow baron #stephen king #tbr #that time I got drunk and saved a human #the parliament #the shining #to cage a god #wyngraf

[cupiscent]

Cover for Shadow Baron - Burnished City book 2

Can't believe I forgot to post this over here too when it launched last week - whoops sorry!

Witness: the cover for SHADOW BARON, sequel to Notorious Sorcerer and book 2 of the Burnished City trilogy, coming in November 2023...

(She's beauty, she's grace, she's got the other ace... and some other very nice cards too!)

Strap in for a thrilling adventure in the sequel to Davinia Evans’s wickedly entertaining debut fantasy that follows our favorite irreverent alchemists, high society ladies, and swashbuckling street gangs as they wrestle with the nature of reality itself. 

Siyon Velo might be acknowledged as the Alchemist. He may have even stabilized the planes and stopped Bezim from ever shaking into the sea again. But that doesn’t mean he has any idea what’s he doing—and it won’t be long before everyone knows it.

To make things worse, mythical creatures once confined to operas and myths are spotted around Bezim. A djinn invades Zagiri’s garden party, and whispers of a naga slither across Anahid’s Flower District card tables. Magic is waking up in the Mundane. It’s up to Siyon to figure out a way to stop it, or everything he’s worked hard to save will come crashing down.

#fantasy fiction #fantasy books #writing #davinia evans #burnished city #shadow baron #notorious sorcerer #cover launch #isn't she a beauty? #anahid and the cover both

[qbdatabase]

Since the city of Bezim was shaken half into the sea by a magical earthquake, the Inquisitors have policed alchemy with brutal efficiency. Nothing too powerful, too complicated, too much like real magic is allowed–and the careful science that’s left is kept too expensive for any but the rich and indolent to tinker with. Siyon Velo, a glorified errand boy scraping together lesson money from a little inter-planar fetch and carry, doesn’t qualify.

But when Siyon accidentally commits a public act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight. Except the limelight is a bad place to be when the planes themselves start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send the rest of the city into the sea.

Now Siyon, a dockside brat who clawed his way up and proved himself on rooftops with saber in hand, might be Bezim’s only hope. Because if they don’t fix the cascading failures of magic in their plane, the Powers and their armies in the other three will do it for them.

#Notorious Sorcerer #Davinia Evans #The Burnished City #adult books #fantasy #book series #mga #mga rep #mlm #mlm rep #gay #daily book #fiction #lgbt fiction #lgbtqia #bookblr

[littlequeenies]

Davinia Taylor, Flora Evans and Lee starkey at the Loire Valley White Wines Pampering party at the Soho Hotel in London, March 17, 2005. David McHugh / Avalon

#Davinia Taylor #Flora Evans #Lee Starkey #2005 Lee #2000s Lee #Loire Valley White Wines #Soho hotel #fashion designer #make up artist #boutique owner #stylist

[heyitskai2]

heard the word ‘Sable’ and opera house in the same sentence…… shaken

#the notorious sorcerer #siyon velo #SHADOW BARON WAS SUCH A GOOD FUCKING BOOK #davinia evans if ur seeing this #i love you

[biblionerdreflections]

ARC Review - Notorious Sorcerer

✨New Book Review✨ Today I'm reviewing Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans. Thank you to @orbitbooks & @angieeman for the copy! "This was an intensely paced ride filled with magic, mayhem, and multi-planar hi-jinks." 4⭐ #booktwt #bookblogger

Hello, everyone! Today I’m sharing my overdue review of Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans. It is available now wherever you get your books! (more…)

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#ARC #Book #Book blogger #Books #Davinia Evans #Notorious Sorcerer #Reading #Review #The Burnished City

[libraryleopard]

it’s funny taking a class on afrofuturism this semester because i will unwind from my homework of reading speculative fiction novels by reading different speculative fiction novels

#literally alternating between notorious sorcerer by davinia evans and stars in my pocket like grains of sand by samuel r delaney right now #my life #lulu speaks #lulu reads