#aroaessidhe 2023 reads

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Spider And Her Demons

YA Australian urban fantasy/horror

about a Malaysian-Chinese girl who’s half spider-demon, just trying to keep her head down and survive high school

when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl at school, they strike up a strange friendship and she starts to learn more about herself and the supernatural world

aroacespec/sapphic ish

#The Spider And Her Demons #Sydney Khoo #loveozya #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #you give me a teenage girl with giant hair spider legs who scuttles across her bedroom wall on page 3 #and then eats a man and i am already sold. #also aus books are always so familiar compared to US books :) #and yes sexuality stuff is ambiguous but basically: a bunch of discussion on relationship hierachies (ie friendship equally/more important) #themes of feeling unlovable bc you're different and different forms of love #multiple times the MC says she has no interest in dating or relationships and also is touch (and maybe sex) repulsed #- but of course that Also has to do with the whole Being A Monster thing #and it definitely shows some kind of attraction to dior - ie looking at her lips/bare skin; blushing; etc #and ends on sort of hand kiss / 'is this something??' vibes #I asked the author and they said they see them as QPR / platonic soulmates but are not at the point where they would know what to call it #which makes total sense to me! #the part of me who wants more obvious aroace YA wishes it was a little more specific #but also I DO love ambiguity and I think it wouldn't be true to the characters #who are clearly not even ready to start figuring that stuff out. #and also. aroacespec sapphics is like. also something i want #also like. I think it's reductive to assume just because 'looks at lips' is a common allo attraction trope....doesn't necessarily mean #it has to be that. yknow. #anyway. i loved it a lot. #gross spidergirl (affectionate)...... #also dior is such an interesting and complex character. like another book could have made her nicer or less fucked up

[speculatives]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

thanks for tagging me @aroaessidhe !

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

FINALLYYY read A Memory Called Empire. What can I say. Another win for the space lesbians with a guy in their head genre.

The Apple Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed—I really like this author’s short stories so it’s no surprise I liked this novella. Bittersweet and cozy, with an intricate writing style and a very cool alternate history Edwardian setting.

Also Piranesi!

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

Not technically a sequel, but Lost In The Moment And Found — I always look forward to new Wayward Children books!

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I haven’t gotten around to reading Translation State! Also not super new, but The Spear Cuts Through Water.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Mammoths at the Gates, the next book in the Singing Hills Cycle!

5. Biggest disappointment

Couldn’t get into Sea of Tranquility :( Station Eleven was such good sci fi and I just found this one unimaginative

6. Biggest surprise

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder! I haven’t been reading much litfic and i was surprised how quickly I got into this one. Insane writing style

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Isabel J Kim’s short stories are really good! They’re here on tumblr, I am too scared to @ them

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

qifrey. sorry. also twelve azalea you will aways be famous

9. Book that made you cry

The Apple Tree Throne—the protagonist’s situation being a bit too relatable, the kindness of his friends, the suckerpunch of an ending :,)

10. Book that made you happy

Also Witch Hat Atelier!!! I still haven’t read the most recent volume, but I’ve been slowly picking my way through them (Japanese practice) and the ones I’ve read this year continue to be a joy :)

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen was also so beautiful and heartfelt. I guess what I got out of this is I should read more graphic novels and comics!

tagging @nycorix if you feel like it and anyone else if they’d like to!!

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Deep Sky

scifi mystery thriller

on a deep space mission traveling from an environmentally devastated earth with hope to restart humanity elsewhere

when they’re halfway, an explosion kills 3 crew and pushes them off course

the only witness is the Alternate who has no specific role, and she has to figure out who caused it & if they might continue to sabotage, while they're figuring out a way to get back on course with limited resources

flips between present and the past: of her childhood and training for the mission, her identity struggles, and relationship with her mother

questions the ethics of ‘restarting’ humanity elsewhere vs putting resources into fixing earth

#the deep sky #yume kitasei #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #i really loved this!!!!! #very intense but also a lot of interesting character introspection #love the virtual reality AI aspect!!!! though I do feel like. in the end I was expecting it to go way further with it? #(basically like instead of seeing the inside of the ship all the time they can 'be' in forests or aquariums or whatever) #no romance #(there’s side lesbians; and one flashback scene where she briefly wonders about kissing a random person; that's it) #emotional core about her mother and brother and best friend !! #i like that it gets into the flaws of 'humanity's last hope on another planet' bc like. yeah in real life things....don't work like that... #why is there zero acknowledgement that the concept of every one of them being expected to give birth being extremely fucked up? #like obviously everyone on board is there because they agreed with that but there’s not a single flashback of #when they found out that information; or mention of someone questioning it... #(for example a character mentions that they hid their mental health/use of a therapy animal bc they wouldn't have been let in and the - #eugenics around that is iffy to say the least) #but to me. pregnancy is horrifying and nobody questioning that was weird. #also there’s supposedly 80 people on board but we get to know less than 10 of them which felt a bit strange at points #Also! I love the cover. I can’t find the designer (the book info only credits the internal lllustrator..) #also: bird facts!

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

To Shape A Dragon’s Breath

YA fantasy

a young Indigenous girl finds & bonds with a dragon hatchling - the first time in many generations for her people - and is required to go to the coloniser’s dragon academy in their mainland city, to learn how to raise her dragon and the science of its magic

historical inspired setting on the cusp of industrial revolution with steampunk vibes

bi polyamorous MC, Black lesbian SC, nonverbal autistic SC

#To Shape A Dragon’s Breath #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #this is really really good i loved it! #the chapter titles are all like snippets of a story. or like sentence fragments that match up. which is cool #it is definitely more about being indigenous in a coloniser institution than Dragon School - not Super dragon heavy if you want that #I suspect the subsequent books will get into that when she gets big enough to ride and stuff #t’s also def YA! i’ve seen a few ppl assume it’s adult and be like its very young :( but like. I mean its perfectly reasonable for a 15yo m #definitely a Lot of racism and colonialism which is not fun to read! though it's still through a YA lens. there was def a part of me that #was imagining consequences of the narrative as if it were an adult novel #on that line of thought - at the end a lot of it is kind of solved by them going to the king and he's is like. oh no racism is happening? #that's bad i'll deal with those people! which felt like. a little simplistic. but maybe the easiest way to end the narrative for book 1 - #I don't think the author ACTUALLY is going to portray the king as a Good Guy throughout the series - it just felt conveniently like - #a simple YA solution to some very big and complex elements? if that makes sense? (but again - it is YA so it's allowed I suppose!) #some of the worldbuilding (like all the science learning) is probably setup for next books - we don’t really see any practical application #the romances are also subtle and not Overbearing In Book One which i like - leave some space for the series! #also her getting fanmail from a 10yo mixed race girl who looks up to her 🥺 #anyway. i really loved it! #oh also it reminded me a little of leviathan. i guess just the steampunk/time period/european culture.... #To Shape A Dragon's Breath

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

The Sacrifice

YA horror

set on an island in the Philippines, with legends of a dreamer god who requires sacrifices, and a history of deaths and disappearances

a local teen who’s one of the only people willing to go near agrees to be the guide for a hollywood crew determined to film their ghosthunting show there - and won’t leave even when bodies start showing up

nonbinary MC, creepy plants and caves

#The Sacrifice #rin chupeco #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #I enjoyed this! #the audiobook has a bunch of bits without repeat sentences edited out skhdgkfdh. not a fault of the book itself of course but lmao #THE FINAL REVEAL? tbh i did kind of guess a version of that but not it coming out of the *** #the cave horror is mostly like. shallow caving and sinkholes not like fully #well if you don't like caves it might be plenty but i personally was like aw i want more cave #sorry i cant kiss you the island i have a spiritual connection with would be jealous

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

YA gothic horror

Victorian fantasy where mediums can commune with spirits - if they’re registered and controlled

a trans boy attempts become a Speaker as a boy, but is found out, threatened with an arranged marriage, and sent to a finishing school to ‘cure’ girls from veil sickness (hysteria)

he quickly realises girls are disappearing and their ghosts start begging him for help, and he tries to investigate and expose the horrors of the place, and survive

autistic trans boy MC, trans girl love interest

#The Spirit Bares Its Teeth #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #this is really really good just as i expected it to be #it's kind of...small scale? #i was like oh im probably almost at halfway then realised i was at 70% lmao #which i think is probably best for the story it is #(like as the authors note says; it doesn't really get into the race side of things and it's probably not his place to tell that story - #and if the story was bigger scale it would be more of glaring ommission in the narrative) #tbh less disgusting and gory than i expected. i mean it IS but like. that seems to be the only thing people say about it #(obviously conceptually the things that are happening to these kids are absolutely horriffic) #(that’s just me talking about literal gore/on page stuff) #anyway it's really good

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread  

Gwen  & Art Are Not In Love

YA medieval romcom about childhood friends who have been engaged since birth, and hate each other

when one comes to the other’s castle for summer they realise both are queer and come to an agreement to cover for each other as they pursue their own interests

#gwen & art are not in love #Gwen And Art Are Not In Love #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #I enjoyed this a lot! it's fun #i love incessant bickering in a platonic relationship #definitely pretty no-plot-just-shenanigans. well theres a bit of plot at the end but it’s just background stuff tbh. #(i mean. some politics and death is involved. it feels a little out of place compared to the rest of it) #I would have liked a little more of her friendship with agnes - she was very shitty to her for years and it could have been developed a bit #i feel like there could have been a bit more acknowledgement of the characters of colour being characters of colour…. #not the epic highs and lows of- riverdale reference adgfjhdf

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

No Boy Summer

YA contemporary

a girl and her sister who usually only bond over being boy-obsessed make a no-boy-pact over summer, while working in her aunt’s coffee shop in LA

but she meets a cute girl and starts sneaking around to date her, because it’s not technically breaking the rules..

while also making a new close friend group, and building a closer relationship with her sister

fat bi MC, butch LI

#aroaessidhe 2023 reads #no boy summer #amy spalding #i enjoyed this!! #another book that has ppl have conversations instead of drawing things out for drama #i mean there's the one thing that shes lying to her sister about. but everything else #wow communication is important 👍 #also a really nice friend group that feels well developed #bisexual books #sapphic books

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

Dawn Raid

middle grade historical about a 13yo Samoan girl living in Porirua in 1976, as she learns about the hīkoi (Māori land march) the year before, the dawn raids happening mostly further north, and about civil rights around the world

as well as normal kid stuff like doing the milk run to save up and buy some cool shoes, and dealing with her chaotic younger brothers

she gets more passionate about learning & speaking up about these things, especially when her own family is dawn raided when they’re visiting relatives in Auckland, and her brother is arrested while protesting with the Polynesian Panthers

told in diary entries

#dawn raid #pauline vaeluaga smith #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #This is great! #god it’s fucking wild we don’t learn about this in school. pretty sure I only did in uni #absolutely delighted that the first line of this is: i can’t believe the first mcdonald’s is here! in porirua! afhgdkjghdkj #aotearoa books

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

Sheiné łénde

prequel to Elatsoe, following her grandmother as a teen in the 1970s

after a devastating flood and loss of family members & their traditional home, she works with her mother & their ghost dogs, tracking down missing people

when a local boy goes missing - and her mother, when trying to find him - strange fairy rings (not the usual, reliable ones used for transport) might be to blame, and she and her friends, brother, and lone (unreliable) grandfather have to try find them

friendship, family, ecology, no romance, ghost bugs :)

(title pronounciation: Sheh-ee-neh lehneh)

arc from netgalley, out 16 April 2024!

#Sheine Lende #Sheiné łénde #darcie little badger #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #once again perfect and beautiful with such a quiet strength #such good friendships & family/culture #and the paranormal + ecology + fairytale logic almost #also of course the beautiful illustrations by Rovina Cai #not only the cover (which makes more sense after reading!) but also the chapter illustrations telling their own story again #I did sometimes feel like. it felt more modern than the setting? I was trying to figure out when it was set based on like. assumption of ag #(since it doesn't actually say in the book; just the acknowledgements) #the end made me cry so much and it’s not even sad #I feel like I need to reread elatsoe now... #no romance #also it has some side sapphics

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

All That Consumes Us

YA dark academia

about a writer struggling in her first semester at uni when she finds a girl who was in the secretive and prestigious academic society dead in the library, and is offered the newly empty place

she gladly accepts the spot (and free tuition), but is haunted by dreams of the dead girl, and her stories seem to be going strange and dark places

explores the cost of artistic ambition

bi MC, sapphic, lots of queer characters

#All That Consumes Us #erica waters #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #bisexual books #sapphic books #yeah I enjoyed it! good vibes. #the reason behind stuff was predictable maybe but also i think it worked yknow #obsessed w the cover also

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, Ancillary Mercy

Imperial space opera trilogy

a soldier who was once a starship AI with thousands of bodies but was betrayed and is now a single human body, encounters one of her old lieutenants on an ice planet and helps her while on her mission of vengeance

in book 2&3 she becomes part of a new ship, protecting a remote system & becoming familiar with the different people & culture while discovering injustices, politics, and murder

interesting cultures, characters, and use of a singular pronoun (she)

#Ancillary Justice #imperial radch #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #this is a p terrible synopsis but like. who hasn’t heard of these books #anyway: i finally read them!!! 10 years after reading the first 5 chapters lmao #did take me a bit to get into it #but once i got into it; a lot less complex than i expected it to be? or like. smaller scale. which I enjoyed. #also. it’s funny? not like all the time but more so than i was expecting #(i mean I wasn’t expecting or not expecting anything in particular) #love a grumpy not-friendship (as it is in the first book especially) #audiobook cons: skips the first two pages of every other chapter. pros: singing! in a way that actually works #(i only listened to the audio of book 1 bc the libby wait times are SO LONG for the others) #translator zeiat a standout in book 3. obsessed with her #i feel like i don;t have many concrete thoughts other than yea its good #anyway i will read the other 2 books at some point also

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

Something More

YA contemporary about a Palestinian-Canadian girl starting high school, navigating new crushes and accepting her recent autism diagnosis

#something more #jackie kalilieh #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #this is pretty good! #obv it’s not my kind of book but having an autistic MC made it a lot less frustrating than a similar book with an allistic MC would be imo #I thought it was a great representation of a low support needs autistic teen girl #and like. embracing her autism but also it's not the only thing the book is about #Was a bit exhausting the way she keeps going back to this guy even though he’s kinda shitty #though I guess it felt quite transparent that the narrative is partly about recognising unhealthy relationships & what mistakes you should #forgive and what are ongoing patterns. and most of the relationships are like different examples of that #so like that gave me a bit of a step back from all the drama and stuff that would have otherwise annoyed me too much #because it was obvious that that was the point of all that #I think it would have been good to have developed her relationship with her grandmother - 3/4 through something happens #and it has pretty much no emotional punch because I was like wait. she has a grandmother? #Maybe that would have made it too sad when it’s mostly a lighthearted romance but like. you could have made the thing more of just a scare

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Water Outlaws

fantasy inspired by a wuxia classic

a woman who’s an expert arms instructor is labelled a criminal after being assaulted by a powerful man

she joins a group of rebellious bandits who fight for justice, and becomes entangled in politics both with the group and the empire - who are trying to develop powerful magical weapons

mainly queer & female cast

#The Water Outlaws #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #i loved this a lot!! #I will say I think it has a few flaws: if I hadn't read audio it probably would have been a bit slow/weirdly paced #and i think there's too many characters that aren't developed fully enough #(maybe a result of being a retelling of something that had many characters ) #like there's setup for some amazing interesting relationships but they only get a couple scenes together? #there's this fight scene with the commander and a bit after it that made me insane then they didn't really interact after that.. #and lu junyi's storyline was a bit unconnected... #BUT ALSO the characters are all really cool and i can like. imagine in the gaps u know #LU DA my beloved himbo flower monk....i love her....... #also!!!! #no romance #there’s some discussion of a past ones…and maybe it was implying things between certain characters but I didn’t read it obviously that way #anyway i gave it five stars #its kinda one of those books where im like. #actually i would've liked more of a lot of things BUT also the baseline of what is here is already at a rly high level of what i like. so.

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

The Archive Undying

semi-postapocalyptic scifi/fantasy

the sole undying acolyte of a dead mecha god who went mad and destroyed its city, who is on the run and drowning himself in substances & men in order to forget

he joins an expedition to explore the shrine of another AI entity, and after something goes wrong finds himself thrown back into the violent world of gods & machines

godpunk, giant robots, body horror, trauma, shifting POVs, generally weird, vibes-heavy

#The Archive Undying #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #me immediately starting this: I have no idea what’s going on 👍 #vibes? out of this world. me understanding what’s happening? not really #it kinda feels like. there’s another book that’s more straightforward plot that explains the worldbuilding and this is the prequel focused #on a side character from that ther book. but there is no other book #BUT like the vibes. they are very good. very descriptive and uhhhh interesting prose and stuff! #There were quite a few funny moments and things that endeared me to the characters. #anyway this is a general confusion unsure how i feel about it but thumbs up? #however if you aren't someone who can coast along on the enjoyment of vibes you probably won't like it #mlm books #< though does it mention the MC is 3rd gender? i vaguely remember something like that. uses he pronouns though. my confusion is from writin #queer books

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Hands of the Emperor

long, quiet high fantasy

follows the personal secretary of the last emperor of a fallen empire who is revered as an untouchable god, after he invites the emperor on holiday and they become friends

also he restructures the entire government and reconnects with his family

#The Hands of the Emperor #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #I enjoyed this! #it’s very long and slow paced but I did find the prose itself easy to read. it’s not dense. #though some aspects get a little repetitive in the second half? #like how many times do you need to have the conversation going ‘you didn’t ask about me!!!’ ‘ you didn’t + #share anything about yourself!!!’ with his family asfdshgv #interesting to have a high fantasy that is like. both political and low stakes #I enjoyed all the different platonic and familial relationships. #no romance #more or less