Book Review Wrap-Up - June 2022
Monthly Wrapup
Published Reviews
Red: A History of the Redhead (2015)
While starting strong, Red often uncritically repeats white supremacists, eugenics, racist, and sexist talking points. Harvey often co-opting narratives of oppression that don’t belong to her as a white woman in order to illustrate to the reader the “exotic” and “empowering” nature of redheads. — Read the full review here
Sexiled Volume Two (2019)
Ameko Kaeruda continues to be an auto-buy author for me as she continues to pump out campy, fun, and feminist GL novels. In the conclusion of Sexiled, we watch our heroines smash the patriarchy with their love in a good old revenge plot. — Read the full review here
Silk Fire (18+) (July 5th, 2022)
Zabé Ellor’s first foray into Adult SFF is an overly ambitious novel of revenge that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Characters often flip-flop between motivations, and his world overstuffed with elements. Silk Fire is a confusing read that doesn’t live up to the author’s ambitions. — Read the full review here
Hell Followed With Us (2022)
Hell Followed With Us is a visceral look at the harm of Evangelical Christianity through the lens of horror, ecofascist dystopia, and the trans experience. It aims to drive a knife right into your chest and delivers. — Read the full review here
Reading Wrap-Up
I only read three books this month; Hell Followed With Us by Joseph Andrew White (YA - Older Teen, SFF-Dystopia), The Coward by Stephen Aryan (Adult SFF), and This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El Mother and Max Gladstone (Adult SFF).
The Coward was a reread for me in anticipation of the sequel The Warrior, which I have an arc of and hope to get around to reading in July. Much of my thoughts haven’t changed from my 2021 review of this book. It’s an excellent examination of PTSD and deconstruction of the hero’s journey. But, I did notice problems I either overlooked or didn’t notice the first time. Mainly there are many weird sexual situations that our deuteragonist Gerran is thrust into that doesn’t seem to serve the plot. And, I wish writers would find other ways of showing a teenage boy maturing.
There will be a review for This is How You Lose The Time War out next week (probably) - it’s one of the few books I’ve written a timely review for this year. But my thoughts are it’s just okay. I can’t bring myself to adore it like the rest of the internet, even if I can recognise that it is a masterful piece of science-fiction literature.
Finally, we get to Hell Followed With Us; this is a difficult read. It sucker punches you with both trans rage and joy. And we feel every emotional and physical wound inflicted upon the main character Benji. And it’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.
Conclusion
I’m currently in the middle of two books, The Warrior (Quest For Heroes #2) by Stephen Aryan and Boys Love Manga and Beyond, a collection of sociological essays about BL manga, its history, effect across the globe, and its readership. I have previously read a couple of the pieces in this collection but never done a full read-through of the work. I'm already aware of much of what is in it because I’ve been a BL fan since my teens, but I still enjoy reading these analyses. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive to buy - I’m currently reading it on Scribd.
Next month I hope to catch up on my ever-growing list of arcs I haven’t got around to reading or reviewing yet. I also have so many ebooks that I need to read and an expansive physical TBR. But being a mood reader, it’s often left to whim which book I pick up next.