Reviews – Page 12 – Marked for Plot

The Butcherer of the Forest

Dark, atmospheric fairy tales are right up my alley, and early reviews of The Butcherer of the Forest made it seem like a good fit for my tastes. This ended up being one part fantasy, one part horror, and one part wandering trip through an hallucination. It won’t be my favorite read of the year, but it was a great time in a small package.

Read If Looking For: dreamy (or nightmarish) prose, fairy tale settings, unknowable beings

Avoid if Looking For: plot driven stories, explanations and justifications for the setting, tidy character arcs

Yield Under Great Persuasion

Alexandra Rowland is one of my favorite authors, and I adore romances, so this book was an easy choice to pick up. I will say Rowland’s past romance (A Taste of Gold and Iron) was a great book, but probably my least favorite thing they’ve put out. Considering that their worst book is one that I’d happily reread, Alexandra Rowland is definitely an author who is right up my alley.

Read If Looking For: trope-filled Romances, meddling gods, melodramatic descriptions of penises

Avoid if Looking For: healthy relationship dynamics, sophistication in any sense of the word

A Botanical Daughter

This book has been pitched as a mashup between Mexican Gothic, Frankenstein, written through the lens of Oscar Wilde. I don’t think that’s a perfect description, but it (and some phenomenal cover art) put this book on my list as I tried to tackle the new releases of 2024. Gothic fiction may not be my favorite genre, but there was a lot to love in this debut novel, even if there were places it was rough around the edges.

Read If Looking For: realistic gay relationships, cool fungi, gothic vibes

Avoid if Looking For: Romances, something viscerally scary, satisfying character arcs

Angels Before Man

Like most Queer kids raised Christian, I have a complicated relationship with religion. I grew up going to church in Topeka, Kansas, a city known for being utterly boring and home to the Westboro Baptist Church. Childhood was a state of constant tension. The church my parents attended was having gay marriages decades before it was legal, and one of my Confirmation mentors was an open Lesbian woman. Yet often we would see ‘God Hates Fags’ signs protesting our church, or once at my school thirty minutes outside of town after a local father murdered his children before committing suicide. The kids at my school were not from a progressive congregation in any sense of the word, and routinely lectured me on how God put animals on this earth for humans to hunt, amongst a wide variety of other topics.

All this to say, that a gay retelling of the fall of Lucifer was something that immediately caught my eye. Christian Fantasy (or religious fantasy more broadly) isn’t something that always interests me, but when queerness is layered in, I grow much more attentive. This book definitely wasn’t the ‘happy ending romance’ story I expected (or craved if I’m being totally honest), but it won me over with its willingness to be dark, deranged, and fascinating.

Read If Looking For: gay rage, villain stories that avoid cliches, critiques of Christianity

Avoid if Looking For: capital R Romances, books free from disturbing imagery or sexual assault

The Lies of the Ajungo

I stumbled on this book as I was hunting down novellas for a genre fiction unit I plan on teaching soon. Books that invoke older storytelling techniques and moods are a big draw to me, and The Lies of the Ajungo has the feel of lots of classic fables and myths in it’s style and presentation. While not technically a debut since Utomi released a novel a month earlier, this book shows a remarkable level of mastery over pacing and tone for someone so early in their publishing career. The sequel is on my shelf right now, calling my name to grab it soon.

Read If Looking For: novellas that don’t overextend themselves, fable-esque stories, sassy aunties

Avoid if Looking For: complex and layered worlds, flashy magic

The Enchanter

I was a Harry Potter kid growing up, and despite falling out of love with the series for a wide variety of reasons, magic schools will always hold a special place in my heart. I also loved Shoenn Manga, and remember buying the newest Naruto books released to see what was happening during the Chūnin Exams. This has since transformed into an adult love of the Progression Fantasy genre, featuring readable prose, fun battles, and lots of power ups. There’ve been a couple good marriages between these two elements, and even a few with lots of queer rep (Arcane Ascension and Mage Errant both get a big shout out for this!), but Journals of Evander Tailor is by far my favorite. The Enchanter is the first book in the journey, and I’ll keep singing its praises as long as I can.

Read If Looking For: breezy reading, detailed magic systems, supportive relationships, consequences for actions, a thoughtful and pragmatic lead character

Avoid if Looking For: beautiful prose, queer-friendly worlds, magic that remains mystic and unexplained

The Witness for the Dead

The Goblin Emperor won me over with its baroque tangle of royal ettiquette, its optimistic worldview, and a wonderful inversion of typical portrayals of monarchies. It’s sibling series is none of those things, and presents a story that feels very familiar in style, yet the polar opposite in tone. A subdued noir novella, Witness For the Dead does not require reading The Goblin Emperor to enjoy; it follows a side character far from the action and events of the previous story. In fact, there were surprisingly few easter eggs connecting the two.

Read If Looking For: gloomy priests, representations of internalized homophobia, simple and careful prose

Avoid if Looking For: upbeat stories, highly structured mysteries

The Bloodsworn Saga

Normally I review books one at a time. The Bloodsworn Saga made a lot of sense to review as a full trilogy however. Some series develop and shift as they go on, each book taking on something new. They might expand the setting, embrace different themes, or focus on different characters. Bloodsworn Saga, however, is remarkably consistent. Book 1 would receive more or less the same praise and criticism as book 3, with my enjoyment depending on my joy and patience for both aspects. Also, it was tough to resist the call of displaying three of my favorite fantasy covers together. Bekki Guyatt (designer) and Marcus Whinney (illustrator) outdid themselves on these. If you’re looking for epic fantasy with lots of combat, lots of monsters, and big scary gods, this is your series.

Read If Looking For: Nordic settings, lots of fight scenes, epic scope, close attention to gear and tactics

Avoid if Looking For: books without plot armor, attention to theme and character development

The Last Sun

Historically, Urban Fantasy hasn’t been a genre that I’ve found particularly compelling. As a kid, I was looking for more grand adventures; and as an adult, werewolves and vampires just didn’t call my name unless they were doing something interesting and creative with them. The Last Sun was a book I gave a shot while looking for queer leads in fantasy, and while it wasn’t a perfect book, it’s certainly one that I’ll be reading more of in the future.

Read If Looking For: punchy mysteries, fun action sequences, underdog stories

Avoid if Looking For: books without graphic sexual assault, books that resolve every mystery in one book

The Darkness Outside Us

I intended for this book to be a light, fluffy read. Picked up in an airport bookshop as something to occupy me as I headed out to a summer teaching gig in Boston, I thought I was going to read a cute (and possibly spicy) romance set in a spaceship. I did not expect the emotional rollercoaster of stress, excitement, and sheer existential dread this book would pull out of me. It’s stood the test of time and is just as good on a reread as that first experience.

Read If Looking For: space thrillers, emotional romantic connections, looming dread

Avoid if Looking For: straightforward romances, thorough worldbuilding