Tag Archives: LGBTQIA+

Review: Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar

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Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar

Divining the Leaves
Shveta Thakrar
HarperTeen
Published March 4, 2025

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About Divining the Leaves

From critically acclaimed author Shveta Thakrar comes a beautifully imagined contemporary fantasy about two teens, one a believer of magic who yearns to belong, the other a skeptic searching for an escape, who find themselves embroiled in a twisty world of court intrigue when they venture into a forest ruled by yakshas, mysterious woodland spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Plant-loving Ridhi Kapadia and popular Nilesh Batra were friends once.

Now, seventeen and alone, Ridhi blends natural perfumes, wears flower crowns, and wanders her local woods, listening for the leafy whispers of her beloved trees. Pleading for the yakshas to admit her into their enchanted forest kingdom, where she knows she truly belongs.

After learning his parents’ perfect marriage is a sham and getting suspended from school, a heartsick Nilesh lands at Ridhi’s doorstep—the last thing either of them wants. So when a pretty yakshini offers him the distraction of magic, the same magic he mocked Ridhi for believing in, he jumps at it.

Furious, Ridhi strikes a bargain with a noblewoman named Sulochana. In return for helping restore her reputation, Sulochana will turn Ridhi into the yakshini she yearns to be—and teach her to divine the trees’ murmurs.

But when Nilesh ends up trapped in the yakshas’ realm, Ridhi realizes the leaves might be telling a disturbing story about the forest her heart is rooted in—one that, even if the two of them band together, threatens to shred the future like so many thorns.

My Review

My favorite thing about this book are all the descriptions of flowers, trees, and plants. I also love the way that the author incorporates dance into this story so centered on nature and plants. In one scene, Ridhi dances so that her body tells the story of the forest she’s standing in. Because of the lush descriptions of the woods and magic, I that description really came to life. I’ve never seen anything like that so well-captured in a scene before. It’s something I think I’ll remember for a long time.

I also enjoyed the unfolding of the relationship between Ridhi and Nilesh. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I had certain expectations when I started the book, and for a minute, I was not sure I was going to like the way things unfolded. It took longer for him to grow on me as a character, but eventually, I felt like I understood him more and appreciated him. Ultimately, I love where the author took the story and the hints at new relationships in the ending. (Also hooray for the reference to tabletop games there at the end!)

So, yeah. I’ve got Star Daughter on my shelf, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Divining the Leaves is the first book by this author that I’ve read, and I am sure I will read more.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
The story contains magic and mythical beings from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One scene very briefly shows a character being tortured.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: A Traitorous Heart by Erin Cotter

Book Review and Content, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

A Traitorous Heart
Erin Cotter
Simon & Schuster
Published January 7, 2025

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About A Traitorous Heart

A noblewoman in the scandalous French court finds herself under the dangerous and watchful eye of the Parisian royalty when she falls in love with the handsome king who is betrothed to her former lover in this bisexual The Three Musketeers by way of Bridgerton and F.T. Lukens.

Paris, 1572. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline “Jac” d’Argenson-Aunis is lady-in-waiting to her best friend and former lover, the French Princess Marguerite “Margot” de Valois, but she dreams of more. If Jac plays her cards right, one day, she’ll become a full member of the Societas Solis, a secret society of spies—just like her uncle and guardian, Viscount Gabriel d’Argenson-Aunis.

But it’s hard to think about her own ambitions while France is on the brink of war, and the only thing that might save the country is an alliance—a marriage between the Catholic Princess Margot and Henry, the awful son of the Huguenot queen. Who would be the perfect person to play matchmaker? Jac, of course.

Jac resents lying to her best friend almost as much as she resents the brazen and arrogant King Henry, but it’s her one chance to prove to the Societas Solis that she belongs among their ranks before her uncle can marry her off or worse. The more time Jac spends in the French Court’s clandestine corners, though, the more she starts to wonder if Henry is…not as terrible as she once believed. And the Societas Solis may not be what they seem.

Politics. Spies. Chaos in the French court. Perhaps even witchcraft? Everything’s more dangerous when love is involved.

My Review

I enjoyed this book, but it took me longer to read than I expected. I liked the main characters for the most part. Truthfully, I wanted to like Margot more than I did. I felt like the plot kind of easily dismissed her as selfish and frivolous, though there was obviously more to her. Her goal was to open a school where women and people of any class could be educated. So she obviously had a lot of depth.

I appreciated the development of the romance between Jac and Henry. At first, they don’t like each other at all, but as they’re forced to work together on a common goal, they each surprise the other, and gradually, they grow to like one another. I appreciated that the relationship developed more slowly, giving us time to savor it as it developed.

Jac’s complex relationship with her oncle also added some layers to her character and backstory. Sometimes she interpreted his behavior to mean pretty dramatic things, but I felt like that fit her character and her age. I appreciated that the story included some changes in their relationship and how they saw one another and understood what the other needed from them, if that makes sense.

All in all, I enjoyed this one, and I can see how the marketing comparisons to Bridgerton and F. T. Lukens fit. If those ideas appeal to you, I think you’d enjoy ]A Traitorous Heart.

Content Notes for A Traitorous Heart

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
I don’t think there was much in the book in terms of profanity. Maybe some mild profanity infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
Reference to religious differences between the Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants). References to spells, potions, and occult practices. Jac investigates a graverobbing group, looking for evidence of occult activity, possibly reanimating the dead.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. An assassin comes after Jac and her allies. After she ties him up, Jac tosses one would-be assassin over a wall into a moat. A fire consumes a building with a child inside. Jac attempts to save him and his cats. References to a prisoner potentially being tortured. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol at social gatherings. The King of France is consistently embarrassingly drunk at the events.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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The Color Purple
Alice Walker
Penguin Books
Published December 10, 2019 (Orig. 1982)

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About The Color Purple

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker’s epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.

“Reading The Color Purple was the first time I had seen Southern, Black women’s literature as world literature. In writing us into the world—bravely, unapologetically, and honestly—Alice Walker has given us a gift we will never be able to repay.” —Tayari Jones

“The Color Purple was what church should have been, what honest familial reckoning could have been, and it is still the only art object in the world by which all three generations of Black artists in my family judge American art.” —Kiese Laymon

My Review

This is my first time reading The Color Purple. I went back and forth between an ebook version and the audiobook version read by Alice Walker. She’s an excellent reader– I really enjoyed listening to her bring her characters and the story to life.

As you can see from the content section below, The Color Purple is a pretty heavy story about a woman who is abused by her father and then her husband before she falls in love with a woman. Through it all, the closest relationship, and the one she cherishes most, is the one between her and her sister, who has moved to Africa with a missionary couple.

It’s also an epistolary novel. At first, the book is the letters Celie writes to God. Later, it’s filled with the letters exchanged between Celie and her sister, Nettie. If you know me, you know I love sister stories, so this one has been on my reading list because of that.

I loved the relationship between Celie and Nettie. They may be far apart, and they may not know whether their sister has received any of their letters, but they continue writing and sharing their lives with one another.

Reading The Color Purple made me think a lot about women’s relationships because, at its heart, that’s really what this story is about. It’s about the power of friendship and love between women and what it can do. It teaches a lonely woman to love and be loved. It gets a woman out of prison. Love inspires a woman to open her own business. It connects women across seas, continents, and decades.

Conclusion

I really liked this book. Between the sister bond and the way that the women in the story developed relationships and cared for one another and one another’s families, I really invested in the story. I kept thinking about Celie and the other characters when I wasn’t reading. I can see why this book remains so popular and beloved. It’s got some heavy content, so this won’t be a story for everyone, but I think it’s beautifully written, and I’m so glad I read it this year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some explicit language used infrequently to describe sex. Some racist words used.

Romance/Sexual Content
The opening scene briefly (but graphically) describes a girl’s father raping her. She states that those attacks continue, but doesn’t further describe them. Later, she references sex with her husband in detached language, showing it’s not something she enjoys.

Another woman talks to Celie about her body and encourages her to explore her body on her own, which she later does. Two women kiss and touch each other (briefly described) and fall asleep together.

Another character reports that someone assaulted her.

Spiritual Content
Celie’s sister, Nettie, joins a Christian missionary group. Shug reminds Celie that the bible says not to kill anyone, and that Jesus faced his own trials and challenges.

Celie and Shug discuss God’s identity and how they imagine God. Shug rejects the idea that God is white or a man and instead thinks of all of creation as part of God and God being in all of creation. They discuss how the Bible describes Jesus’ hair as being like lamb’s wool.

Nettie describes the Olinka people’s worship of roofleaf, a plant they use to cover the tops of their homes.

Violent Content
Three scenes show brief but graphic descriptions of sexual assault or attempted assault. Brief descriptions of domestic abuse.

Two women briefly fight. A white man slaps a Black woman. She punches him in the face. The next time Celie sees her, she describes the horrific bruises and swelling left after the police brutally beat her.

References to FGM. References to colonialism, the history of slavery, and the abuse of plantation workers.

Drug Content
Adults drink alcohol and smoke. References to smoking marijuana as a habit or as part of a spiritual experience.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor

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Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology
Edited by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor
Page Street YA
Published February 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology

With stories from NYT bestselling and debut authors, Why on Earth uses an accidental alien invasion to explore love and identity.

What starts as a simple rescue mission for a crew of teen aliens to recover one of their own soon becomes an interstellar encounter no one will forget.

Captain Iona is organizing an impromptu retrieval for her brother, an undercover alien posing as a movie star. But her efforts go awry when a technical malfunction turns her heroic rescue into an unintentional invasion. With tales of disguised extraterrestrials stuck in theme parks, starship engineers hitchhiking to get home, and myth-inspired intergalactic sibling reunions, each story in this multi-author anthology explores the universal desire to be loved and understood, no matter where you come from. After all…aliens are just like us.

“This anthology twinkles with an adventurous spirit, quirky personalities, hope, and a sense of belonging. Stellar.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Out of this world!”
―Scott Reintgen, New York Times bestselling author of A Door in the Dark

“Epic fun exploring themes of acceptance and the desire to connect, regardless of species, Why on Earth is an absolute blast!”
―Alechia Dow, author of The Sound of Stars

“A delightful collection of offbeat, otherworldly stories filled with heartwarming moments and loads of entertaining, imaginative writing.”
―Kimberly Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I’m Not Dying with You Tonight

“An all-star lineup of brilliant authors with stories that make you laugh, feel, and cheer.”
―Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Wish of the Wicked

“Whether it’s a story to build the world we’re beaming into, misguided crushes in the middle of an alien invasion, or the most charmingly awkward teen alien this side of the Milky Way, there will be plenty for readers to enjoy in this anthology!”
―Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot

My Review

This might be the most fun anthology that I’ve read to this point. I loved how the individual stories connected together. Each one, as the cover copy infers, explores love and identity. Some follow romantic relationships or hopes, while others explore a character’s dreams and what makes them feel they belong.

The opening story tells about an alien captain and her crew on a rescue mission to earth to retrieve a family member the captain fears is being held captive. Each story that follows connects to the stories that came before it in some way. Some of them include the same characters. Others witness the alien ship crash or lift off.

I enjoyed every single story. The individual stories feature an inclusive cast of characters. The authors captured a sense of humanity, wonder, and what it means to be alive and connected to others. This is a great anthology for this moment in time. It’s filled with hope and humor. Definitely worth a read!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few stories have some limited profanity. I think a couple have the F-bomb.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two characters. The alien characters refer to this human experience as “a meeting of the lips,” which I found absolutely charming.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. People react to the news of the alien ship crashlanding on earth by worrying that an invasion is imminent. Some panic. Police and other officials yell and try to clear the street to enforce a shelter-in-place order.

A few stories contain brief homophobic or transphobic comments. Some characters are misgendered or rejected for their identities. One character has been kicked out of their home because they came out to their family.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Carving Shadows into Gold (Forging Silver into Stars #2)
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 28, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Carving Shadows into Gold

Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises.

The King’s Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray’s life, one false move could end everything.

Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges–and unlikely adversaries.

After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen’s side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can’t trust anyone–including the man she thought she loved.

Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king’s rivals gain strength, time is running out.

War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer. . .

My Review

The second book in the Cursebreakers series spinoff continues with the story of Tycho (King Grey’s courier), Jax (a blacksmith), and Callyn (one of Grey’s daughter’s ladies-in-waiting). I think it picks up pretty soon after Forging Silver Into Stars, the first book in the series, leaves off, with Tycho and Jax heading to Emberfall and Callyn settling into her new life as a lady’s maid.

I think all the characters are supposed to be eighteen or nineteen, so this reads more like a crossover book (adult fiction with crossover appeal to teen readers) than a young adult novel. All three characters have full-time work roles and are responsible for themselves as adults.

I like all three point-of-view characters, and I enjoy that this story is Cursebreakers adjacent, with scenes involving Grey, Lia Mara, Rhen, and Harper. Some of the events in the books have soured me a bit on Grey as a character, so at times, it was hard for me to feel the admiration that I thought I was supposed to feel for him.

The romance between Jax and Tycho develops more, and the plot leaves room for them to pine for one another. I like that the story allows Tycho to examine how he avoids connection with people and why he makes those choices. Callyn also experiences some romance. I appreciated how that part of the plot revealed that things aren’t always what they seem.

This book made me want to reread A Curse So Dark and Lonely. The structure of retelling a fairytale in that book felt so compelling when I read it. I think I want to revisit that feeling again– the fantasy landscape and romance with the added fairytale elements.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. A couple of scenes include explicit sexual contact.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. In certain circumstances, magic can be used to control others, which causes a lot of fear. Scravers are humanlike with wings, sharp claws, and long fangs. They have their own magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes in which people sustain serious or fatal injuries. Soldiers spar with one another. One higher-ranking soldier repeatedly injures someone who is trying to learn to defend herself. While a couple of characters appear shocked or dismayed by this behavior, nobody calls it out as abusive. For a while, the solution seems to be to magically heal the character’s wounds, and then she returns to get beat up the next day.

There are a couple of vague references to sexual assault that happened to one character long before the story began. If this is the only book you read, you might not even know what they were discussing because it’s pretty vague. If you remember conversations from earlier books about this character, you would know what they were referring to.

A character kisses someone without consent, and there’s a moment when the character worries that the kisser won’t stop. It doesn’t go further, and the person apologizes for misreading the situation and for not asking for consent before kissing.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol. Some get drunk and do regrettable things.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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Bingsu for Two
Sujin Witherspoon
Union & Co.
Published January 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Bingsu for Two

This outrageously charming and infuriatingly adorable enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Better Than the Movies.

Meet River Langston-Lee. In the past 24 hours, he’s dumped his girlfriend, walked out of his SATs, and quit his job at his parents’ cafe in spectacularly disastrous fashion—even for him.

Somehow, he manages to talk his way into a gig at a failing Korean cafe, Bingsu for Two, which is his lucky break until he meets short, grumpy, and goth: Sarang Cho. She’s his new no-BS co-worker who’s as determined to make River’s life hell as she is to save her family’s cafe.

After River accidentally uploads a video of his chaotic co-workers to his popular fandom account, they strike viral fame. The kicker? Their new fans ship River and Sarang big-time. In order to keep the Internet’s attention—and the cafe’s new paying customers—River and Sarang must pretend that the tension between them is definitely of the romantic variety, not the considering the best way to kill you and hide your body variety.

But when Bingsu for Two’s newfound success catches the attention of River’s ex and his parents’ cafe around the corner, he faces a choice: keep letting others control his life or stand up for the place that’s become home. And a green-haired girl who’s not as heartless as he originally thought . . .

My Review

In her debut young adult contemporary romance novel, Sujin Witherspoon makes the unorthodox decision to tell the entire story from a boy’s point of view. At first, I wasn’t sure how this would feel, since the more common approach is to either alternate points of view or tell the story from the girl’s perspective, if the story is a M/F romance. In fact, for the first several pages, I wasn’t sure of the gender identity of the main character.

River is a bit of a cinnamon roll character. He reads the room, tries to anticipate problems before they arise to avoid conflict as much as possible. When we get introduced to his family, we learn why this feels like a good strategy to him. It makes sense, and it makes his jump to working at Bingsu for Two, which is the first place where he has the freedom to be himself without his parents or his girlfriend looking over his shoulder, evaluating his choices.

The narrative thoughtfully explores River’s avoidance behavior and how his new job affects him. I liked that the changes in his life happen gradually, sometimes deliberately. At other times, he shifts his behavior in response to the new environment and only realizes on reflection that he likes the new behavior patterns better.

That sounds like a very clinical analysis, but the book has a lot of fun, goofball moments, too. The cast of characters working at Bingsu for Two banter back and forth and mess around the way that friends do in several scenes. I enjoyed seeing the relationships grow and the sweet way that River and Sarang’s relationship develops.

I think readers who enjoy stories with an inclusive cast of characters with fun and a few sparks will definitely enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
River and his family and Sarang and her family are Korean American. Two girls are in a romantic relationship. Two boys were in a romantic relationship. Sarang references having crushes on boys and girls in the past.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and some profanity used moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
River and Sarang get into a physical altercation in which she dumps a cup of coffee over his head. He retaliates by dumping a bag of coffee beans down her shirt. A boy kisses another boy without consent.

Someone spreads a rumor that a boy harassed a girl online, asking her to send nude photos of herself.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.