Icarus – book tour + review

Author: K. Ancrum
Publication date: March 26, 2024
Genre: YA contemporary/romance
My rating: 4.5/5 stars

Icarus is a forger and an art thief. Helios is a boy under house arrest…and the son of the man Icarus steals from. These two lonely souls on the cusp of adulthood, both struggling to resist their oppressive fathers, are brought together in a star-crossed friendship-turned-romance in this dazzling novel, loosely a contemporary retelling of its mythological namesake. The story also features Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome representation, which is very close to my heart, as well as various queer identities, found family, and so much more. Read on for my full thoughts (and a splash of literary analysis–when you have a mythology retelling, how could you not?).

Ace Books 4: Ace & Books – still more books with ace rep

Well, folks, another year has come to a close (yes, yes, that was three weeks ago), and you know what that means: time for a roundup of all the books with ace rep that I read in 2023! This past year, I read a whopping SEVENTEEN (17!!) books with characters on the asexual spectrum. As usual, they spanned quite a few genres (yay), and while mostly good, the rep quality also varied in a few (womp womp). I’ve provided notes on the type and quality of representation for each book. Where I’ve written a review of a book on the list, I have hyperlinked the title to that review.

Please, as always, remember that I am just one reviewer, and while I try to stay as objective as possible to make this article a useful resource, the ace spectrum encompasses a wide range of experiences. I am ace, but my take on the quality of any given piece of representation may differ from that of others in the community; much like our experiences, our opinions can and do vary.

With all that said, let’s get started!

P.S. If you’d like to see my lists from past years, here are the links to my roundups from 2020, 2021, and 2022!

Being Ace – review and story notes

Editor: Madeline Dyer
Publication date: October 10, 2023
Genre: young adult anthology
My rating: 4.5/5 stars

I first heard about this anthology before it even had a title; the editor, Madeline Dyer, mentioned it in an ace group on Facebook, and I’d been anxiously awaiting its publication since then. So, naturally, when I had an opportunity to review a copy of it from the publisher, I jumped at the chance. While my review on Instagram was posted a while ago, I wanted to put this longer review up as well, as it contains detailed notes on the specific type of representation in each story, as well as relevant trigger/content warnings and more detailed thoughts on each installment. This is a powerful anthology that I believe will be extremely validating to ace folks everywhere–read on for more of my thoughts.

House of Roots and Ruin – book tour (ARC review, favorite quotes, and giveaway!)

Author: Erin A. Craig
Series: Sisters of the Salt (#2)
Publication date: July 25, 2023
Genre: YA fantasy thriller
My rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is, in the best way possible, Spooky Girl Summer. Brimming with lush flowers (some benign, some poisonous, all meaningful), a heady first romance, twists and betrayals, and the gothic gloom and glamor of a noble family’s fantasy manor, this is a story that will keep you rooted in place (pun intended) and unable to stop turning the pages, particularly as it barrels toward an explosive finale. And though it is a sequel–or perhaps, more accurately, a companion novel–to House of Salt and Sorrows, it can just as easily be read on its own, as it takes place twelve years later and follows a different main character. (That said, if you read it on its own and decide to read book one later, you will have picked up some rather large plot spoilers. You’ve been warned.)

Now, read on for a full review, as well as some of my favorite quotes and a giveaway!

Seven Faceless Saints – review + quotes

Author: M. K. Lobb
Series: Seven Faceless Saints (#1)
Publication date: February 7, 2023
Genre: young adult dark fantasy
My rating: 4.5/5 stars

I cannot adequately express how glad I am that this book lived up to my expectations for it–it was one of my most-anticipated reads of this year, and it was just what I hoped for. There was a murder mystery. There were fantasy politics and corrupt religion. There was an enemies-to-lovers arc. There were also things I didn’t expect but was really happy to see–demisexual rep, mental health conversations, and a Soft Boy/Angry Girl pairing to die for. Read on for my thoughts on the book, as well as some personal favorite quotes from it!

The Witch King – audiobook review

Author: H.E. Edgmon
Series: The Witch King (#1)
Publication date: June 1, 2021
Genre: YA fantasy
Audiobook narrator: Dani Martineck
My rating: 2/5 stars

Preliminary note: this review is a little spotty, is in part because I read this book last November, so my memory is a little iffy, and in part because the issues that bothered me have stuck in my head and I don’t much feel like talking about the rest. I didn’t like this book much, if at all, which was quite a disappointment, because the ace rep, Native American rep, and OwnVoices trans rep had definitely caught my eye. Ah, well. Not every read can be a winner.

Iron Widow – review

Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
Series: Iron Widow (#1)
Publication date: September 21, 2021
Genre: YA science fiction
My rating: 5/5 stars

The first thing I’m going to say about this book is that I cannot believe it took me so long to pick it up. It’s been on my shelf since 2021 (I received it in my second-ever Illumicrate box), and yet I didn’t pick it up until the very end of 2022, at the urging of several good friends of mine. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. Iron Widow has all sorts of great things: feminism, battle robots, characters with dubious morals, queer representation, revenge, sarcasm, Chinese historical references, and more. Often dark but never bleak, this is a page-turner that you don’t want to miss.

Mysteries of Thorn Manor – review

Author: Margaret Rogerson
Series: Sorcery of Thorns (#1.5)
Publication date: September 17, 2023
Genre: YA fantasy
My rating: 4/5 stars

This is just a miniature review, as this was a miniature book! This lighthearted novella was a delightful follow-up to Sorcery of Thorns, a book which I (along with practically every bookworm out there) positively adored. Magical grimoires, a librarian warrior, a demon who likes to take the form of a cat, a potent blend of magic and adventure…needless to say, the strength of its predecessor set the bar high. And Mysteries of Thorn Manor certainly rose to the challenge; it was exactly the right mix of cozy and entertaining, with light drama and a splash of romance.

Aces Wild – review

Author: Amanda DeWitt
Publication date: September 13, 2022
Genre: YA contemporary
My rating: 3.5/5 stars

Okay, so. The blurb on this one had me 100% sold–a heist in the vein of Six of Crows featuring an all-asexual cast? You’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect intersection of my interests. The thing is, this marketing tactic really did the book a disservice. This is not like Six of Crows, minus perhaps the found family element and some teens engaging in illegal activity. It was a fun read, and the ace rep was wonderful, but I’ll admit, I felt rather let down. Were it not for my extreme soft spot for good ace rep, this would likely have been a lower rating. Read on for a better breakdown of my thoughts!

Belladonna – ARC review

Author: Adalyn Grace
Publication date: August 30, 2022
Genre: Gothic YA fantasy/romance
My rating: 3.5/5 stars

A murder mystery featuring Gothic vibes and a romance with Death himself. A beautiful cover (seriously, look up what is under the dust jacket on the US versions of this one). An author with an impressive resume (including a stint interning on The Legend of Korra). This book is perfect in theory. And while it certainly delivered on all the vibes and atmosphere, I must confess that the book as a whole was just…okay. It wasn’t bad; it just didn’t live* up to its full potential.

*pun about living (since this book deals with death so much) was not intentional, but now that I’ve noticed, I have to leave it in.