Renata Sancken
This is a fun volume! A bit of a mixed bag like, dare I say, most anthologies. It included some characters I'm not as familiar with and I personally preferred the stories about like, Wiccan and Hulking and Mystique and Destiny.
This is also a weird blend of new stories written just for Pride and some older reprints of notable “Pride” themed stories and I have to say uhhHHHHH I wish the older stories had maybe also gotten a little essay attached to provide added context or something? Like for example the BONKERS Hulk story where Sam Wilson's nephew is dying of AIDS and asks for a Hulk blood transfusion to see if it will cure AIDS and Bruce says no and then he dies? Meanwhile Betty answers a phone call from someone who found out he's HIV+ and wants to kill himself and she's like "this isn't a suicide hotline let me give you the number for that" and he's like "but I like your voice" and she's like "ok well don't kill yourself, everybody's got problems, for example I am married to the Hulk" and he's like "hm interesting well I am calling from my car phone and I am parking my car on the train tracks, goodbye" and then the issue ends with that guy getting hit by a train?!?! Happy Pride?!?!??!
I used to be somewhat up-to-date on the Marvel comics universe maybe like 10 years ago and then uhhhh I got behind and never caught up, and I was like “this whole Krakoa situation seems really complicated and yet they are really committed to it so I am going to have to learn about Krakoa if I ever want to read another X-Men book” and then I just stopped reading X-Men, even though I love X-Men.
Anyway in light of Recent Events I was like you know what I bet getting back into Marvel comics will be a good distraction for me to have! So I checked out a bunch of comics from the library! I really like that the Dawn of X trade volumes collect issues of multiple X-Men series so I can keep an eye on everyone! This was fun! Comics are fun and I like them! (sometimes)
I only knew the Spider-Punk character from the Spider-Verse movie but I liked him very much in that movie!! Picking this volume up–EVEN THOUGH IT IS COLLECTING ISSUES 1-4 OF A COMIC WHICH IMPLIES IT SHOULD BE A GOOD STARTING POINT–I felt like I had definitely missed...some things...? Like Spider-Punk assassinating the president who was Norman Osborn? I guess?
But uhhhhh it was a fun read and the art was really cool!
I just LOVED this book! I had picked it up on the recommendation of a friend without reading too much more about it and I think if I had read what the plot was I might have been like “uh oh this sounds depressing and I'm NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THAT” but I'm so glad I didn't do that, because this was exactly what I was in the mood for. SO funny and fresh and unexpectedly heartwarming but also a real page turner. I couldn't put it down and read it all in two days. AND went to look up what else this author has written and acquire those books next.
some things SJM is gonna do every time:
- unleash an escalating set of MacGuffins that allow for everyone to try to be self-sacrificing but ultimately be saved by a newer MacGuffin
- reveal that the sexy villains aren't really villains they're just sexy and have tattoos and good morals
- pair everybody off by the end
- be horny (yet clearly uninterested in allowing queer characters to be on-page horny)
So we got all of that!
As-ever: TOO LONG yet DID READ? why does this woman compel me so.......
I enjoyed the crossover with ACOTAR but honestly wished for more!!!Also lol I love that the ending was basically SJM being like, "you know what? fuck you *un-urbans your urban fantasy*" She doesn't know how cell phones work therefore none of these people need them!!!!!
I dug this! Really informative and compelling mini-biographies that contextualize some of the big picture history of WWII. Also the sections that try to teach you how to code and cipher will undoubtedly be of interest to some readers! Not me though my eyes glazed over every time! I do not have what it takes to be a Bletchley girl!! Fortunately I do not need to.
I checked this out from the library twice (had to return it bc of the waitlist) and never made it beyond like chapter 6 because reading it made me feel SUCH secondhand embarrassment that I wanted to claw my eyes out. Which I do feel like is the intended effect and well done to Miranda July for achieving it but when I remembered that I simply did not have to finish reading this I felt SUCH relief.
I'm only a sometime member of the CONgregation (aka listener of the Scam Goddess podcast) but I really enjoyed Laci's book! I don't listen to a lot of audiobooks but I sought it out, bc, duh, podcaster. It was a fun listen and I liked the blend of iconic scam stories + her own memoir. And I was genuinely moved to tears by her description of her abusive relationship & the friend who got her out of it.
I've got a fondness for brain-smoothing frothy royal romances, and I think this one strikes a good balance between being silly & sweet + also acknowledging that life for a queer Black royal would not be quite the same as it would be for a cishet white royal. Also, I always think that for ~royal romance stories~ it's a better move to make them the royalty of a fictional country than to try to incorporate any real-life monarchy and all its baggage. I hope that Reverie and Genovia have cordial diplomatic relations.
uhhh OK I did not get very far before abandoning this one. Partly bc I was riding on the high of DNFing [b:All Fours 197798168 All Fours Miranda July https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913995l/197798168.SY75.jpg 200490034] and I was like “look at me, I have free will and I can stop reading a book whenever I want, (as long as it's not for my podcast!)” But also I was like “uhhh this really just is the basic original text of Pride & Prejudice except you did control+F find& replace of like “carriage->spaceship” and “calling card->hyper chat” or whatever. I didn't get very far before getting tired of the gimmick and then I read some reviews here and it seems like....it's basically that all the way through. Like I was not a huge fan of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies but that did a lot more work to change the book. To be far I guess “Pride and Prejudice in Space” is like. Exactly what it says on the tin.
This is fun and silly. I liked Marco joining Breen for her portal quest adventure- it's always annoying when the chosen portal girlie is like “oh my secret I can't tell anyone, I'll just be mysterious and weird” and I liked that Marco gets to come too. Their relationship is so goofy though like on one hand I'm excited for Nora to include a Black queer character but on the other lol Marco's personality is like basically a sassy throw pillow and there is a lot of “telling not showing” about how they have BESTIES more like siblings forever but like. You know what whatever bc I'm obsessed with these 2 introducing “Shallow” to the fairies based on their karaoke performances back on Earth.
Normally I do think Nora really excels at character development and side friendships/relationships so I do think that uhh maybe Marco is just based on like Karamo from Queer Eye or something but uhhhhhhh she's trying
anyway this is SILLY, actively smoothing my brain!!! Yes girl let's have a pretty dress montage!!! Yes girl let's bond with a beautiful dragon!! Yes girl let's have a crystal acquisition montage!!! Oh girl your love interest is gruff and stoic but his eyes soften when he looks at you??? tell me about it BREEN
I kinda lost steam with this trilogy, maybe bc I had to interject some forced SJM-reading time in the middle. I feel like this trilogy's worldbuilding is so straightforward compared to SJM's wild-ass shit, and the characters are generally well-created (Marco does still just seem like a cartoon gay stereotype like...at least he's fun and got his magical HEA too??? I'll take it)whatever it was fine, like somehow I think it's better quality than SJM books but has less of the secret unhinged spice that makes me crave SJM?:
I heard about this book because I attended an author event where St. Antoine was one of the authors speaking (I hadn't heard of her before - I went for some of the other authors), and she read a little excerpt of this and I was hooked! Really strong MG/lower YA story for climate anxiety-havers with a side helping of outdoor adventure/survival story, this baby has a LOT of tween appeal and I'm not sure why it hadn't been on my radar before!! Also an ultimately sweet trans coming out side storyline. Would also be great for school/class discussions - much to discuss!!
DNF around 35%. I started this twice–once earlier in the summer where I read like the first chapter and decided I wasn't in the mood for this kind of book. But I returned to it after I'd been on a string of enjoying some fantasy/romance/romantasy books and I was like “oh yeah this sounds like it'll hit the spot” and then I was like “hmm no I get why I couldn't get into this earlier.” Like I've enjoyed other “cozy fantasy” and I think “low stakes high heat” is a perfectly nice little tagline. But unfortunately for me this felt like, actually the stakes were both high and boring, like just a LOT of information about textile tariffs and the fantasy mercantile caste system to get through. Also it felt like I was supposed to be horny for all the sword training scenes but they were not hitting for me (so to speak).IDK, I'm sure this book will have its audience but if you're looking for something like [b:Legends & Lattes 61242426 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1) Travis Baldree https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654581271l/61242426.SY75.jpg 94968745]...to me this is......not a good readalike for that.