I very much enjoyed the two previous books in this cozy sapphic fantasy series by Rebecca Thorne, “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea”, and “A Pirate’s Life for Tea”. Reyna is a former guard to the ruthless Queen Tilaine, and Kianthe is the all-powerful Mage of Ages. They have settled down together in the town of Tawney, where they run a small, unassuming tea shop away from the pressures of the world. Of course, life is never that simple, and over the years they have searched for missing dragon eggs, raised a baby griffin, sailed with pirates, and generally tackled injustice wherever they found it. Perhaps most importantly, they have encouraged all the people around them to become the best versions of themselves. Now they have a whole supportive community, which is very useful when you have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it. In this, the third book of four, they are trying to entrap and overthrow the aforementioned Queen, using their own very real wedding as bait. Not to mention working out who is going to rule in her absence. But did I mention a wedding? That alone seems like a pretty stressful thing to plan and pull off! Trying to do both at the same time results in the sort of shenanigans you might imagine. Most of the characters from the other books are here, as well as some new ones including Tessalyn the long lost heir to the throne, her expertly-named protector James, and Kianthe’s rather disapproving parents. This series began as a reaction to the popularity of “Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree, but it has continued to grow away from that initial inspiration and certainly has found its own voice. The warm and loving tone was exactly what I needed, as well as the positive vibes and mutual understanding of the two main protagonists. This is my favourite book of the series so far, and I’m told by the author that the fourth and final book is even better, so I have a lot to look forward to. An extended excerpt of that one is included as a bonus chapter at the end. Go read the whole series! Thanks to Tor for the early review copy. Don't forget, you can pick this up in our ebook store! View full news item

This is one of those books where I feel my lacklustre words are not even worthy of talking about it. It tells the story of two close sisters, Ysabel and Esther, who live in a small human town on the very edge of the faerie world. Esther has fallen in love with Rin, a being who takes on a different form every time we meet them. The sisters like to sing together, and it’s Esther’s songs that have captivated Rin. However, the farmer who lives next door has other opinions on who she should marry. There is a fascinating description of magic here, visualised as untamed grammar that flows in the river between the two worlds, that people in the town carefully harvest and pass down to those who wield it: “That is the nature of grammar—it is always tense, like an instrument, aching for release, longing to transform present into past into future, is into was into will.” I feel it is best not to talk too much about the plot, but it does touch on misogyny and murder, so keep that in mind. The main tale is not very long at all and is ideally read in a single sitting. There is an additional short story “John Hollowback and the Witch” included too, which is an inventive fairy tale and also well worth your time. Amal’s clever and imaginative writing style really feels like nothing I’ve encountered before, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. Recommended! Thanks to Tor for the early review copy. Don't forget, you can pick this up in our ebook store! View full news item

If the thought of a sapphic romance with a giant spider woman—in a creepy gothic mansion filled with tarantulas no less—doesn’t make you want to burn down said mansion and move to another country, then sit down on a tuffet, and let me tell you more about this novella by Argentine-Brazilian writer Hache Pueyo, who also translated it to English. It tells the story of Dália who is one of the servants looking after Miss Anatema, the mistress of The Capricious House. She is not exactly what you would call a great boss, given that Dália gets promoted at the start of the book because Anatema eats her predecessor. Dália is given the job of solving a mysterious theft, and there’s a high chance of getting eaten herself if she fails to do so, or is too bold with her employer. Anatema is only vaguely anthropomorphic in that her human face is surface level camouflage over so many teeth, and she generally has a greater number of limbs than is strictly necessary. Still, Dália is not as traumatised by all this as many would be, and what starts off as more of a predator and prey situation turns into something more caring. Things move very quickly in the relatively small number of pages of the book, and I would have preferred more length to really sell Dália falling for Anatema. There’s a distinct power imbalance as well which is not remarked upon either. Regardless, I enjoyed the characters and setting a lot, and the writing is delightful even when people are munching away on fried spider legs, or corralling rogue tarantulas like escaped kittens. Eight legs out of ten! Thanks to Tor for the early review copy. Don't forget, you can pick this up in our ebook store! View full news item

I liked the first novella in this series, The Fireborne Blade, and hoped to see more adventures with our two heroines. I did not suspect I would get my wish quite so soon! Saralene is now the High Mage, but the former holder of the title (recently deceased) has other plans for her. With her trusted companion, the brave knight Sir Maddileh, she must travel to the domain of the eponymous princes and find some way to prevent her imminent demise. Along the journey, the two will also face a perhaps greater challenge—their feelings for each other. Instead of the faux academic papers about dragons we had last time, this book breaks up the narrative with some short folk tales from the perspectives of both the humans and the dragons. The same events are seen quite differently, and the fun juxtaposition of the two feeds neatly into the story. Despite the high stakes, this book feels slightly lighter in tone to the first one, particularly with the running commentary of their new feline companion. Which is not a complaint by any means! If this is all we get with these characters, the book provides a satisfying conclusion to the tale, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if we got more of these bite-sized tales every now and again, much like a fantasy equivalent of the Murderbot novellas by Martha Wells. Recommended, alongside the first one. Thanks to Tor Publishing for the early review copy. View full news item

While the first book by Rebecca Thorne shared a certain amount of DNA with Travis Baldree’s cozy fantasy Legends & Lattes, this one takes Reyna and Kianthe’s story deeper into uncharted waters. As we discovered last time, Reyna is a former guard to a murderous queen, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage around, but they have both made a quiet life together in the village of Tawney, running a tea shop. There is the small matter of some missing dragon eggs they need to locate before said dragons decide to turn the whole place to ash, plus the continuing threat of Queen Tilaine, but other than that life is good, if perhaps a little too quiet. A year on, and the search for the eggs has taken our couple far west to Shepara, the home of the Nacean river. They have come to see the lord of the area, Diarn Arlon, who says he will happily help them in their quest, with one small condition—first they have to deal with an annoying pirate problem for him. That problem mainly takes the form of Serina, a Robin Hood-esque pirate who is stealing grain from Diarn Arlon to feed the poor along the length of the river. She is being pursued by Bobbie, who (in a clear case of nominative determinism) is the constable charged with bringing her to justice. Did I mention the two of them used to be friends, and perhaps, something more? And who is the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs? The generally light-hearted tone of the first story continues here. Bobbie crochets small animals when stressed, and is clearly under a lot of pressure by the number of these that litter the place. Reyna is helping to raise a chaotic baby griffin, and Kianthe’s puns remain truly under-appreciated. All in all, it’s an enjoyable romp and I was glad to spend more time with the existing characters, and meet the new ones. I look forward to reading the next book soon. Also, a tip of the hat to any fantasy book that makes such a blatant Mass Effect reference that I laughed out loud. Both books are highly recommended, thanks to Tor for the review copy. View full news item

Raquel Petra has everything she could ever want - her wife Marlena, their daughter Atalanta, and a job working alongside Marlena as researchers for the Institute. Specifically, the Global Institute for the Scientific and Humanistic Study of Pocket Worlds, which investigates little bubbles of parallel reality, and the elusive points that connect them to our own. Then, with one tiny mistake, Raquel loses everything in an instant. Time runs fast in some of these worlds, slow in others. This leads to a wide variety of imaginative uses for time dilation, which is one of my favourite things in the story. Grow crops very quickly in a fast world, then store them in a slow world so they don’t go off. Calculating how old somebody is requires keeping track of all the worlds they’ve been in. Because the points where you enter a world can be attached to a movable physical object, which can itself be brought inside another world, you end up with worlds within worlds, and all the complexities that might imply. It’s a great science fiction concept to build the tale around, but all the other aspects here shine just as much. This is a story anchored in the Dominican Republic. Raquel works as an archeologist, exploring the pocket worlds for evidence of the indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean, something that becomes more relevant as things progress. On a broader view, it is very much about colonialism, capitalism, environmental disaster, and war. But, primarily it’s about one person’s sadness, grief, and complete self-destructive refusal to let go of what she lost. Those are the parts that really stuck with me after I had finished reading. Ultimately, it’s also about hope, something I am personally very glad for, and you will be too. This story hurts in all the right ways. Highly recommended. Thanks to Tor for the early review copy. View full news item

This novella has quite a different setting from Aliette de Bodard’s recent Xuya books, but it’s an equally fascinating place. Việt Nhi is a lowly member of the Rooster clan, one of the four opposed navigator clans who help guide ships through the Hollows; another space entirely that is used as a shortcut to achieve faster-than-light travel. As with many shortcuts, there is a slight catch. The Hollows are also home to a form of life known as the Tanglers; large unknowable creatures with deadly intangible tendrils that love to feed on the travellers who cross through their realm. The navigators are not defenceless however—they can project their life energy into a form known as their Shadow; a force that can tear open holes in the universe and protect their ships from harm. Sometimes though, Nhi just uses it to give herself a nice hug when she is feeling stressed out by life. And Nhi is certainly stressed. Not only has one of these eldritch horrors escaped from the Hollows intent on devouring everything in its path, not only is she being sent to find and catch it, but she will have to work with delegates of the other three clans to do so, accompanied by an aloof imperial envoy intent on keeping everybody in line. Nhi does not do well with people. They do not always make sense to her, and she finds social interactions particularly wearing. Plus, all the clans barely tolerate each other at the best of times, so this will be quite the challenge of teamwork. To complicate matters even further, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to another member of the team… With a queer and neurodivergent main protagonist, and a band of lovably broken outcasts, this is a fun tale inspired by xianxia-style martial arts, but rooted in science fiction with an undercurrent of romance. It does a lot of world building despite the short length, and I hope we will get to see these characters again, or at least have more stories set in the same universe. Definitely worth your time. Thanks to Tor Publishing for the early review copy. View full news item

We join Maddileh on an ill-fated quest to recover the Fireborne Blade. The King himself witnessed her punching Sir Allerbon in the face, but I can assure you that he really did deserve it. So, retrieve the ancient sword, regain her honour. A simple enough proposition. Of course, the slight catch is that this weapon happens to be located deep in the lair of a legendary dragon, known as the White Lady. The story slowly takes us towards their final confrontation, through pockets of dangerous magic and the ghosts of those who had fallen attempting the same journey. Her useless and argumentative squire Petros is also present. Most of the world building comes in the form of academic papers on the nature of dragons, which are interspersed between the chapters of Maddileh’s story. Typically, these are records of previous encounters, which usually end in gruesome fashion for the knights involved. Even in death, dragons are still to be feared. There are also some flashbacks to her preparations beforehand, notably getting some equipment from a mage, Kennion, and his suspiciously knowledgeable assistant Saralene. Perhaps the only thing worse in this world than a woman who wants to be a knight, is a woman who wants to wield magic. I really enjoyed this book. The path down to the dragon is filled with twists and turns, both literally and literary. Even though it is brief at 176 pages, it paints a vivid picture of Maddileh’s world, and I quickly came to love the characters. Well, some of the characters, at least. It leaves things in such an interesting place that I hope I can read more of their adventures to find out what happens next. Recommended. Thanks to Tor Publishing for the early review copy. View full news item