#bipoc book reviews

[darkliterata]

Team Reservoir is proud to announce that our first issue is now live! Visit https://thereservoir.info/

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

Release date: 1 October 2024

Genre: adult literary thriller/horror

Synopsis

The three Maxwell siblings keep their distance from the lily-white gated enclave outside Dallas where they grew up. When their family moved there, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. The neighbors acted nice enough, but right away bad things, scary things—the strange and the unexplainable—began to happen in their house. Maybe it was some cosmic trial, a demonic rite of passage into the upper-middle class. Whatever it was, the Maxwells, steered by their formidable mother, stayed put, unwilling to abandon their home, terrors and trauma be damned.

As adults, the siblings could finally get away from the horrors of home, leaving their parents all alone in the house. But when news of their parents' death arrives, Ezri is forced to return to Texas with their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle, to reckon with their family’s past and present, and to find out what happened while they were away. It was not a "natural" death for their parents . . . but was it supernatural?

Review

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

This book is awful.

Don't get me wrong, this is a brilliant novel, but I found the reading experience to be really difficult. Not that I struggled to keep reading; I couldn't put it down. This book took a toll on me mentally as it went to some pretty dark places, some of which I did not see coming.

The writing is in the typical sort of litfic style, which I am usually not a fan of, but it really works to cultivate the overall mood/atmosphere of the book. The prose flows well, and strikes a fine balance between being complex but still readable.

The author uses the haunted house novel as a vehicle to explore themes of white supremacy, generational trauma, and cisheteronormativity. I am not smart enough to get everything, but the author does an excellent job of conveying the themes in the narrative.

There are time jumps, switching between the present day and scenes from Ezri's childhood, as well as dialogue without quotation marks, which were disorienting to read, but served the narrative well, as it conveyed their current mindset.

I really resonated with Ezri's relationship with their mother, as well as the themes of generational trauma; while my relationship to my mother is much better than their's, there were certain moments between them that I found quite relatable.

I read some reviews that didn't like the plot, or the ending; while there is definitely a large tonal shift at the end, due to the plot, I think that it makes sense thematically.

Overall, a book that is definitely going to be staying with me for some time.

Content warnings

I'm including the content warnings at the bottom of this review, as it contains spoilers; however, if you struggle with dark themes and difficult subject matter, I would advice that you check the content warnings before reading this book.

Keep in mind that I may have missed out certain warnings.

Death, suicide

Child abuse, emotional abuse

Homophobia, transphobia, slurs

Child sexual assault, grooming

Explicit sexual content

Animal death

Mental illness, depression, dissociation, suicidal thoughts

Chronic illness

Threat of gun violence

Racism, classism

Vomit

Disordered eating

Gaslighting

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

[instagram]

Huge thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the CUTEST DANG THING. Oh my gosh, my heart. I loved everything about it.

I loved the way this book tackled so many heavy topics in such a heartfelt, earnest way. Neesha’s disability, both characters races and sexuality, biphobia, Gabby’s PTSD, all of it felt so thoughtful and planned out. Nothing felt tacked on for the sake of it or under-developed. This book made me so emotional.

I loved the story within a story and the way it really brought these two together. Their quest to find each volume was so much fun and getting the last volume genuinely made me tear up!

The romance is so soft and sweet and full of understanding. Neesha and Gabby have such great, open communication. They just really seem to get each other and are comfortable asking for what they need or offering something the other might need and it just made my heart feel so full.

Honestly, I can’t recommend this one enough.

[kay-claire]

I finished A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark today and absolutely loved it.

Synopsis:

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer. So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage. Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

My Review

I highly recommend reading A Dead Djinn in Cairo, the 0.1 novella in this series, before starting this book! I skipped all the other novellas (though I'll probably get around to them when I can because I do love this universe), and didn't feel like it made a difference, but A Dead Djinn in Cairo is where Fatma and Siti meet, and the case they work on in that book is referenced multiple times in this book and has a huge impact on the overall plot - I would have been SO annoyed and confused by all those references if I hadn't read that book first. That out of the way, I LOVE this book. The setting - alternate universe 1920s Egypt with some steampunk vibes to it - is SO cool, the main characters are fantastic, and the plot and mystery are really fun. I wouldn't try and sell this as a romance (the main couple are already together at the beginning of the book and the story doesn't revolve around them too much), but Fatma is a butch lesbian with hot femme fatal girlfriend Siti, and Fatma's friendship with Hadia, her new partner in the department, is a delight. I also think it had some fantastic things to say about colonialism, racism, colourism, slavery and xenophobia - often with a fantastic dry humour to it. If you're a fan of A Marvellous Light's trilogy by Freya Marske I would highly recommend this to you.

[poppletonink]

BOOK REVIEW: The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

★★★★★ - 5 stars

"I'm under absolutely no obligation to make sense to you."

If Taylor Swift's Slut! was a book it would be The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - the life story of a reclusive Hollywood actress, the stories of forbidden love, pain, and heartache that made her hide away from the world.

The words heartwrenching, addictive, and shocking do not even begin to describe the experience of reading this masterpiece woven and written into existence by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The talent she holds is immense and incomprehensible. She can make the reader weep over a fictional actress - a woman who should be loathed for her lack of remorse and the terrible atrocities she committed; who is also merely a woman craving the love she struggled to garner her whole life.

Evelyn's story is of the brutal nature of female ambition and the way in which we are treated for it. Just like fictional women before her, be it Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare's timeless tragedy or It's a story of a woman painted as a slut for doing what she had to in order to survive as an actress in the cold-hearted, but glamorous grasp of Old Hollywood.

It is also a story of identity and assumption - how we as a society are too quick to create labels to brandish someone and put them into a box. The representation in this novel is wonderful, and the message told through this diversity is one that should reach out to the corners of the earth in order to be heard by all. Evelyn Hugo is a bisexual, Cuban American woman and she is powerful within her identity. She also perfectly sums up the point of this book in her own words: "I'm bisexual. Don't ignore half of me so you can fit me into a box."

Reading this book is an experience that will leave people feeling heartbroken, as though their very core has been ripped to pieces. Simultaneously, it will leave them feeling invigorated, with a fresh wave of empowerment flowing through them. The lessons that are entwined into the pages of this novel are profound and important - they are lessons of love, feminism, and power. This is a book that people should not go without and one that should be declared mandatory reading worldwide.

[roga-el-rojo]

Care Work - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Hello friends!

I'm excited to start off July by creating a bridge between Queer Pride Month and Disability Pride Month with this wonderful collection of poems, essays, and meditations on how Disability Justice can liberate all of us, especially Queer and Trans BIPOC (QT-BIPOC): "Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice" by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha,

Piepzna-Samarasinha is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of the non-fiction books "Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home" and "Consensual Genocide," and the poetry books "Bodymap" and "Love Cake," and is the co-editor of "The Revolution Starts at Home." A lead artist with disability justice performance collective Sins Invalid (pictured above!) and co-founder of queer and trans people of color performance troupe Mangos With Chili, she performs and teaches across North America.

"Care Work" comprises 19 pieces which unpack a range of issues Piepzna-Samarasinha and many other disabled QT-BIPOC have had in their personal lives and political organizing, united by their desire to create a world of collective liberation within and beyond the personal level.

First, I want to highlight some of the great poetry and memoir work done since the preface. Her ability to delve into bleak descriptions of femme suicidality as a feature of life in disabled QT-BIPOC spaces to the joys found in sex and the arts is phenomenal, and they also counter stereotypes around disabled and femmes of color having to be resilient paragons at all times.

There's also a lot to chew on in terms of prefigurative politics. For example, there's a piece titled "For Badass Disability Justice, Working-Class and Poor-Led Models of Sustainable Hustling for Liberation" which examines ways in which we homogenize the working class and reproduce femmephobic, ableist descriptions of what activism looks like. Instead of minimizing cultural work, for example, we should highlight it as a historic form of struggle and use activities like it to create inclusive and sustainable movements now and in the future.

If you'd enjoy an anthology meditating on QT-BIPOC and disabled liberation, please read this book!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

[annafromuni]

What is With White Women Committing Heinous Acts for Publishing Deals?

Over the last few months, I have seen too many stories and “dramas” regarding white women targeting women of colour to better the reception of their books or race-bait as a person of colour to “better their chances” of getting picked up for a publishing deal. Drama like this isn’t exclusive to white women, as there are other current concerns within the book community in regards to censoring books…

[laurenssapphicshelf]

Rep: Lesbian, Non-binary, bipoc

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Onside Play - Liz Rain

Pub: 23/7/23

Pages: 224

ASIN: B0CCPM1BGG

Publisher: YLVA

Blurb: Two soccer stars share a secret along with a rivalry that stretches halfway around the world in this light-hearted, second-chance lesbian romance.

Knockabout Australian Keeley McGee is living her childhood dream of playing soccer at the World Cup. The only thing that could kill her focus is coming up against the cool and dispassionate US team’s star striker.

Beautiful, brilliant Christine Delacourt was the college girlfriend who dumped Keeley out of the blue years before.

What will it be like reuniting under the stadium lights, especially since they know the other’s game—and each other—so intimately?

Despite a strict “no distractions” rule from her coach, Keeley finds herself drawn to Christine in a way that feels almost dangerous. Will Keeley be able to rekindle what she once shared with her now on-field enemy with the eyes of the world on them? Dare she even try?

⭐️ 4

🌶️ 3

[vicontheinternet]

I’ve come to notice that we can’t have a show/movie that doesn’t center whiteness in some way mainstream or not because white ppl can’t picture themselves in characters that aren’t white while that’s all we had to do

[honeycombarchives]

Book Review: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (Spoiler Free)

Recommended? YES

Enjoyment: 9.5/10

Keeping my Attention: 8.5/10

Comments: Something I felt drawn to and kept my attention. Hafsah Faizal is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers.  

So. Let me drop the tea on this little marvel. 

First- a little run down- a synopsis if you will. A Tempest of Tea (by Hafsah Faizal- who btw is really cool and has an adorable marriage) is the first book of a duology about one Arthie Casimir; founder of a teahouse by day, vampire blood den hostess by night. The story follows Arthie trying to save her teahouse by taking on high vampire society in a heist of a lifetime. Her and her ragtag crew, brought together by various happenstance will need to work together to achieve their individual means- but what happens when those means don’t align? 

Let’s start with the writing itself. Sometimes it’s okay to take a step back and admire a writer’s crafting of words and by golly does this book have you hanging on each word and (ironically) thirsting for more. I found myself immersed into this world from the first sentence. The drag keeping me from ever wanting to surface from outside the mysticism and intrigue the author builds so successfully. You want something calm and smooth? This is not it. From the very first page, your jaw will hit the floor as you’re hit with adrenaline and hit again in awe of what transpires. I’m still not sure my jaw ever came back up.

Now let’s take a bite out of the plot. Pacing is gorgeous. It slows when it need to and rushes with your heart rate when you get to the climax. Think irresistible character development entwining with a heist with a splash of tea and vampires. The book oozes in a main plot at its foundation that entwines so well with all the characters and their subplots. Honestly, I can’t think of a single character that was wasted. Each of them had a storyline that I was satisfied with more or less. I hate endings, especially if I enjoy something so ending this was a frustrating experience for sure. They have a cat too so I don’t know what else I can ask for. 

The characters I could go on and on about and never stop so I’ll keep myself accountable and not run my mouth too much and spoil the fun. Arthie however. I adore Arthie. She’s your stereotypical badass protagonist for sure. But she’s so much more than that. She’s an icon in the way she accepts herself, her past and the fact that she’s the way she is. Equal parts powerful and vulnerable I wish I could just sit down and interview her about the way she sees the world. Not only that, the author is poignant with the way Arthie expresses her past. Something a person who is BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) well especially sympathise with. When I revisit this book- because oh boy I will- I may just write about Arthie (hopefully by then you’ll have read the book so you can swoon with me about her).

What can I say? Hafsah Faizal is an artist and I am infatuated by every word she has put in this book. It’s the first book of hers that I’ve read and I feel as though it’s almost incumbent on me to go back and hunt for the books she’s already graced us with. 

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Beyond the Bounds of Infinity: An Anthology of Diverse Horror

Release date: 10 July 2024

Genre: adult cosmic horror anthology

Synopsis

Welcome to a world of horror viewed through a kaleidoscope lens. Embark on a journey to untangle the writhing tendrils of human terror in a dimension where the possible and impossible blend; an unstable realm where comfort can be found in the coldest pits, and dark gods feast upon the sweetest suffering, where infernal sounds birth silent letters that drift along midnight shores and the unexplained lurks beneath crumbling urban structures. Step over the edge of what you think you know, and find yourself…Beyond the Bounds of Infinity!

Featuring stories by L. Marie Wood, S.A. Cosby, Jessica McHugh, and Mary SanGiovanni. alongside newer voices like Cassius Kilroy, Jessica L. Sparrow, and Vicky Velvet—Beyond the Bounds of Infinity offers a collection of weird fiction and cosmic horror stories that are diverse down to the cellular level. From Taíno folk horror to the horror of identity in a world that just doesn’t understand, from cozy to apocalyptic, and everything in between, let these authors show you what fear really is, and what it means to them.

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

This book begins with a foreword by the editor about how he was inspired to create this anthology; to put together a collection of diverse cosmic horror stories by diverse authors to push back against the genre's racist and xenophobic origins.

This anthology does exactly that. There are a good variety of authors of different races, orientations, genders etc. and the stories are also incredibly varied in terms of character diversity, plots, and Horrors™️. This anthology recasts marginalised people as the protagonists of their stories, with some stories even subverting cosmic horror's xenophobic origins to portray the oppressors as what they are.

My enjoyment varies from story to story, as do the writing styles, but for the most part I found most of the stories to be at least interesting and engaging. Some of the stories take on more experimental approaches to storytelling, though some attempts are more successful than others.

I'm going to go ahead and shout out some of my favourite stories from this collection, in no particular order.

My personal favourite was The Silent Letter by Chris Nelson. The author does an excellent job of setting up the premise and nails the writing. I was totally unnerved reading it and had to take short breaks between sections.

Effigies of Monstrous Things by Pedro Iniguez begins quite straightforwardly, but the set up pays off big time. The twist is excellent, and the gore was gruesome. I am not good at visualising in my head, but the descriptions were so vivid it gave me the ick. In a good way!

Another story I quite enjoyed was Fractures of Her Reflection by Amanda Headlee. Although I found it to be among the less terrifying stories of this collection, the premise is really interesting, and I found the protagonist to be rather compelling. I wish there was more of this story, I would love a whole book of this, but I suppose the beauty of short fiction is that it makes you crave more. Unrelated, but while I was reading the hospital scene the song Chihiro by Billie Eilish came on, and it was like watching the epic climax of a movie with an amazing soundtrack, which elevated my experience of this story for sure.

The Things We Did in the Dark by Julia Darcey was rather straightforward, but surprisingly tender and sad.

In the House, There Were Teeth and There Were Eyes by Ichabod Kassius Kilroy is super weird, possibly the weirdest story here. I have no idea what's going on, but I liked this. I think. (Also the author has the coolest name ever.)

I have included the list of stories, as well as content warnings, although it's possible that I may have missed some, and I'm straight up not sure how to warn for some things without giving spoilers, so do be warned.

The Birth of Sound - Timaeus Bloom

CW: none?

Fractures of Her Reflection - Amanda Headlee

CW: gaslighting from a medical professional, medical content, hospital, injury, past death, car accident mention, past abuse

Live Free or Die - Danny Brzozowski

CW: transphobia, hate crime, blood, injury

The Silent Letter by Chris Nelson

CW: death, coma, gore, body horror

Effigies of Monstrous Things by Pedro Iniguez

CW: body horror, gore <- every other story has this, but take this one seriously

Six Underground by Vicky Velvet

CW: death, violence, confined spaces

You Have Joined the Livestream by Jessica McHugh

CW: sexism, misogyny, implied murder

Cracks by Mary SanGiovanni

CW: death, injury

The Things We Did in the Dark by Julia Darcey

CW: blood, death, darkness, confinement, confined spaces

In the House, There Were Teeth and There Were Eyes by Ichabod Kassius Kilroy

CW: blood, death mention, body horror, blood, bodily fluids

A Dampened Embrace by Christopher Hann

CW: death, body horror

24 Points by S. A. Cosby

CW: death, gore, body horror, injury, self-mutilation

On the Shores of Midnight by Marnie Desdemona

CW: death, starvation, vomiting, drowning

Like Ants We March by Jorja Osha

CW: death, off page police brutality, gun violence mention

Burning Slumber by Jessica L. Sparrow

CW: self mutilation, eye gore, colonisation, mentions of sexual assault, murder

Passage by Cyrus Amelia Fisher

CW: death, starvation, non-graphic cannibalism, self harm for ritual purposes, blood

The Comfort of a Cold Pit by Michelle Tang

CW: past physical parental abuse, non-explicit eye gore

Gyges by Vaughn A. Jackson

CW: blood, fire, severe burns

Beggars Can't be Choosers by L. Marie Wood

CW: a little blood, held hostage

[truebookaddict]

When it comes to short story collections, I generally only read them in the horror genre. Not sure why. I guess part of it is because I feel that horror is well-suited to the medium. I credit this belief in no small way to TV series like The Ray Bradbury Theater, Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside, and movies like Creepshow, The Twilight Zone movies, Tales from the Crypt (1972), etc. Of course, I can't forget my love of Ray Bradbury's collections, especially The Martian Chronicles I read and loved as a kid (more science fiction, but horrific in its own right), and my favorite of all time, the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe.

This collection of stories, all written by black authors, is one of the best I've read. They touch on racism, civil rights, social justice, artificial intelligence, and more. Each topic is woven into mesmerizingly horrific and disturbing stories. Just the way I like my horror.

My favorites: "Eye & Tooth" by Rebecca Roanhorse "The Other One" by Violet Allen "The Rider" by Tananarive Due "Dark Home" by Nnedi Okorafor "The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World" by Nalo Hopkinson "The Norwood Trouble" by Maurice Broaddus "An American Fable" by Chesya Burke "Hide & Seek" by P. Djeli Clark

[unfocusedcuriosity]

“Look at you. So desperate for me. I’ve barely touched you, and your body is begging.”

📖 That Time I Got Drunk an Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

Genre : Fantasy Romance (romcom)

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

📚 I didn't know how badly I needed a fantasy romcom until reading this book. Especially a fantasy romcom with a genuinely diverse cast of characters!

I cannot put into words how much fun I had reading this story. The characters were charming and loveable, the setting was interesting and the lore was intriguing. My only complain is that it wasn't longer!

Cinnamon, or Cin, is a relatable main character who only wants to eat cheese and have fun. Sadly, she ends up accidentally saving a dragon shifter and in the process uncovers a politico-religious scandal that will forever changer her world. Her siblings being named after spices was a fun little touch to the story. Her dynamic with her family and best friend, Brie, was endearing and made the world feel a lot more alive.

Fallon, the literal love of my life. This demon will forever have my heart. Kimberly Lemming wrote a character that is the perfect "himbo". He's doing his best to understand human customs throughout the book and all his attempts are adorable and/or funny. I love that he's madly in love with Cin and would burn down a whole city for her. He puts his all into breaking the curse and freeing other demons in a very heroic quest for justice.

This was definitely one of my favourite books of the year. I absolutely recommend it to everyone who likes romance and fantasy.

Would you rather go on a potentially deadly but heroic quest or stay home and eat a cheese board?

[bonobochick]

My top reads of 2023. 📚 🥂

[raffaellopalandri]

Book Of The Day - The Wake Up

Today’s Book of the Day is The Wake Up, written by Michelle Mijung Kim in 2021 and published by Hachette Go. Michelle Mijung Kim is a queer immigrant Korean American woman writer, speaker, activist, and entrepreneur. She is CEO and co-founder of Awaken, a leading provider of interactive equity and inclusion education programs facilitated by majority BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, (and) People Of…