#empress of xytae

[antianakin]

The last two books in Effie Calvin's Tales From Inthya series (Empress of Xytae and Daughter of the Moon) really feel like the Satine and Bo-Katan story I WISH we'd gotten.

Empress of Xytae is the story of a princess who is heir to the throne of a country whose culture values physical strength and aggression and war above all else, but the princess doesn't value any of those things. She has to go on the run when her father dies and her younger sister starts a coup and she goes on a journey where she sees exactly how her country's values have brought its people to near ruin. She learns to be more confident in herself and decides to rally support to take back her throne so she can help bring her country into a time of peace. Along the way she is joined by another young princess who teaches her the value of spontaneity and her grandmother who helps her understand the responsibilities that go into being a ruler.

Daughter of the Moon is the story of the younger sister who is removed from power and sent off to another country to learn their values while her own country stabilizes from its years at war. She has retained all of her people's values about aggression and physical strength and barely understands a culture where those AREN'T valued the same way. For the first time, she isn't treated as special and given anything she wants simply for being strong and born the right way. She has to figure out how to actually connect with other people as equals and allow herself to be vulnerable with someone else.

What I like about Empress of Xytae is that it allows for the main character to be RIGHT about her country's failures, but to still have flaws that actually get acknowledged by the narrative as things she needs to work on in order to accomplish her goals. In this character's case, she's very shy and insecure and submissive. She initially had just planned to run away to try to find a safe place to live out her life, and it's not until she really understands how much the years of war have impacted her people that she starts to realize that she can't be that selfish and works to overcome her own instincts in order to be the leader her people need. I also appreciated how the romantic relationship she builds with the other princess became a necessary aspect of her growth as a character. It's not just superfluous or done to send a message, the relationship is integral to the main character's growth into being a leader willing to stand up for her own beliefs and protect those she cares about.

What I like about Daughter of the Moon is that it allows the main character to be sympathetic without ignoring that she'd been one of the primary antagonists of the last book and that she is SEVERELY flawed as a person. She's aggressive and arrogant and self-absorbed and intentionally unkind. She caused a lot of harm to a lot of people, but she's also the way she is because other people encouraged her to be this way. She made her own choices, of course, and the book never shies away from that and the need for her to learn how to make DIFFERENT ones, but she was also taught that there were things about herself she couldn't (and/or shouldn't) control, regardless of its impact on other people. She continues to make bad choices throughout her book even as she also shows that there are sides of her we never saw in the first book when we only saw her from her sister's perspective. We hear more about what her life was like and how it hurt her, but she also continues to hurt other people and has to deal with those consequences now that it actually means something to her. This book allows her to be both sympathetic and wrong, likable while still learning how to be a good person, and I appreciate the way it balances those in order to give her a redemption arc. People are allowed to not forgive her, she's allowed to not forgive some of those who've hurt her, and it doesn't take away from either side of the relationship.

[plateofflowerrs]

Made some classic penguin covers for @effiecalvin s Tales of Inthya- series.

:)

I used the Penguin Classics Cover Generator.

[jmtorres]

for the curious, final audible cart was:

daughter of the sun by effie calvin

queen of rhodia by effie calvin

empress of xytae by, hold on let me check, @effiecalvin

beware of chicken by casualfarmer

orconomics: a satire by j zachary pike

the dead sea scrolls (great course)

guide for the perplexed, maimonides, no translator listed? hmm

fixer by @genedoucette

fixer redux by @genedoucette

queen of zombie hearts by gena showalter

through the zombie glass by gena showalter

race for paradise: an islamic history of the crusades by paul m cobb

james tiptree jr: the double life of alice b sheldon by julie phillips

dragon blood by patricia briggs

secondhand origin stories by lee blauersouth

venus of dreams by pamela sargent

trespass (short story collection)

along the razor's edge by rob j hayes

starter villain by john scalzi

second hand curses by drew hayes

when the moon hits your eye by john scalzi (preorder)

with a side of dome Mira Grant and Garth Nix from libro.fm

apparently Audible credits expire after a year?

so I have 21 to spend this month (and I'm considering reducing next year's subscription)

Please recommend me books to buy on Audible!

preferably: scifi/fantasy or like interesting histories (nonfiction), "audible original" aka not available elsewhere

(feel free to reblog)

[harrypotterhousequotes]

HUFFLEPUFF: "I do not always believe forgiveness is a necessary thing... If you wish to grant it then certainly. But sometimes people will wrong you so badly there is no forgiveness to be had. But that does not mean you need to be angry, vengeful or obsessed. You simply go on, without them." –Effie Calvin (Orsina: Empress of Xytae)

[theelizabethjoy]

I just finished Queen of Rhodia only to find out that Empress of Xytae just released so I know what I’m doing today.

if you havent read any of  @effiecalvin books The Tales of Inthya then go get them. They are fabulously queer and inclusive, amazingly written with a FULL CAST of creative characters. 

[draconiclore]

30 Days of Pride Books with @miraclerizuin

Day 3: The Tales of Inthya by Effie Calvin

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

April Monthly Recap:

Okay so it turns out I super forgot to do my April recap, which I only realized now that it’s June... So I’m doing my April recap now, and my May recap will come out in a bit. I have been reading so much though! I read 19 books in April, of which only two were DNFs. My favorites in April were Legends & Lattes and Iron Widow, which are very different books but were both phenomenal.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery: 3.5/5

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg: 3.5/5

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske: 5/5

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold: 4.75/5

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki: 3.75/5

The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo: 2.25/5

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole: 4.5/5

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec: 2.5/5, dnf

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: 5/5

The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson: 5/5

Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin: 3.5/5

The Queen of Rhodia by Effie Calvin: 3.5/5

The Empress of Xytae by Effie Calvin: 3.5/5

Daughter of the Moon by Effie Calvin: 3.5/5

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman: 3/5

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire: 4.5/5

Eidolon by Grace Draven: 4/5

The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen: 2/5, dnf

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: 5/5

22 in 2022: 7

Read 100 Books: 47

Read 40% AOC: 34%

Completing Series: 6 series completed/caught up vs. 5 started

Translated Works: 0

Books in Spanish: 0

Numbered TBR: 4

Discworld: 0

Books by an Indigenous Author: 1

Physical TBR: 8

Storygraph Recs: 2

[effiecalvin]

Do you have any idea when book 5 will come out as an audiobook?

I'm just finishing listening to empress of xytae and I want moooore ^^"

Book 5 is in production, and I was actually about to follow up with my publisher about the status since it should be pretty nearly done. I don't have any specific dates unfortunately. I will update when I know more.

[selkielore]

since my f/f lit post is getting kind of long I just decided to paste everything i’ve read into one post under a readmore that i’ll edit and update every so often. disclaimer, they’re entirely rated by personal preference and how much i enjoyed them. nothing else. anyway... short reviews for 30+ F/F books read in 2020 under the cut:

into the drowning deep by mira grant (YA) 5/5 stars: I love horror I love women I love women who love other women… a great sci fi thriller with scary mermaids. HUGE fan and my first read of 2020.

the rise of kyoshi by f.c yee (YA) 5/5 stars: i really enjoyed it bc i’ve always loved the atla + lok universe and i was really pleased to read about kyoshi’s origins <3 also she has a hot firebending gf and that made me very happy… thanks bryke.

the lost coast by amy rose capetta (YA) 2/5: you’d think i’d be all over this bc it’s f/f teen witches but honestly it felt a little too much like a witchy polycule for my tastes bc personally i’m a repressed prude. it was cute tho! just not for me.

killing eve: die for me by luke jennings (adult) (4/5): yes I read the killing eve books yes I think I’m giving it this rating simply because it gives us the real villaneve romace that the show is still baiting us with…

what is yours is not yours by helen oyeyemi (adult) 5/5: this book was recommended to me by a girl who ghosted me. it’s a collection of short stories and it’s AMAZING. not every story is f/f but there are multiple stories with sapphic characters

the midnight lie by marie rutoski (YA) 10000/5: this is one of my favorite books this year… finally the roguish charming lesbian love interest we deserve. plus amazing worldbuilding and a fast paced plot that keeps you on your toes <3 and a ruthless girl protag we LOVE to see it.

the tiger flu by larrisa lai (adult) 3/5: very unsettling to read a book about a pandemic when one is in a global pandemic… I was disappointed that there was no f/f romance, just lesbian characters, however the feral teenage girl representation and the absolutely bananas sci fi dystopia wins it 3/5 stars.

the teahouse fire by ellis avery (adult) 2/5: simply not what I wanted out of a book. it’s a great piece of historical fiction but when i’m on an f/f binge solely for the sake of seeking out sapphic romances that satisfied me, this wasn’t it.

criers war by nina valera (YA) 5/5: she lives up to the hype! criers war pulled me in completely and i’m pretty sure i binge read it in a single day. love enemies to lovers, love the fantasy/dystopia combo

the queen of ieflaria by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: cute arranged marriage romance and lesbians in a fantasy setting. i read this authors entire breadth of work in like 2 weeks bc i’m just frothing at the mouth for fantasy sapphics

daugher of the sun by effie calvin (NA) 5/5: broody paladin and a literal chaos goddess fall in love. what more do you want?

the queen of rhodia by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: not as good as daughter of the sun but a fun sequel to catch up with the characters from book one, as well as bringing in the chars from book 2 <3 we love to see lesbian couples everywhere

the empress of xytae by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: yes I read every single one of these books. yes they’re all cute and they’re all a series of sapphic romances in a fantasy land… that’s my ideal niche

this is how you lose the time war by amal el mohtar and max gladstone (adult) 5/5: I don’t even know how to explain this one except that it feels more like poetry than prose. sci fi future with a f/f enemies to lovers story line. so beautifully written that you have to give it a 5/5

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickenson (adult) 4/5: I liked it because I love a ruthless lady protaganist and I LOVE a ruthless lesbian protaganist but I did get a little bogged down in the heavy worldbuilding. VERY high fantasy with themes on colonization. did not get that 5/5 because the lesbians did not get a happy ending.

ice massacre by tiana warner (YA) 3/5: it wasn’t BAD it just wasn’t remarkable. mermaid vs human war with a forbidden romance between a mermaid and a human

girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust (YA) 4/5: wonderful dynamics between women and lots of reflection on the relationships between mothers and daughters. I love a fairytale retelling, and one of the pov chars has a f/f romance that is very sweet <3

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust (YA) 4/5: I just finished this today and already started another book so i’m not sure I fully absorbed it but. I really enjoyed having a protagonist struggling with morality and I did appreciate the little bisexual love triangle. also love, love the influences of persian mythology in it

blood countess by lana popovic (YA) 5/5: FINALLY some scary food! the romance in this is certainly not healthy and the narrative makes it clear but it’s a very fun sexy historical fiction read with horror elements. wish there was more creepy sapphic lit <3

witches of ash and ruin by e. latimer (YA) 4.5/5: a little bit slow and cheesy at the beginning. oftentimes rural fantasy can be that way, but it ramps up towards the end. it has a very cute enemies to lovers romance with a bisexual main, and the plotline follows serial killers and witches so i’d say it’s a great read! i haven’t checked the author’s social media etc to confirm but from the way it ended it looks like it’s going to be a series

the lady’s guide to celestial mechanics by olivia waite (adult) 5/5: sooo good why aren’t there more regency era f/f romances… this is a very traditional romance novel but it was so sweet and i loved the characters so much… it ended up making me throw down my phone (which i was reading the book on) just to yell ROMANCE at the top of my lungs. big fan of any literature encouraging women to step into their own power and confidence.

queen of coin and whispers by helen corcoran (YA) 4.5/5: this almost gets five stars because it was soooo good. i love fantasy YA so much it’s like comfort food for me and on top of that it was sapphic. the two main chars are both ambitious queer girls which does it for me! it’s about the new queen of a fantasy kingdom falling in love with her newly appointed spymaster. the only downside is the ending felt rushed… it almost feels like the author was preparing to set it up for a sequel and then instead packed a whole watered down second book in the like… last ten chapters out of a 52 chapter book.

the shadow of kyoshi by f.c yee (YA) 5/5: this is the sequel to the rise of kyoshi so i’ll hold off on details but it was so good and continued the first book beautifully. it payed such good attention to kyoshi as a character and also showed how important rangi is to her….. um. i’m soft.

the circus rose by betsy cornwell (YA) 4/5: it’s a good book but it wasn’t exactly what i wanted it to be.. going into reading this categorized as a “lesbian” book i was disappointed. it follows a pair of twins raised in a circus named ivory and rosie - ivory’s story is told in prose, and rosie’s is told in poetry. rosie is a lesbian but we get wayy less of her romance with her love interest and way more of ivory’s story. ivory is kind of ambiguous because she talks about only being attracted to men and then her love interest is a nonbinary fae person so i don’t really know whether to call it sapphic or not? ivory and tam get way more page time than rosie and rosie’s whole story is in poetry which makes it less straightforward. not a bad book! in fact, it’s wonderful and i really enjoyed it but it wasn’t what i wanted it to be when i read about it in an article calling it a lesbian book. it felt like a very queer book with a sapphic character to me.

the dark tide by alicia jasinska (YA) 4/5

 a f/f retelling of tam lin! it’s an enemies to lovers romance and it’s YA fantasy so obviously it was a fun read, there’s a bisexual main and two love interests. it also revolved a lot more around individual character development than any romance overall, which was cool, and there were a multiple nuanced portrayals of complicated sibling relationships which I adored reading. 

the lamb will slaughter the lion by margaret killjoy (adult) 4/5

a very quick, urban fantasy horror read about queer anarchists and an evil deer spirit terrorizing/protecting an abandoned town. honestly almost every character in this was LBGT which i loved, and i’m a sucker for horror so it got me. it’s also ownvoices - the author is a trans woman. the romance was very minor but very sweet and i enjoyed the book overall! i think it would make a great movie adaptation because it’s so short and written in such a sparse, to the point way. 

the luminous dead by caitlin sterling (adult) 4/5

sci fi horror in caves. it’s like the descent (2005) but in space, and there’s only one caver. this book was crazy. It was a little slow at first, but it was definitely a slow build of terror and once I was into it I couldn’t stop reading for fear for our protagonists life. the romance here isn’t a healthy one folks, but it was really fun reading a horror novel with a queer protag and a bit of romance as a side note. 

salt slow by julia armfield (adult) 5/5

a collection of short horror stories - not all of them were f/f but a few of them were. if you like carmen maria machado, you’ll like this book - it reminded me a lot of her body and other parties which is a huge compliment. the stories managed to range from terrifying to tender and both at the same time. my particular favorite was cassandra after 

iron heart by nina valera (YA) 4.5/5 stars

the sequel to criers war - I won’t say too much except that it was a little slow to get back into the world of this book, but once i was in i really enjoyed it. i can’t say much else about it without spoilers but i loved crier and ayla’s development both individually and as a couple... it was incredibly well done and it warmed my heart. more typical YA love stories between two girls please. 

the ascent to godhood by jy yang (adult) 2/5 stars

east asian inspired fantasy. it’s also the fourth book in a series but i read it on it’s own, so there’s probably plenty i missed. it’s told by the ex-lover of the protector and there’s a little bit about their romance but it’s mostly fantasy politics so i came away feeling kind of disappointed. it was also a really quick read. 

white is for witching by helen oyeyemi (adult) 5/5 stars

miss oyeyemi never misses... SUCH a clever horror and haunted house story. i was so drawn into all the characters and their life in dover and their haunted house that i can only rate it a 5/5... if you’re interested in generational hauntings, generational trauma in women, or the haunted house as a character this is a book for you. it was amazing and i’m obsessed. while the romance didn’t take up a lot of time (really only present in the last third of the book) i loved miranda and ore together and the way their relationship ended felt like a very natural conclusion as this is a horror story and it didn’t leave me sad. 

updated 9/29/20

[2wivesbooks]

[Image description: Title reads: Tales of Inthya. The covers of five books in the series are shown: “The Queen of Ieflaria”, “Daughter of the Sun”, “The Queen of Rhodia”, “The Empress of Xytae”, and “Daughter of the Moon”, all by Effie Calvin. They are followed by text which states: As of January 2021, no publication date for next book]

This is my wife’s favorite fantasy/WLW series. <3 It has lots of sweet romance, humor, and high fantasy adventure (and baby dragons) all set in a world that never heard of homophobia. 

The series title is apt, because it doesn’t follow one set of protagonists, but jumps around between several. However, taken together, they do tell an overarching story about the gods of Inthya.

[writerinafury]

I’ve read four more books! 

The Dragon Republic 

The riveting sequel to The Poppy War was everything I imagined and more. I don’t want to talk about it because then you wouldn’t experience everything firsthand yourself. Easily one of my favorite series now.

The Duchess War

A historical romance featuring two protagonists who keep secrets, but feel drawn to each other. The first full length novel in The Brothers Sinister Series.

Girls of Paper and Fire

I have finally gotten to this! The sapphic book about surviving in a world that seems to thrive on violence against women. I’ve already ordered the sequel!

The Empress of Xytae

The fourth book in the Tales of Inthya series (a Fantasy Romance series that all feature sapphic pairings) tells the tale of Ioanna, the Crown Princess of Xytae. She’s run out of the capital upon her father’s death and must fight to get back her place in the Empire.

[rotationalsymmetry]

I’m wrapping up Empress of Xytae and am about to move on to Daughter of the Moon. I just flat out skipped Queen of Ieflaria and Queen of Rhodia this time around, not that I don’t like them (dragons, I mean), I just felt more drawn towards the Vesolda/Xytae set this time. I like the serious/lawful + fun/chaotic pairings. Somehow I relate intensely to both Orsina and Aelia. Not sure how that’s possible, but I do.

Somebody should do a thing about the ND rep in these books. I’m not going to. But someone should.

It’ll only be my second time on Daughter of the Moon, super looking forward to it.

[profmorbius]

Posted a review of Tales of Inthya #4: The Empress of Xytae by Effie Calvin on my blog. Read it here.

tl;dr – One of the stronger books in the series thus far

[harrypotterhousequotes]

SLYTHERIN: "Either incinerate me or run along. I've got things to not be doing." --Effie Calvin (Acydon, God of Apathy: The Empress of Xytae)

[theelizabethjoy]

Just finished empress of xytae

💚💚💚💚

[bookstattoosandtea]

Release Blitz & Giveaway: The Empress of Xytae by Effie Calvin

Release Blitz & Giveaway: The Empress of Xytae by Effie Calvin

Title: The Empress of Xytae Series: Tales of Inthya, Book Four Author: Effie Calvin

Publisher: NineStar Press Release Date: December 30, 2019 Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex Pairing: Female/Female Length: 83500 Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, LGBT, royalty, new adult, magic, paladins, gods, goddesses

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Synopsis

Crown Princess Ioanna of Xytae has kept her truthsayer blessing a secret…