whimsydearest

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling weaves a deliciously delirious descent into madness. The story centers around a besieged castle whose occupants are running out of food and are desperate for a miracle. However, when otherworldly visitors appear, claiming to be saints, the gifts they offer may come at a terrible price. It’s told through the lens of a heretical sorceress, a guilt-ridden knight, and a mysterious servant. There’s not a single weak POV in this story for me. Starling manages to craft compelling, morally gray characters facing impossible choices. I couldn’t help but feel invested in them. I absolutely devoured this book. It’s got cannibalism, alchemy, debauchery, and a garden made of fingernails. Oh, and did I also mention that it has toxic sapphics? It's like this book was concocted in a lab for weirdos like me. All in all, this book delivers a bizarre, medieval-esque fantasy that will make you feel like you've stepped into a Hieronymus Bosch painting. It’s a...

In  Fable for the End of the World , Ava Reid crafts an intriguing dystopian world. The inhabitants of Lower Esopus live in a flooded city where they must navigate by raft and take decontamination tablets to survive. Mutated wildlife roam the woods, and citizens who accumulate enough debt must participate in a deadly cat-and-mouse game called the Gauntlet. I also adored Melinoë as a character. She's an Angel—an augmented cyborg who's raised to be a weapon. However, she must grapple with the guilt of killing people and repeatedly have her memories erased (think along the lines of Bucky or Caleb). When she’s assigned to hunt a girl named Inesa in the Gauntlet, she becomes conflicted. However, it’s the relationship itself where the story falls apart for me. For someone who vehemently despises the government, I feel like Inesa is far too quick to trust her would-be assassin. Likewise, Melinoë is far too quick to discard all of her programming to protect Inesa. In essence, their ene...

Volatile Memory  by Seth Haddon is a queer sci-fi thriller that explores transness, personhood, and our relationship to our bodies in a beautiful, thought-provoking way.Bo First off, I really loved the concept of masks in this book. The biotech masks in this world grant different abilities depending on the type of mask (kind of like in Majora's Mask—albeit with a sci-fi twist). For instance, an ox mask will grant its user extra strength and a rabbit mask heightens your awareness and alerts you to danger. I’ve also got to applaud the author for taking artistic choices that pay off. The story is actually told from the perspective of the sentient mask, and it switches from I to you to we depending on how integrated the mask is with Wylla at the time. I felt like this works cleverly on a thematic level to show the two characters' growing connection with each other. All and all, this book turned out to be one one my favorite reads of the year. It’s an inventive and boldly honest sci...

The Devils  by Joe Abercrombie marks a significant departure from his previous works. Yes, the trademark witty banter is still there. However, this one feels more like a comedic romp than a grimdark fantasy, which I feel readers will either hate or adore. Unfortunately, I belong to the former camp. At first glance, the idea of an alternate history Europe with magic sounded cool. However, the type of humor in this book was just not my cup of tea. The story devolved into a lot of poop and fart jokes that killed any sense of stakes or danger. Ultimately, I found myself not caring what happened to the characters. They felt like they were more of a running gag than a complex, compelling character. We’re told over and over again that this is ragtag bunch of [insert joke about a geriatric vampire, a cutpurse princess, and a pompous magician here] that it becomes stale. This is such a shame since Abercrombie has created such interesting morally gray (or not-so-gray) characters before like ...

Th e Floating World  by Axie Oh weaves a spellbinding silkpunk fantasy that’s inspired by Korean legend and  Final Fantasy . I’m happy to say, this one did not disappoint. In her latest novel, Oh crafts a compelling cast of characters who tugged on my heartstrings. There’s Ren, an orphan who lives with a performance troupe while trying to conceal her powers. Then, on the other hand, there’s Sunho: an ex-soldier turned sword-for-hire who remembers little of his past. Their two paths collide when he’s tasked with tracking down a mysterious girl who lit up the sky. The world itself is equally as interesting. Beneath a floating city in the sky lies the Under World, a city that’s plunged in darkness. To light their city, they mine a toxic ore, which creates devastatingly unintended consequences. However, this book wasn’t completely without flaws. I think my biggest issue was the pacing. The fight scenes were a cool mix of martial arts and unique weapons (like there’s a really fun t...

Grave Empire by Richard Swan brings an exciting new flintlock fantasy filled with mad science, muskets, and vicious mer-men. This series takes place a few hundred years after the events of Empire of the Wolf . However, I feel like it’s still accessible to newcomers and could be read as a standalone series. I’ve got to say, hands down, my favorite storyline had to be Peter’s. He’s a disgraced officer who is assigned to a remote military outpost where he hears strange weeping at night and a mysterious entity is picking off the men one by one. His sections felt wonderfully atmospheric and gothic and almost reminded me of The Island of Doctor Moreau . The worldbuilding itself is well-fleshed out and fascinating. The Sovan Empire is on the cusp of industrial revolution. Magick has largely been prohibited (save for the Corps of Engineers who are allowed to practice thaumaturgy). The author even goes through the pains of creating in-world languages, so when culturally specific words from our...

When thirteen strangers are teleported to a mysterious tower, they must work together in order to navigate deadly traps and puzzles. The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks delivers a propulsive, genre-bending thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I’ve got to say, this is a multi-facetted read. On one hand, it’s an entertaining book that pokes fun at influencers and modern culture. On the other hand, there’s a definite horror undercurrent as well. I absolutely loved the unsettling, every-changing architecture of the tower that seemed to respond to the characters, forcing them to face their inner demons. In a way, this reminded a bit of Silent Hill or the movie Escape Room (2019)—where the environment is a reflection and manifestation of its visitor’s mind, which allows for a deeper psychological look into its characters. Overall, I feel like if you’re a fan of video games, complicated group dynamics, and cosmic horror with heart, you’ll have a good time with this one. Thank you, Net...