literarycherub's reviews
80 reviews

 

The Mad Women’s Ball is a quick but enthralling debut from french author, Victoria Mas. We spend most of our time in the infamous Salpêtrière asylum where we follow some of the women committed there. It is unsurprising that most, if not all, are at the asylum because a man put them there. It is such an upsetting and frustrating thing to witness because of how real that was in the centuries before us.

There is a slight paranormal element that makes this story even more captivating. Eugénie can see and correspond with the dead. Of course, when she confides this secret to someone, she is locked away. Geneviève, the senior nurse, is her only way out of the asylum, but Geneviève doesn’t believe in any religion let alone ghosts. Seeing how and if these two with conflicting beliefs can come together made this novel such a page turner.

All of these events lead up to the most anticipated annual ball. The women look forward this dance every year for a chance to feel normal, when really, they are being made into a spectacle for the guests coming from the outside. It is really heartbreaking to see how they turn these women into an exhibition.

Overall, this is a very haunting but beautifully written story that takes you back to Paris in the late 1800s. I quickly became invested in all of these women’s lives and was always rooting for their happiness and freedom. Of course, with a setting as dark as an asylum, there are dark themes present. Please proceed with caution.

Thank you to Doubleday for the arc! This title was released in the UK on June 17, 2021. 

I am happy to report this novel lived up to its gorgeous cover! I am loving the gothic ya fantasy that is taking publishing by storm! It is easily one of my favourite genres. 

We follow Rovan, a pansexual bloodmage, who is very gifted in her magic. She grows up with this secret after her father was captured and killed for possessing the same magic and not turning himself in to the palace. 

Unfortunate for Rovan, she is discovered and thrust into royalty with a dead guardian she despises and a princess and her cousin (who is non-binary and asexual) that she befriends but cannot fully trust.

Soon Ivrilos, the guardian/handsome spirit, and Princess Lydea fight for Rovan’s heart. Meanwhile, Rovan is planning to betray them. 

This was witty, angsty, and tense! I absolutely loved this but oh my gosh I wish there was more! The magic system was unique and the politics really set the stakes. 

In the end, this is a great story of found family. I loved seeing how close these characters became and how they fought their individual battles. I also adored all the unquestioned queer representation!

 

I stayed up all night reading Seven Days in June! I just couldn’t put it down! The writing was engaging and had us move seamlessly between narrators and timelines. The characters were (for the most part) lovable and I was rooting for Eva and Shane the whole time.

Eva and Shane had a rough past which crossed paths when they were teenagers for seven days in June. Fast forward 15 years and they are both writers who made names for themselves in the Black Literati. Somehow, they never crossed paths until now. They still have feelings for each other but there is some animosity from Eva because she believes he abandoned her all those years ago when she thought they were going to be together forever. Shane finally sought her out and is trying to prove he never wanted to leave her. This quote from their first reunion had me dying!!

Now they are spending another seven days together in June healing their relationship. During this time, Shane is helping at-risk kids and Eva is trying to get a movie deal that ideally doesn’t white-wash her characters. We also see the contrasting relationships Eva has with her mother and daughter. I absolutely loved watching Eva do everything in her power to break the cycle of neglect from generations before her.

As much as I loved most of the novel, I did have some issues. While I understand some of the liberties taken in Audre, the daughter, I felt she didn’t come across as a believable tween. However, I am not a mother and I can never know what it is like to be a tween in this day and age. Most aspects make sense given the way society is today, but it felt a bit much. I also absolutely hate the miscommunication trope and it is very present in this novel. By the time those instances came up, I was already invested and let it slide. This could have been 4.5-5 stars if it wasn’t present, but it was and it lessened my enjoyment. If you don’t mind that trope, then you can see this as a 4.5 star rating! My rating was 3.5 but on goodreads, I rounded up to 4 stars.

If you love hard hitting romances that celebrate black people, definitely pick this up! Just be warned, there are lots of triggers, so please refer to the list of them I provided above.

 

To the Warm Horizon follows a lesbian relationship that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has become a threat. The writing was subtle while being thought provoking. We see multiple point of views of people trying to get their life back while learning they were never really living life to begin with. I really loved all the different characters and their journey. It was very character driven and had me thinking a lot about the way I am currently going about living my life. I related so much since we are living in a pandemic of our own, admittedly my experience isn’t as intense and tragic as this story.

I absolutely adored Jina and Dori. Watching them fall in love was breathtaking. Dori is instantly drawn to Jina by the way she keeps going on her daily routines with dignity and life. After spending days on the road collecting necessities, Dori accumulates things that would make Jina happy, like a tube of lipstick. That was such a beautiful gesture and a favorite part of mine. From there they really started to blossom and become inseparable. I also enjoyed reading about Joy and Gunji. Joy is Dori’s younger deaf sister and Gunji is Jina’s former neighbor.

What I found most interesting about Gunji was that this new world suited him better than his previous life. He was constantly abused and bullied by his peers and father. The only ones kind to him was Jina and her mother. In this world, everyone has other problems to occupy them, giving Gunji a chance to live for the first time. He finally has a dream and that is to find a warm beach. I really felt for his story and wish we got to see more of the moments he shared with Jina and Dori on the road.

We also had the point of view of a mother named Ryu. She was a workaholic who ignored her husbands affairs and tried to provide the best of everything for her children. At the start of the pandemic, her daughter dies and she leaves Korea right away with her husband and son. She learns that the life she was living before wasn’t much of a life. She worked hard so her children could have a better life, but it took away her time from them. She now has nothing but time and is finally able to confront the issues she has been ignoring. We didn’t see much of her and her family, but when we did they were important and I just wish I knew how her story ended. I just know her she and son at least survived because we start with a prologue of her sharing her story. I loved seeing how much she finally grew into herself.

While I did go deeper than intended onto some characters, I didn’t spoil much. So many things happen despite such a short novel. The way these characters came in and out of each other’s paths and how it affected their souls was heart wrenching. It was so beautiful to see how love can bloom in such a horrible environment. That love keeps you going and even saves you. Despite the wholesome relationships blooming, there are moments of people turning for the worse and becoming opportunist.

This novel is very character oriented so the diseases and outside world aren’t the focus, just the circumstance. Don’t go into this expecting to learn about the pandemic or how it mutates or ends, because we never really get answers. I am all about character arcs so this didn’t bother me. What did bother me was how loose it ended. I can see how this was intentional, but I grew so attached!

This is actually the first queer Korean story that has been translated and I am so thankful to Soje for that. They did a really great job and without them I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this story.

If you are looking for a unique dystopian story featuring a lesbian love story, definitely give this a go!

Thank you to Honford Star for the arc! 

 Where do I even begin?! I absolutely adored this book! As soon as I saw this featured my favourite tropes (best friends-to-lovers/right person wrong time) I had to request it. This was my first Emily Henry novel but certainly not my last. I plan to read Beach Read next month and I am really looking forward to it!

You and Me on Vacation was such a delight and had my squealing chapter after chapter. Right away the chemistry is flying off the page and it is definitely reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally, A Lot Like Love, One Day and the like while having it's own unique premise and charm.

Alex was so adorable and honestly a dream boat. Chiseled, clean, respectful, and filled with banter? I would like one please. And he would do anything for his chaotic counterpart, Poppy. They spent summers going back 10 years together. Poppy goes after what she wants and is completely herself in every situation. She loves to stand out and wear funky outfits while planning amazing getaways. Poppy works for high scale traveling blogs which gets her amazing holiday perks! Despite all the glamour, I still really related to Poppy. She is actually down to earth and recently reached a rut in her life. This coincidentally coincides with her abrupt end to her friendship with Alex. Two summers ago, something happened.

We have dual timelines where we see the last 10 summer getaways leading up to the present timeline. Poppy realises she was last happy when she was with Alex and creates an opportunity to spend a summer together again like old times. While we see them stumble back awkwardly into their old ways, we learn about their old dynamic and how Poppy was falling in love all those years. The pining was so beautiful to read. Did I mention there is only one bed?

I have to end this here before I get really spoilery but if any of this piques your interest at all, I urge you to pick it up! I am confident you will fall in love like I did. I think I might go reread it now..

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC!