Have I mentioned I’ve been reading a lot? I’ve been reading a lot. It’s a combination of it STILL being a plague year plus I also broke my phone towards the end of July. I did the responsible thing and ordered a replacement online instead of going into the story and had no phone games to burn up my brain with. So books.
I love books.
So without further ado: books!
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water by Zen Cho
There are two things you should know about this novella. First, it is beautiful; second, something about the ending felt so bittersweet to me. There’s a line one of the characters says, “you will make me glad of things I must regret,” that just shattered me.
There’s a line one of the characters says, “you will make me glad of things I must regret,” that just shattered me.
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This book will appeal to fans of The Empress of Salt and Fortune, previously mentioned on this blog. It’s queer, it’s got action, and it’s got deep moral soul-searching. What more can you want?
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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By far my favorite read of this month was Mexican Gothic, which was just lovely. I don’t want to give too much away, so suffice to say I am a huge fan of Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. I had just finished a novella of hers, Prime Meridian, and recently posted about her novel Certain Dark Things on this site. I definitely feel like Mexican Gothic was an author hitting her stride, and there were some great things this work had to say about colonialism and white supremacy and patriarchy.
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
This wonderful novel reads like a weird western (a favorite subgenre) but is actually a near future science fiction novel, sort of. It reads to me very similarly to Jacqueline Carey’s Santa Olivia but with a lot less technology in play. Like Santa Olivia, it’s very much queer. Upright Women Wanted is short, hopeful, and a great work for anyone who has ever questioned their worth, their sexuality, or their gender.
The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn
For whatever reason this is one of my favorite things I’ve read recently. It’s sort of a sequel to Robin Hood, focusing on his children. And I loved the main character, Mary — she’s a badass, as are her siblings. My biggest critique of this story is that it ended why too soon. I actually fully expected this to be the opening of a novel, and leaving the world felt premature. I’d be very into an alternate history continuing the story of this trio.
Lore Olympus: Season 1 re-read
If you haven’t read Lore Olympus I can best describe it as Greek mythology as Gossip Girl fanfic, and it is ideal. We’re going to be talking about it on August’s POP FIZZ, but since I spent a sizeable chunk of the month re-reading Season 1 in anticipation of Season 2’s premier on August 2nd, I thought I’d mention it here. It’s free on WEBTOON!
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsA vibe. @LoreOlympus pic.twitter.com/GIIwAE5qE0
— Amanda J. McGee (@skylit1) July 13, 2020
I hope you enjoy all these awesome stories! There are So Many Releases coming out in August that I will probably be doing another Reading Round-up for that month here soon. But next weekend I’ll be out celebrating my birthday so I’ll catch you all in two weeks.
Stay sane, folks!
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Amanda J. McGee, Author 
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