tinyelfarcanist's reviews
323 reviews

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Truthseeker by Talli L. Morgan

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Of the Wild by E. Wambheim

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dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Aeris is a creature of the Wild that takes abused and abandoned children to raise them as his own, providing them with unwavering love. These human children grow fey-like features after a while of being in the Woods, turning them into the most mismatched and adorable group of siblings I’ve encountered.

William, the human who finds Aeris’s home, carries an aura of serenity and patience, but he’s quick to show his fierce side when his loved ones are threatened. Suffice to say that the characters are lovely.
I’m a sucker for parental relationships; Aeris’s and William’s interactions with the children are the most wholesome, and so are the ones between them. I couldn’t help but utter how beautiful this book was every few pages.

Aeris’s refuge is an analogy for the family some queer folks find after being rejected by their biological parents. A community they build with those who have felt unwanted, and learn they’re deserving of love even when others have shunned them. Did I mention there’s ace and trans rep?

The prose was superb. It’s atmospheric with a dark-fey theme and stayed cozy while navigating dark themes. It was a niche novella of everything I love and easily became one of my favourites. 
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Boneless by Coyote JM Edwards

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 Our all-black-wearing hero is back. This time they can't get involved in the investigation as their feelings may stand in the way. But Grim's always operated with their heart. More victims are disappearing, which means more clues to help find Argyle before the full moon. 

Captain Drox realized that Grim wasn’t just a person who did weird jobs for money. They were a person who did whatever it took to help people.

It took Grim way too long to find the culprit since they were already signing the letters, but I'll give them a pass since they're worried about Argyle.
 
I missed the humour from the first novella, but this one explores darker emotions that scrunched my heart to then blow it back up. While Ubury the Bones was about acceptance, trust, and love; Boneless is about grief, forgiveness, and healing.
 
Grim may not be the hero the people in Embervein want, but they’re the hero they need.  
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To Poison a King by S.G. Prince

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dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Selene’s first mistake was poisoning the king, her second was falling in love with him.

A blessing, they called me when they needed me. A witch, they called me when they did not.

What a beautiful book! The prose is exquisite and the character development remarkable. While Selene is the only POV, even minor characters feel real.

There are multiple references to a legend from a fictional book called The River of Reversal. The title is that of an actual short story written as a prequel to this one, and you can get it for free by signing up for the author’s newsletter.

Daughter of the royal physician, young alchemist Selene is part of a long line of healers bound to the royal bloodline. After living under the shadow of her alluring mother, Persaphe, she opens up to people who see the true her. We witness Selene grow from a bullied girl to a powerful woman who reclaims her position in court as she gains confidence in her abilities.

Being an age-gap romance with Selene being a minor for the majority of the book, it walks on the very delicate line of painting the male love interest as a groomer, but given their circumstances, the power shifts from one character to another and I never felt an abuse of authority from any of them.

Part coming-of-age and full slow-burn romance, this book is character-heavy and meant to be slowly savoured. I hadn’t even reached 10% and my heartstrings were already being pulled. I was enraptured by this tale from start to finish. 
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Mazarin Blues by Al Hess

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Excellent pace, likeable characters, and lots of great rep (race, gender, mental health, disability) made this book surpass my expectations.

There’s a new batch of AIs installed on 25 randomly selected beta testers, Reed being one of them. There are rumours that these beta navs are developing personalities and putting their pilots at risk, and even possibly becoming sentient, like Mazarin.

Mazarin, Reed’s charming little AI, is developing unexpected feelings for his pilot. He chose his own name and his priority is keeping his pilot safe and happy. He’s genuinely worried he turns violent like the other navs and goes out of his way to show his love for Reed.

The decoist scene is a clear allegory of discrimination and the safety of queer spaces. Reed explores this lifestyle and tries to balance enjoying his interests without attracting the unwanted attention of being “out”.

The entire world was trying to push them into a mold. Telling them that having their minds all to themselves was illegal, that they couldn’t express themselves the way they wanted to in public because it was wrong.


Even when the Her (2013) influence is hinted at from the beginning, I didn’t expect to see an AI explore their humanity and question their gender. I loved this one. 
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I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 04 by Okura

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 I liked that in this number there was a highlight on platonic relationships. I love the aromantic representation with Yuri, he’s my favourite character.

I can see slow character growth in some of the characters and I want to see where they get to. 
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I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 03 by Okura

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I love how it defies gender roles. It portrays homophobia while tackling the romanticization of gay relationships and stereotypes of gay men.

Still, the general vibes are super wholesome. I just wish Mom wasn't as soft and intervened on her husband's homophobic remarks. 
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The Sparrow and the Oak Tree by Jaime Jackson

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adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In the original legend, Princess Iseult (or Isolde) is escorted by a knight named Tristan for her marriage to a King. On their way there, they ingest a love potion, eliciting a forbidden affair between them.

In The Sparrow and the Oak Tree, Isolde is not a princess, but a courtly Sorceress. She’s not sent to marry, but with a darker mission of taking care of a mysterious child that arrived in the town of Perdition.

Isolde’s companion isn’t initially Tristan, but a mercenary who calls himself Bear. She is soon taken by a Fae, and the pact they make works as the “love potion” in this story. At first, it only compels them to get involved sexually, but their passion evolves into a different type of feeling; this leads to some insta-love mechanics that make the romance not fully work for me. But for a book that works on the premise of being impelled to act by stronger forces, it has a nice message on autonomy.

My favourite part was definitely Bear. He’s determined and smart and he worries Isolde is being coerced to get involved with the Fae. As the third wheel, he takes it upon himself to chaperone (and cockblock when necessary) and has a horse that at times appears to be more than that.

With melting zombies and horny Fae, this book certainly is something different. It’s funny and sexy and I really enjoyed it, but I would’ve liked some details to be explored more as some questions were left unanswered. 
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