u/notthemostcreative

The tl;dr: I loved all three of these stories and I think Tasha Suri is an extraordinary writer. At this point she's one of my favorite fantasy authors currently writing and I'm so excited to see what she comes up with next. Would definitely recommend checking out her work if you're into epic fantasy stories centered around women! (If it's helpful info, my other favorites include Jacqueline Carey, N. K. Jemisin, and Juliet Marillier.)

on the Burning Kingdoms trilogy

-To me this is just a really well rounded epic fantasy trilogy with complicated protagonists, a vivid, interesting world, and a plot that blends politics, religion, romance, and a healthy dose of devastating violence.

-All three female POV characters are strong and distinctive, with plenty of admirable qualities and plenty of flaws and challenges to deal with. There are a couple male POV characters, although the plot is centered around the women, and they definitely pull their weight imo.

-The central romance is sapphic and emotionally fraught. Things get messy and complicated, not because of petty drama but because both characters are in really difficult circumstances and have a lot of obligations to other people, which is vastly preferable to me.

-This world contains multiple gods and religions, all of which work for me, but my favorite by far are a set of creepy, morally ambiguous plant deities who add a sort of cosmic horror element to proceedings.

-I would call these books dark, but not grimdark. There is no shortage of heroism and moral victories, but there's a lot of violence and carnage and I definitely cried more than once.

-Really the only criticism I have of this trilogy is that the last book felt sort of rushed, like there was so much plot to get through that it felt like there wasn't enough breathing room for the characters to exist. Even that one is still solid, though; it just slightly suffers in comparison to book 2, which is fantastic.

on The Isle in the Silver Sea

-This is a really cleverly constructed standalone I found both emotionally gripping and interesting on a thematic level. If you’re into “I would find you in any lifetime” vibes it might be up your alley.

-Our two main characters are a knight and a witch who are doomed to love each other and then die together in every lifetime, with the knight killing the witch and themself. (In this lifetime they are both young women.) Both are really well rendered and have a lot of nuance to them.

-The setting is an alternate universe Britain where the landscape is (ostensibly) sustained by these stories that recur over and over again, and the government is very strict about ensuring the people born into these tales follow the plot exactly whether they want to or not.

-There’s a lot of interesting stuff here about the nature of free will, how people’s personalities are shaped by their environments, and how people’s obsession with nostalgia and preserving ~the way things have always been~ leads to bigotry and exclusion and the snuffing out of hope, growth, and potential

-While the romance is front and center, this is also a story about the importance of community solidarity, especially among immigrants and queer people.

-There’s also a mystical ancient forest, a fae court, some Arthurian legend stuff, and plenty of spooky, disquieting vibes.

-I listened to The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae shortly after reading this and now every time I hear Say You’ll Go I think of Simran and Vina, if that tells you anything about the vibe of the romance

on The Books of Ambha

-I took forever to read this one because I mistakenly thought it was YA. (I blame this on the fact that so many book titles involve Ash and/or Sand, lol—I definitely conflated it with something else). It’s adult, though, and it’s wonderful! I tore through both books in a couple days and cried multiple times.

-I’m somewhat reminded of the Dreamblood Duology in the broad strokes—desert, dream magic, religious orders, and the fact that the two books are separated by a decade and focus on different central characters.

-The romances in this one are hetero but the focus is still very much on the women. Our main characters are two sisters whose mother came from a marginalized racial group with a strong predilection toward magic. One is old enough to have known her mother and grown up with some knowledge of her culture, while the other is cut off from that culture completely and taught to keep that part of her identity a secret, because she’s lighter skinned and passes for her father’s race. As usual, they’re both wonderfully complex and believable and I adore them.

-Thematically this one deals heavily with how an empire is an inherently violent project that benefits some people while crushing others to dust. Without getting too spoiler-y, both main characters run into situations where they have to consider both the evil at the core of the Empire and the violence and instability that come with upending it and make difficult decisions about how to proceed.

-The magic really shines in this one. There’s a whole system of religious rites built around dance—postures, movements, sigils formed with the hands—that carries magical implications. The second book is also very heavy on dream magic as a means to commune with one’s ancestors.

-As someone who is always fascinated by religious and spiritual traditions, real and fictional, I’m obsessed with the intersection of magic and prayer in this one and I think it’s really going to stick with me.

Love triangles get a lot of hate, which I totally understand because for a while they were almost compulsory in trendy SFF novels, so they often felt boring and forced. But I think a love triangle or vaguely love triangle shaped situation can be really interesting if the author isn’t ham-fisted about it.

These are a few that come to mind for me:

-{the Daevabad trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty}: in which there is passionate instalust between a young woman and an hot ancient man and it’s obviously doomed for all the logical reasons and she ends up with a lovely, age appropriate man in a relationship built on mutual trust and respect.

-{The Blade of Fortriu} by Juliet Marillier: Two protagonists go through some shit together, and one develops romantic feelings. She’s headed for a political betrothal and he’s leading her escort, so there’s really no room for those feelings. By the time she finds out how he feels, she’s already fallen in love with someone else (!) who is also not her prospective husband(!!!!!!!). I love this because I fully feel like everyone ends up where they need to be in the end but I still felt the heartbreak pretty keenly.

-{The Amber Owl by Juliet Marillier}: a situation where the woman in the middle of a love triangle has absolutely no idea that she is in one. She cares for both dudes, interest on both of their sides is implied to the reader but not overt to the character, and they’re all busy being on quests and whatnot. I genuinely wasn’t sure if which one she’d end up with, or if she’d end up with either. She chooses the right one for her, imo, but I still felt genuinely sad when she gently let the other one down. She’s so good at making me feel conflicted about stuff!

-{Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb}: a love triangle where the woman in the middle of it absolutely knows she’s in one and is PISSED about it. This kind of felt like a deconstruction of the idea of a love triangle, where she’s actively criticizing the way in which other people are following her friendships with these two guys and expecting her to Choose One. I actually preferred the love interest she didn’t choose and was hoping she’d end up with him, but within the plot it made sense for her not to. If you know you know, lol.

-{Naamah’s Kiss}: young woman is entangled in two other peoples’ weird situationship, where they each like her but also use her to make each other jealous and it’s weird and unhealthy for everyone involved

Thoughts? Love triangle hot takes? Cases where stuff like this worked or very much didn’t work?

Juliet Marillier has kind of had my mind in a chokehold since I read Daughter of the Forest ~a year and a half ago, as her strengths as a writer align perfectly with my taste as a reader. I think this was the twelfth book of hers I've read and, while some of the others have been FABULOUS and I've never fully disliked any of them, Heart's Blood kind of outdoes them all for me.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I do because I'm not all that into Beauty and the Beast, but it is SO beautiful, the epitome of bittersweet, and every note of it is pitch perfect to me. Reading it kind of felt like feeding my heart through a meat grinder and the amount of tears I shed left me genuinely a little dehydrated, and yet somehow I also found it deeply comforting.

So, here's a brief rundown of all the things I loved about it:

-The heroine: Caitrin is a scribe, which is cool as hell! I'm actually not sure I've read any other fantasy books with scribes as main characters, but I certainly would like to, as I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. She's also a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of a relative, so her healing and recovering her sense of self is a really big part of her arc.

-The setting: As is often the case with Marillier, the setting is wonderfully whimsical and haunting. The castle is creepy and full of mysterious mirrors and whispering voices. The surrounding woods are also strange; even before the curse that dominates the narrative there were other uncanny beings around.

-The prose: I mean, it's a Marillier novel, so naturally the prose is lovely.

-The hero and his disability: When Anluan was introduced as having a palsy that affects one side of his body, I briefly worried this would be a situation where his disability was caused by the curse and he would be magically healed at the end, but I should have had more faith. His disability is impactful and remains so throughout the book; there are some things he simply cannot do and will never be able to. He also experiences a lot of internalized ableism that holds him back; when we meet him he has been fully convinced that he cannot lead, cannot love a woman, cannot do basically anything, because he's disabled, and he's so mired in grief that there's no room for hope or optimism. As someone who became disabled a few years ago, I found his slow journey toward accepting and working within his limitations really touching.

-The central mystery: Like Beauty and the Beast, this book involves an old curse that has haunted a family for ages. In this case, the curse involves an undead army summoned by the male main character's great-grandfather. As Caitrin translates and transcribes records written by Anluan's ancestors, she's struggling to piece together the exact nature of the curse and what can be done about it. It adds a really interesting layer to the storytelling. I did feel vaguely annoyed by one aspect, but only because I find dramatic irony stressful, lol.

-Hope, narrative, and the value of questioning what we think we understand: This one is tough to explain without substantial spoilers, so I'll just say that Caitrin, as an outsider, brings a fresh perspective to the household and challenges a lot of what they believe to be true about the curse. Her willingness to question things and examine other possible ways the puzzle pieces might fit together is crucial to solving the problems they face.

-The romance: This subplot is very sweet and what I particularly enjoy about it is that while the characters encourage each other to grow and push through discomfort and hold onto hope, they do each have to learn how to face their own individual challenges. I also love that, unlike in Beauty and the Beast, the protagonist arrives and stays by her own choice.

-The found family: Anluan's household is an odd one, but just as Caitrin brings hope into their home and builds them up, they love and accept her and make her feel safe and brave and it's so wholesome I could cry!

-The complexities of grief and healing: While the book has what I would call a happy ending, the story as a whole is full of all kinds of grief—Caitrin's grief for her father and their old life, Anluan's for his parents and his own health, the weight of generational trauma, the ghosts and the burdens they carry with them, even >!the death of a beloved dog!< and a >!widow mourning her husband!<. And then there's the existence of the ghost army, and the fact that it's made up of people, and the unfortunate reality that breaking the curse means sending them away forever so they can rest, which is as sad as it is necessary. I was genuinely kind of distraught over >!Rioghan and Eichri!<

The antagonist: The eventual "villain" of the story is pretty awful, but also strangely sympathetic, as they are a victim as well as a villain and I was impressed by the nuance and care with which Marillier wrote them.

-The ending: The >!ghost child!< was one of the highlights of this book for me—basically every appearance had me in tears, and Juliet Marillier really has a knack for heartwrenching portrayals of >!little girls and their dolls!<—and I was dreading >!that goodbye!<. The fact that >!she and Gearrog stay behind!< AND it feels earned is the icing on top of the beautiful cake that is Heart's Blood.

I am definitely going to need to read something a bit happier to recover from this, but at this point I fully intend to read most or all of the rest of her work and I'm especially looking forward to the Light Isles and Warrior Bards ones. Fwiw, I also enjoyed her new release, The Amber Owl, and thought it less remarkable than some of her heaviest hitters, but still a solid read that left me excited for the sequel.

Juliet Marillier has kind of had my mind in a chokehold since I read Daughter of the Forest ~a year and a half ago, as her strengths as a writer align perfectly with my taste as a reader. I think this was the twelfth book of hers I've read and, while some of the others have been FABULOUS and I've never fully disliked any of them, Heart's Blood kind of outdoes them all for me.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I do because I'm not all that into Beauty and the Beast, but it is SO beautiful, the epitome of bittersweet, and every note of it is pitch perfect to me. Reading it kind of felt like feeding my heart through a meat grinder and the amount of tears I shed left me genuinely a little dehydrated, and yet somehow I also found it deeply comforting.

So, here's a brief rundown of all the things I loved about it:

-The heroine: Caitrin is a scribe, which is cool as hell! I'm actually not sure I've read any other fantasy books with scribes as main characters, but I certainly would like to, as I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. She's also a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of a relative, so her healing and recovering her sense of self is a really big part of her arc.

-The setting: As is often the case with Marillier, the setting is wonderfully whimsical and haunting. The castle is creepy and full of mysterious mirrors and whispering voices. The surrounding woods are also strange; even before the curse that dominates the narrative there were other uncanny beings around.

-The prose: I mean, it's a Marillier novel, so naturally the prose is lovely.

-The hero and his disability: When Anluan was introduced as having a palsy that affects one side of his body, I briefly worried this would be a situation where his disability was caused by the curse and he would be magically healed at the end, but I should have had more faith. His disability is impactful and remains so throughout the book; there are some things he simply cannot do and will never be able to. He also experiences a lot of internalized ableism that holds him back; when we meet him he has been fully convinced that he cannot lead, cannot love a woman, cannot do basically anything, because he's disabled, and he's so mired in grief that there's no room for hope or optimism. As someone who became disabled a few years ago, I found his slow journey toward accepting and working within his limitations really touching.

-The central mystery: Like Beauty and the Beast, this book involves an old curse that has haunted a family for ages. In this case, the curse involves an undead army summoned by the male main character's great-grandfather. As Caitrin translates and transcribes records written by Anluan's ancestors, she's struggling to piece together the exact nature of the curse and what can be done about it. It adds a really interesting layer to the storytelling. I did feel vaguely annoyed by one aspect, but only because I find dramatic irony stressful, lol.

-Hope, narrative, and the value of questioning what we think we understand: This one is tough to explain without substantial spoilers, so I'll just say that Caitrin, as an outsider, brings a fresh perspective to the household and challenges a lot of what they believe to be true about the curse. Her willingness to question things and examine other possible ways the puzzle pieces might fit together is crucial to solving the problems they face.

-The romance: This subplot is very sweet and what I particularly enjoy about it is that while the characters encourage each other to grow and push through discomfort and hold onto hope, they do each have to learn how to face their own individual challenges. I also love that, unlike in Beauty and the Beast, the protagonist arrives and stays by her own choice.

-The found family: Anluan's household is an odd one, but just as Caitrin brings hope into their home and builds them up, they love and accept her and make her feel safe and brave and it's so wholesome I could cry!

-The complexities of grief and healing: While the book has what I would call a happy ending, the story as a whole is full of all kinds of grief—Caitrin's grief for her father and their old life, Anluan's for his parents and his own health, the weight of generational trauma, the ghosts and the burdens they carry with them, even >!the death of a beloved dog and a widow mourning her husband!<. And then >!there's the existence of the ghost army, and the fact that it's made up of people, and the unfortunate reality that breaking the curse means sending them away forever so they can rest, which is as sad as it is necessary. I was genuinely kind of distraught over Rioghan and Eichri!<

The antagonist: The eventual "villain" of the story is pretty awful, but also strangely sympathetic, as they are a victim as well as a villain and I was impressed by the nuance and care with which Marillier wrote them.

-The ending: The >!ghost child!< was one of the highlights of this book for me—basically every appearance had me in tears, and Juliet Marillier really has a knack for >!heartwrenching portayals of little girls and their dolls!<—and I was dreading that goodbye. The fact that >!she and Gearrog stay behind!< AND it feels earned is the icing on top of the beautiful cake that is Heart's Blood.

I am definitely going to need to read something a bit happier to recover from this, but at this point I fully intend to read most or all of the rest of her work and I'm especially looking forward to the Light Isles and Warrior Bards ones. Fwiw, I also enjoyed her new release, The Amber Owl, and thought it less remarkable than some of her heaviest hitters, but still a solid read that left me excited for the sequel.