Monday Minis
Welcome to a new feature. I’m going to try and put up mini-reviews every Monday (or, indeed, most Mondays as I suspect will be closer to reality). These will be books I feel like I don’t have much to say about, backlog reviews I’m catching up on reading and writing, and perhaps even the odd book that I read for myself and decide to write a little bit on. So basically a sort of catch-all for my chaotic brain – which doesn’t mean that these books don’t deserve your attention! I’ve just noticed that I’m struggling to write lately, and mini-reviews help me get some thoughts on the page, and so I’m trying to save my energy for the books I have a lot to say about.
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould is a queer supernatural YA thriller mystery. It’s a complete genre mashup, and that aspect of it worked really well. It follows Logan, whose TV-paranormal-inspector dads have just brought her back to their hometown, only to find teens going missing. In this tiny town – think a high school senior class of ten students – Logan and her family aren’t welcomed back with open arms, but suspicion, both due to the recent disappearances and the lack of tolerance for queer couples. Eventually, Logan teams up with local teen Ashley, whose boyfriend is one of the missing kids, to try and solve the mysteries of the town before it’s too late. And honestly, the concept is pretty great and I loved the bi rep. But the execution kept frustrating me to no end. It is one of those books that rely on characters not actually communicating, and that is one of my biggest pet peeves in stories. There were also quite a few moments where I felt that plot/character arcs didn’t progress naturally but in a rather stilted way. I think I’m curious to pick up another book by the same author to see how she grows, but the flaws that this one had keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending it.
Fire With Fire by Destiny Soria has dragons. And dragon hunters. So there’s a great concept hook there that made me devour the book immediately. Dani and Eden Rivera were both born to kill dragons, but the sisters couldn’t be more different. For Dani, dragon slaying takes a back seat to normal high school life, while Eden prioritizes training above everything else. Yet they both agree on one thing: it’s kill or be killed where dragons are concerned. Until Dani comes face-to-face with one and forges a rare and magical bond with him. As she gets to know Nox, she realizes that everything she thought she knew about dragons is wrong. However, my enthusiasm for dragons and the bond they can establish with humans – and the unlikely one between a hunter and a dragon that is at the centre of the story wasn’t enough to keep me enthusiastic about this. I thought the concept and the world building was great, but ultimately the plot and characters left me feeling disappointed. I was expecting to love this one much more than I did, especially as I really liked the beginning of the story. I just noticed my emotional investment slipping more and more as I got further into it. I might pick up a sequel, we’ll see. But it’s definitely entertaining, so if you like dragons and are looking to fill an evening with light fantasy, go for it.
Dahlia Adler’s Cool for the Summer confirms her as the Queen of Queer once again. This light YA rom-com features Larissa Bogdan, a bisexual high school student who is coming to terms with her sexuality with the help of a summer spent with Jasmine and a long-term crush on Chase, the school’s most popular football player. It is a fun and lighthearted romp, with a lot of pop-culture references thrown in and much love to books and nerdy culture. It is very much YA aimed at a teen demographic – which meant that I wasn’t as in love with it as I hoped to be, but teen me very much would have. And one of my favourite details of the book was that quite early on, when Larissa was asked about her sexuality, whether she was into boys, girls, or both, the asker immediately added that ace and aro was just as valid and welcome. Dahlia Adler, Queen of Queer, we stan.