Week 21: July 3rd - Reading 1

H'okay, we're back! I managed to finish out June with 11 books in total read - overall a good month. Let's break it down!

A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell: Now THAT’S what I call Black Girl Magic.

Should you read this? Oh without a doubt. It's no secret that I love an anthology/short story collection, and this is amongst my favorites that I read this month. It's so refreshing to read sci-fi and fantasy stories that focus on Black girls, centering their narratives and giving them the power. Though some stories are darker than others, this is a really well-balanced collection that keeps a prevalent theme of hope, persistence, and pure magic. Definitely pick this one up, you'll want it on your shelf.

Favorites: “Gilded,” “Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death and, Subsequently, Her Best Life,” “The Goddess Provides,” “Tender-Headed,” “All The Time in the World,” “Sequence”

A Queer & Cozy Winter by Rainbow Crate: Honestly this could’ve been called “A Queer & Spicy Winter” with how many ways there were to fight the cold.

Should you read this? If you want a quick and breezy collection to bolster your reading numbers, then I think this is a great pick. I am an unabashed fan of RainbowCrate BookBox (I'm as much an unpaid sponsor for them as I am for StoryGraph), so I was ravenous to dig into this collection. Admittedly I was a bit surprised at how erotic some of the stories in here were, but it was a pleasant surprise. There were some editing issues in the early stories that threw me off guard and made me hesitate to recommend this, but the stories at the end really rounded out the collection perfectly. This isn't the easiest collection to get a hold of, but if you want to dip your toe in the RainbowCrate pool then picking this up is a good start.

Favorites: “The BPD Witch’s Guide to Self-Care and Summoning”, “Fae Bride”, and “How to Successfully Avoid Christmas Drinks”

The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy: There’s a deep giddiness that I feel reading something that would absolutely piss off a TERF.

Should you read this? If you're looking for a fresh take on witches, then absolutely. It's always so fun to see what an author does with witches, and Killjoy's interpretation has to be amongst my new favorite. Lorel is such a sympathetic protagonist as she tries to come to terms with who she is and how to reconcile that with her body - all while trying to stop an evil magical force with her new coven. This book was a bit difficult to get through at times as I felt far too much stress for Lorel than I think is healthy, but the ending really rounded it out in such a tender and endearing way that I'm glad I stuck it through. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for this one - the narrator does a fantastic job that really augments the experience.

Costumes for Time Travelers by AR Capetta: I am but a simple woman - give me a queer time travel story with a fiber arts focus and it will become my latest obsession.

Should you read this? YES. First of all, a tragedy that I forgot to get a picture of my copy of the book before returning it to the library. But secondly, this book was specifically made for my tastes that it's not even funny. It's queer, it's eloquent, it has time travel, and it focuses on the fiber arts and how pivotal they are to all parts of history. I simply adored this, and with it being just over 200 pages I think that it's definitely a low-impact book. If I hadn't already read Time War I'd probably say this is my favorite time travel book of all time. It feels like a love letter to sewing and to Time War all in one wonderful package. Definitely check this one out, you won't be sorry.

And that's it for the micro reviews! I'll have a second reading post up this week to go over some of my stats for the first half of the year :)