Nenekiri Bookwyrm

This entry in the series is the one that I think sees the most change in the status quo over the course of the length of the book. The dynamics of a bunch of relationships change and it's interesting to see how the characters navigate their new normal. Of particular note is the relationship between Verse, Karina, and Lyrikos which gets a lot of attention in this book. We also get to see where Basil and Cecelia have been all this time and it was nice seeing them back in the action again. The story this time focuses on the rapidly destabilizing relations between the East and the West sections of Verse's home of the Southern Kerlynzian Empire. As the characters search for Lyrikos across the empire they have to contend with the Knights as an organization, "health and wellness camps" for Elia, and a growing civil unrest at the East not having enough resources to survive. These and more help to show how the characters react to real-world analogues of these issues in police brutality and conversion therapy. It's also a clever way to show that just because it's a fantasy world, doesn't mean that Verse and co. will be able to sidestep those social issues. And I think one of the core themes of this book is having the courage to fight for something you love. Verse has been a typical aloof protagonist in most of their scenes, feigning that they don't care because they are afraid of getting close to people and hurting them in the process. But as that shell cracks, they realize that's not the way they want to live their life. And that when you give a damn about something, you might just have to fight tooth and claw for it. I also appreciated the answers to the many questions that have been set up in books 1 and 2 of the series. If you're a longtime reader and have wanted to know more about Verse's backstory and their family, then I'm happy to say you'll get those answers. One of my favorite bits while reading this was a single sentence that gave me chills as I read it and that's not an easy feat to do! As evidenced by the title, gods play a larger role and I think Leilani does a good job of showing that they are just as fallible as the other folks in Elancia. The growing cast of various characters can make it difficult to keep up with who all is involved in which plots at any one given time. Factor in that some of the gods have a couple different aliases and that can get confusing fast. My other criticism is that the ending finds a way to group all the main characters up for a big climatic battle, and while I really enjoyed the scene once we got there, I felt like the setup was a bit too convenient. One of the aspects of Leilani's writing style that I often forget to touch on is the sense of urgency and excitement that comes with it. I look forward to these books partially because once I start reading it's very hard to put down again. There's also a lot of stuff I wanted to get to in this review, but it would spoil a lot of things that happen so I have to hold off. All that being said, I'm really happy with the character growth and am eager to see where the next book takes us in Elancia!

ally is a strange book and that's not a bad thing. It's composed of many interwoven interstitial conversations the author has had with an unreliable narrator-type character that is at least part of herself. At times incredibly gripping and intensely personal, ally is a book that doesn't shy away from the difficult conversations that we often need to have with ourselves. In a way, I think the author used the conversations to reach a type of catharsis with some of the subjects discussed. After all, who knows us better than ourselves? The dialogue is well written and the ally the author talks to has a character and writing style of her own. So that even though their words are italicized to let you know who's speaking, after a few pages of the book you can tell who's talking from the tone and style of response. The book covers a lot of subjects from gender expression, the difficulty of accepting yourself while dealing with health problems, and the importance of building communities you feel safe expressing yourself in. As well as just about everything between those too. It's a big book, and as such I would recommend reading it in chunks to keep from getting overwhelmed by the emotions that are bared on the pages. There's a good chunk of the book that focuses on a period in the author's life wherein which she had a number of visible physical tics that would make her life more difficult. The frankness with which she discusses this is a breath of fresh air from someone who also had a physical tic brought on by stressful conditions. And though it has left me as well, I worry that I too will eventually remember and it will be back. It meant a hell of a lot to me to read about someone else's experience and I just wanted to say that. I could go on for a while about the other aspects of this book, how it discusses burnout in tech and finding the drive to work on things after the passion has left you but I'm rambling at this point. If you do decide to pick up the book, just know that pg. 302 hit me much harder than I'd like to admit. Because we're all just trying to make it through. I'll take this experience and try to be a good ally.

A wonderful fantasy adventure that stars a trans character center stage. I really fell in love with all the characters in the book. Verse, Xan, Cecelia, Basil, and Karina were great to follow throughout the course of the story. Two things to know upfront about the book. One of the main character's, Verse, speaks in an accent in all of their dialogue. I found that I was translating their speech patterns soon after the first few pages but I'm aware that can be a turn-off for folks. I think it's a neat way to show that this character is speaking in a language they're unfamiliar with, but I digress. Second thing to know is that this story is dense. There is a lot of love and attention put into this book and the world of Elancia and it shines through. As such, there is also a lot of ground that gets covered throughout the story and concepts are thrown out at the reader at a fairly brisk pace. I think where Shifting Tides shines the most is in the way it handles how the characters react to being a part of a world that is ending. The process is slow, but it's still happening, and how each character reacts to it feeds into the narrative. One of my favorite bits in the book are the chapters where the author takes a moment to focus on one of the five main characters in a section that is meant to give more background on that particular character. These chapters give the author the space to show what that character is about and who they are in the midst of this much larger story. Alongside the main plot, there is a subplot of Verse finding out more about their past and what role they have in everything. This book leaves a lot of that information as questions for the future, but I enjoyed the answers we were given by the conclusion of this first book in the series. If you're interested in reading more fiction starring LGBTQ+ characters navigating a dying fantasy world I would absolutely recommend picking this up and giving it a try.