Book #1 of 2022: The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #3) Although it maintains the feel-good / hopepunk ethos and the commitment to marginalized historical voices of its predecessors, this final Montague Siblings novel never quite gets its hooks into me to the same extent. We’ve jumped forward a …
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Book #291 of 2020: Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back edited by Elizabeth Schaefer To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the second Star Wars movie, this collection presents 40 new stories revisiting its timeline, in the form of either familiar scenes from the perspective of minor film characters or …
Book #4 of 2020: Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee A fun YA take on Marvel’s Norse-inspired Loki figure, informed by but not especially beholden to his characterization in previous stories. I didn’t spot anything in this novel that’s out of line with the established canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though it …
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Book #244 of 2019: The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #1.5) This midquel novella takes place soon after the first Montague Siblings book, and I don’t want to give too much away about the ending to that one for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. But it’s another fun outing …
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Book #66 of 2019: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2) Another rip-roaring historical comedy about young people who don’t fit neatly into 18th-century European society’s expectations for them. This book is less overtly romantic than the previous novel that centers on bisexual teenager Henry Montague — which fits, …
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Book #241 of 2018: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #1) Overall, I adore this historical fiction novel about queer teens on their grand tour of eighteenth-century continental Europe. It’s phenomenal representation in a genre that often starves for any diversity at all, and the action of the story …
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