Review: A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Sky Pony Press/Caffeine Book Tours via Edelweiss for the purposes of providing an honest review.

A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

Published: 3rd September 2019 | Publisher: Sky Pony Press | Cover Designer: Kate Gartner | Source: Publisher/Caffeine Book Tours via Edelweiss
Sangu Mandanna's Website

One kingdom. One crown. One family.

"Maybe it’s time the great House of Rey came to an end. After all, what are we now? Just a house of rage and sorrow."

Esmae once wanted nothing more than to help her golden brother win the crown of Kali but that dream died with her best friend. Alexi broke her heart, and she vowed to destroy him for it. And with her sentient warship Titania beside her, how can she possibly fail?

As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. Past lives threaten the present. Old enemies claim their due. And Esmae cannot outrun the ghosts and the questions that haunt her. What really happened to her father? What was the third boon her mother asked of Amba? For in the shadows, lurking in wait, are secrets that will swallow her whole.

The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end. From Goodreads.

My other reviews of The Celestial Trilogy:
A Spark of White Fire (Book 1) (#Ad)

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features grief, graphic violence, discussion of suicide, discussion of murder, abduction, a poisoning, and execution.

Continue reading Review: A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna (#Ad)

My Most Anticipated 2019 YA SFF Releases by Authors of Colour

Ad: Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher for the purpose of providing an honest review.

Today I'm sharing with you ten of my most anticipated YA SFF releases of 2019 by authors of colour! A lot of these - though not all - are #OwnVoices stories based on the authors' own cultures, which really excites me! I've been loving non-Western inspired fantasies recently! And most feature protagonists of colour, too!

Continue reading My Most Anticipated 2019 YA SFF Releases by Authors of Colour

Review: A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

Published: 11th September 2018 | Publisher: Sky Pony Press | Source: Bought
Sangu Mandanna's Website

In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back.

Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali.

It’s a great plan. Until it falls apart.

Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love. From Goodreads.

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13 SFF Novels by Diverse Authors, Inspired by Non-Western Cultures

Last month, there was an article published on Tor.com, The 10 Best Completed SF and Fantasy Series (According to Me) by Drew McCaffrey. There was a disclaimer that the list didn't include stand-alones, series that weren't yet complete, or any mention of books the writer hadn't yet read - though he did mention that there were a lot of diverse stories being published these days, he just hadn't read them. So his list was completely devoid of books by women, except J. K. Rowling, devoid of recent books, except Harry Potter, and devoid of any books that were based on non-Western cultures (or, in other words, not Medieval England inspired stories).

I just think the list as a whole is ridiculous, to be honest. In my opinion, including J. K. Rowling is a little too easy; she's well known and popular, and as the only woman, also kind of a token? Thrown in not to not be shouted at for not including any women. Otherwise, it's a list of old books by old white men from years ago. What was the point of this article? If you're not giving us anything new, why bother? Go back a number of years, and I'm sure you'll find a list of very similar titles. Nothing new, nothing diverse. A number of people complained about the article on Twitter, and I think for good reason. About the lack of women, about the lack of diverse voices. And sure, if he's not read them, he can't mention them, but maybe he should have held off on writing such an article until he had other stories to recommend? Rather than giving us more of the same thing we hear over and over.

Rather than continue to complain and talk about how problematic it is, I thought I would create a list of SFF, most written by women, inspired by non-Western cultures, by diverse authors, that should be highlighted.

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