A Queer Italian Mafia-Inspired Fantasy You Don't Want to Miss
4 stars
If I could pick three words to describe this book with, it would be “lush,” “conspiratorial,” and “queer.”
Because this book is “lush” in almost every way:
– It’s magic system–with the strega who are going through a time of change as people attempt to exploit their magic and use it for nefarious purposes–fully embodies the word “lush” with the elegant way the magic works and its smooth execution.
– “Lush” in the way that the characters are rich and developed and shaped in a way that you understand who they are outside of a stereotype.
– Family and friendship and romance are all woven together into a “lush” tapestry of personal connections with the characters that make this book wholly relatable on a deeper level.
“Conspiratorial” in many aspects:
– The way that Teodora sneaks around and “conspires” to get what she wants, no matter what means necessary. If it’s through working with another strega or turning her own brother into an owl, she will do what she needs to achieve her goal.
– How secrets, lies, betrayal, and political machinations of the Capo and other players in this game add to the “conspiratorial” nature of this book.
And queer in both of the main characters:
– The romance was so solid and I totally ship Teodora and Cielo together!!!!
– Shape-shifting multi-gendered tutor (aka Cielo) who is literally my favorite with all the swoons. I absolutely love Cielo and there were definitely some spicy moments between Teo and Cielo!
– Also, not in the main characters because in the very last line of the acknowledgements Amy Rose Capetta calls her wife “my very own sexy magic tutor” and if that’s not enough to convince you to read this book, I don’t know what is.
Overall, there’s so much to love with the strong characters and great worldbuilding, but something just didn’t click with me personally.
I don’t really know why, but I was a little bit confused, even at the end of the book, by what happened. I ended up understanding the overarching plot, but the scenes sometimes just didn’t really sink in for me. I’m not sure if this was because some important scenes needed more emotional weight or, alternatively, that I sort of strayed while I was actively reading because some scenes didn’t engage me enough.
If this book rated me as a reader, it would probably only be a 4 or something, because sometimes it feels like I wasn’t paying attention enough, even though I really was trying to obsess over this novel.
In the end, I did end up enjoying both the concept and a lot of the execution, I just feel like it was missing some of that oomph that would have launched this into a higher-than-4-star-read!
This is a really solid fantasy, and I definitely recommend to anyone looking for queer characters, Italian-inspired fantasy, magic, and the girl-disguised-as-a-boy trope!
If I could pick three words to describe this book with, it would be “lush,” “conspiratorial,” and “queer.”
Because this book is “lush” in almost every way:
– It’s magic system–with the strega who are going through a time of change as people attempt to exploit their magic and use it for nefarious purposes–fully embodies the word “lush” with the elegant way the magic works and its smooth execution.
– “Lush” in the way that the characters are rich and developed and shaped in a way that you understand who they are outside of a stereotype.
– Family and friendship and romance are all woven together into a “lush” tapestry of personal connections with the characters that make this book wholly relatable on a deeper level.
“Conspiratorial” in many aspects:
– The way that Teodora sneaks around and “conspires” to get what she wants, no matter what means necessary. If it’s through working with another strega or turning her own brother into an owl, she will do what she needs to achieve her goal.
– How secrets, lies, betrayal, and political machinations of the Capo and other players in this game add to the “conspiratorial” nature of this book.
And queer in both of the main characters:
– The romance was so solid and I totally ship Teodora and Cielo together!!!!
– Shape-shifting multi-gendered tutor (aka Cielo) who is literally my favorite with all the swoons. I absolutely love Cielo and there were definitely some spicy moments between Teo and Cielo!
– Also, not in the main characters because in the very last line of the acknowledgements Amy Rose Capetta calls her wife “my very own sexy magic tutor” and if that’s not enough to convince you to read this book, I don’t know what is.
Overall, there’s so much to love with the strong characters and great worldbuilding, but something just didn’t click with me personally.
I don’t really know why, but I was a little bit confused, even at the end of the book, by what happened. I ended up understanding the overarching plot, but the scenes sometimes just didn’t really sink in for me. I’m not sure if this was because some important scenes needed more emotional weight or, alternatively, that I sort of strayed while I was actively reading because some scenes didn’t engage me enough.
If this book rated me as a reader, it would probably only be a 4 or something, because sometimes it feels like I wasn’t paying attention enough, even though I really was trying to obsess over this novel.
In the end, I did end up enjoying both the concept and a lot of the execution, I just feel like it was missing some of that oomph that would have launched this into a higher-than-4-star-read!
This is a really solid fantasy, and I definitely recommend to anyone looking for queer characters, Italian-inspired fantasy, magic, and the girl-disguised-as-a-boy trope!