Sponsored by Sword in the Stars, published by Jimmy Patterson Books.
In this epic sequel to Once & Future, Ari and her Rainbow knights must pull off a Holy Grail heist thousands of years in the past — without destroying their own destinies. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur’s Grail — the very definition of impossible. It’s imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face to face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything.
Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!
This week’s pick is Passing Strange by Ellen Klages!
Content warning: Domestic abuse, homophobia
Passing Strange is a really excellent SFF novella that begins with an elderly woman settling her affairs in present day, but is largely set in 1940 San Francisco. It follows five women, all queer, who are eking out a living and supporting each other through racial and legal oppression. The book centers around three of these women: Helen is a Chinese immigrant and newly minted lawyer who is barred from working at a firm, so she keeps busy setting up wills and legal documentation to protect women who live together. Haskel is a talented but emotionally guarded artist who makes her money illustrating racy covers of pulp magazines under a male pseudonym. Emily is new to town, making a living by cross-dressing and singing in bars, which is very dangerous in an age where police are all too happy to arrest people for social deviance. When Haskel and Emily fall in love and their romance is revealed, Helen and the rest of the gang must go above and beyond to protect them.
I think this is an excellent (short!) pick for anyone who really likes historical stories and is interested in getting into fantasy. The magical elements are fairly light, but they play an absolutely crucial role to the plot. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll just say that it was a twist I didn’t see coming–and when it finally played out, I was thrilled. But the real magic to me was how Klages brought 1940 San Francisco to life in these pages. You can feel the love the author and the characters have for the city, and the scenes feel perfectly designed to showcase the city in all of its excitement and grit, from well-known landmarks to seedier underground bars. This is also an excellent pick if you like books about a sisterhood of women who support and love each other, with a dash of epic romance. It doesn’t end tragically, although the ending might not be what you expect.
Bonus: This is a novella, so if you read it you’ll fulfill one of the Read Harder 2020 challenges! (It’s over 120 pages, but that’s okay!)
Happy reading!
Tirzah
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