Mary E. Roach

A queer fantasy romance set in nondescript ye olde agrarian tavern-having psuedo-medieval times but written like the narrator lives on Tumblr. The characters are pleasant, the story (there's a quest) is entertaining, and the humor humors along. In the same way that I really do enjoy writers like Wodehouse and Pratchett but often tire of their bits and their style before I'm all the way through any given novel, I found the relentless meme-ified, tropey, AO3-tag-y, Tumbler in-jokey mode the show more book is written in to wear thin at times. It's all very *very* on purpose and firmly tongue-in-cheek (and any given joke and reference is well done), but I was occasionally muttering "enough already." That being said, it's tender, it's queer, it's cozy, it's entertaining, and YMMV on how happy you are to roll around in the fandom-adjacent extremely online-ery of the thing. show less

With a sense of eerie and a full-load of monsterly fun, this novel draws in with tons of imagination and heart.

The four sisters are hoping to remain in their latest foster home together and not be pushed off to a new one again, or worse, split apart. They know that it's not easy for a family to keep all four of them, so they do their best to 'help out'. It doesn't help that each of them is a monster, one different from the other. Of course, they have to keep this a secret at any cost. With show more Halloween approaching, the eldest of the four, Meg, is determined to help her siblings dress up in costumes. She even has taken on a job next door collecting chicken eggs to raise the funds. But nothing is easy. Not only is the boy next door suspicious that she's carrying a secret, but a strange beast is haunting the woods...and if Meg doesn't figure out who or what this beast is, all secrets might be exposed. And that would be catastrophic.

From the very first page, it's clear that this is an enjoyable read. Meg and her sisters are a wonderful group with very different personalities. Their interactions carry all the push-and-pull sisters have with ups and downs. Meg does her best to hold everything together, which is already difficult in their situation, but she battles with constantly extending teeth and nails whenever she gets upset. Which happens a lot since she's only thirteen. The creepy factor dances along in the background without ever growing too scary. Instead, the dangerous balance Meg and her siblings have to hold add as much to the tension as any monster might.

It's hard to put this book down, since there's always something happen whether it be action, tension, a touch of humor, or relationship struggles...all hitting the middle grade range nicely. The girls react understandably, and their worries are easy to sympathize with. The world around them is also well built and adds a fun twist, since this is placed in Salem...so it's clear that there's more going on than even the four sisters realize. This adds to the mystery in a way, which has the reader automatically guessing at what is really behind the beast in the woods.

There is a tiny bit of first crushes with the boy next door involved, but this stays well fit for the age group, too. It definitely adds an interesting twist and ups the tension, since his presence holds dangers, too. So there's a lot going on....a lot to enjoy the entire way through. show less

Two friends—who really should have become a couple ages ago—unexpectedly find themselves on a quest to slay a dragon.

This could have been a great parody of cozy romantasy novels; it's got all of the ridiculous tropes, from a lack of beds at inns to an overabundance of food descriptions and the author obviously expects us to find it funny. Unfortunately, the author also seems to think it's enough to just pile up the tropes and not bother to make anything humorous out of them, or even show more write more than a tissue thin story to go with them.

I don't hate Bromantasy, but I was low-key annoyed by it because it has a fun concept that was completely mishandled.

Received via NetGalley. show less

The tag line "Two heroes, one brain cell" is very funny, but sadly it's the funniest thing about this book! There are some jokes, mainly of the "thing in fantasy world is slightly skewed version of real world thing" variety—and I guess, around the idea that a bunch of skincare-obsessed gays are going around covering themselves in tallow. But overall the tone isn't that humorous and the heroes aren't anywhere near as dumb as they could be.

The romance plot is very much like a TJ Klune novel show more (specifically the Bear & Otter series) and is well done, in that you feel the two leads care deeply for each other, but a little frustrating in that it's both predictable and the one specific thing the heroes are actually idiots about—but not in a funny way! show less