“The Final Strife” Review

“The Final Strife (The Ending Fire Trilogy No. 1)” by Saara El-Arifi

The Empire rules by blood

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.

Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.

Clear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible.

The Aktibar – a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire – is about to begin.

All can join but not just anyone can win; it requires great skill and ingenuity to become the future wardens of Strength, Knowledge, Truth and Duty.

Sylah was destined to win the trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. Stolen by blue-blooded rebels she was raised with a Duster’s heart; forged as a weapon to bring down from within the red-blooded Embers’ regime of cruelty. But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust.

However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn.

Review

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were really interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. The word building was great – I really liked how everything started to come together as the story progressed and the characters learned more. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and not everything was as it seemed. I liked the way the different relationships grew and developed during the course of the book. Though it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger it does set up the threads of the next book, which I’m looking forward to reading soon.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Final Strife”.

Book Details

Author’s Website
Saara El-Arifi
Publisher / Date
HarperVoyager, June 2022
Genre
Fantasy
Page Count
478 pages
Completion Date
March 30, 2025

“The Tensorate Series” Review

“The Tensorate Series” by Neon Yang

Across four novellas, Neon Yang established themself as a fantasist in bold defiance of the limitations of their genre. Available now in a single volume, these four novellas trace the generational decline of an empire and unfurl a world that is rich and strange beyond anything you’ve dreamed.

In the Tensorate Series you will find: rebellious nonbinary scions of empire, sky-spanning nagas with experimental souls, revolutionary engineers bent on bringing power to the people, pugilist monks, packs of loyal raptors, and much, much more.

The Tensorate Series omnibus contains The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, and To Ascend to Godhood

Review

This was such an interesting series! The format of the third and fourth novellas are very different from the first two but I enjoyed reading all of them. I loved learning about the world and the characters. There were a few times I wished things had been explained a bit more, but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the series. If the author were to ever write more in this world I would definitly read it.

1) The Black Tides of Heaven: Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, who rules the empire are introduced. They were sold to the Grand Monastery as infants as payment for a debt. As they grow to adulthood Mokoya develops visions of the future while Akeha grows more discontent with their situation. Soon after reaching adulthood Akeha leaves to find their own destiny.

I really liked the way this one played out as the children grow up and explore their world. The relationship between the twins is great. Given how things played out I thought it made sense for Akeha to need to leave to figure things out. While the ending did feel a little abrupt it did make sense for the story being told and resolved a lot of what Akeha had been looking for.

2) The Red Threads of Fortune : Set a few years after the events of the previous story, Mokoya’s daughter was killed in an accident causing her to leave her old life behind. Currently Mokoya to hunts deadly creatures in the outer reaches of the kingdom. During one such hunt she meets Rider, but all is not as it seems.

I enjoyed reading this story – I thought a lot of things made sense with the way Mokoya was acting even though her actions weren’t always great. In this story we do learn a bit more about how the “magic” of the world works as well as Mokoya’s prophecies which I enjoyed. Again I liked the relationships between all the characters. The ending felt a bit more resolved in this one at least as far Mokoya’s story. The overall issues of the world are still there in the background but were never really the main point which is fine.

3) The Descent of Monsters: Set sometime after the second novella this one is told entirely in the form of letters between people investigating something terrible that has happened at an institute for experimental methods, and the journal entries of one of the investigators. There is a subplot involving Rider (from the previous book) and their own missing twin.

This one was interesting. The format isn’t usually my cup of tea but I ended up liking it a lot because it all flowed really well. The focus is on the main investigator for the case but he end ups meeting up with the rest of the characters from the previous plots. Still all told in journal entries we find out what happened and how the case was solved. Some might feel the ending doesn’t answer a few questions but I thought it gave enough hints to suggest where things were going.

4) To Ascend to Godhood: Set sometime farther into the future when the Protector has died. Lady Han tells her story of how she met the Protector while at a tavern in the aftermath. There are bits before and after the prequel story that give some hints at what has gone on, and what will happen next.

I thought this was an interesting way to finish up the series – and as an individual story I really did enjoy learning about Lady Han’s history with the Protector. It’s the shortest novella in the collection and while it’s a rambling story about the past, it fits in with the rest of the novellas as part of the larger world.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Tensorate Series”

Book Details

The book cover has many different patterns and designs on the cover set against a black background with red hues at the top right. There plants at the  at the bottom spaced around the curls of a dragons tail and water spouts around the tail and balls of fire. There are yellow symbols that have dragons drawn inside them. The title is written across the top with the authors name above the title.

Author’s Website
Neon Yang
Publisher / Date
Tor.com, September 2021
The individual novellas were originally published from 2017 to 2019
Genre
Science Fiction, Fantasy
Page Count
480 (across 4 novellas give or take a few pages)

Completion Date
March 26, 2025

“Compound Fracture” Review

“Compound Fracture” by Andrew Joseph White

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidentally kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles

Review

Another great book by Andrew Joseph White! Since it set in modern times (shortly after President Trump’s first election) without a large fantasy element it’s a little different than his other books. Some of the plot seemed a bit far fetched on how things would go down. However the setting is small town Appalachia so maybe it works more than I think it would. I really enjoyed reading Miles’ story and finding more about what had happened to the family and who the ghost that appears to Miles ends up being. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. I really liked the way in this story Miles actually had a family that cared about him and other community members who were supportive against the threat of the Sheriff. I really liked the ending of the book as well and the hopefulness of what could come next for the town.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Compound Fracture”

Book Details

The book cover depicts a young man in the center of the cover with short hair wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt and a rad bandana around their neck. Their eye is bleeding and he has his hand up over it. There is a dog at his side looking like it's frowning at something to the right. Behind the man are trees and the image is framed by antlers around the top and sides. At the bottom is a barbwire fence with a banner held by railroad spikes and the title is on the banner. The authors name is at the top also written on a banner that is held across the top on two of the antlers

Author’s Website
Andrew Joseph White
Publisher / Date
Peachtree Teen, September 2024
Genre
Young Adult, Thriller
Page Count
371
Completion Date
March 21, 2025

Existing As I Am

As someone who has spent their entire life proving the doubters wrong with regard to disability, I am not surprised at the way things are going. When you live in a world where a baby’s potential value is judged within days after birth, it’s not surprising that some people would rather we just disappeared (or died).

I was born in 1979 in Texas, of all places. Apparently I came out the blue and it took a lot of work to keep me alive the first night. At least one doctor told my parents that even if I lived I’d be blind, deaf and intellectually disabled. Thankfully there was another doctor who said I’d most likely be fine. There’s even a story that I kicked out the sides of the incubator I was in at one point. Here I am four and a half decades later, and while I’m hard of hearing, have a facial disfigurement and vision issues, there’s no sign of an intellectual disability. Not that it should have mattered. All lives are worthy – having an intellectual disability shouldn’t have meant I was better off dead or institutionalized either.

A large issue with having to prove doubters wrong is the way we have to constantly prove our worth. Things like excellent behavior, getting the best grades in school, going to college, graduating with distinction, getting a good job and doing our best at it, are all signs that it is worth keeping us alive. We’re proving our worth to a society that thinks we shouldn’t exist at all. We shouldn’t have to prove anything – a disabled person who doesn’t do well in school or a job and struggles with everything shouldn’t deemed less worthy than someone who is successful. You only have to take one look at media that glorifies successful disabled people and says things like, “they never let their disability stop them” to see the truth. In reality it almost never is our disabilities stopping us. It was the ableism of society making assumptions about our worth. 

It’s not surprising that society also judges people based on their relationships. We’re supposed to date, get married and have kids all for the betterment of society. And of course, we must find someone of the opposite gender to do all of this with. Any deviation from that norm is seen as abnormal and wrong. Unfortunately, there is an assumption that disabled people are exempt from this because we’re not worthy enough to date, get married or have kids. As a result, some disabled people may strive to prove that assumption wrong by doing exactly what is expected.

Those of us who are asexual and/or aromantic are often assumed to be that way because of our disabilities, which causes conflict in both groups. The truth is we are asexual and/or aromantic while also being disabled, and not because of it, and there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that. I’ve known for years I was asexual – I never had any interest in dating or anything. Aromantic was a word I learned more recently and also fit. There isn’t any particular reason why I am asexual and aromantic, I just am. 

Gender has always been something in the background for me, as being hard of hearing and dealing with that – and other issues – took up most of my focus. I had to navigate communication issues with everyone, almost all of the time. It’s not fun having to remind people that I am in fact hard of hearing, even with my hearing aids on. As a result I never really thought about it all that much, other than knowing I didn’t enjoy typical girl things. I didn’t like dolls or makeup or bright colors that girls are often expected to like. But it is also true that my parents never really made that much of a big deal about it. 

Within the last few years, I’ve really come to understand what being non-binary or agender means, and realized that it describes me. Agender probably fits best as I don’t really feel particularly drawn to any gender specifically. Having said that, I generally don’t mind female-gendered terms, with some exceptions. I don’t particularly like being called lady, as an example. On the flip side, I would much rather be called my parents’ daughter than child, because I’m an adult and the word “offspring” just sounds weird. But these are my own personal preferences – everyone else should be allowed to describe themselves on their own terms.
 
As I said at the beginning, I’m not surprised at the direction we’re going right now. And as I work out my gender and learn more about the trans/non-binary communities I see the same battles and the same struggle to be allowed to exist. I recently read the article “The fight against ableism mirrors the fight against transphobia” written by Ayman Eckford at PinkNews, which has a lot to say about what’s going on. Anyone who doesn’t fit the assumed norm is under attack right now by the current administration, and as always it’s about ableism: 

“Throughout history, ableism has been used against women to justify gender inequality, against Jewish people to justify the Holocaust, against people of colour to justify slavery and colonialism, and, of course, against the LGBTQ+ community.”

I am Jen Rohrig. I am hard of hearing, asexual, aromantic, agender and likely autistic. Proving the doubters wrong is the goal every day. Existing exactly as I am is the goal every day. I believe we all deserve to be able to be exactly who we are and exist as who we are, because we’re all human, with our various identities and differences.

Reading List

  • “Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century” edited by Alice Wong
  • “Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism” by Elsa Sjunneson
  • “Black Disability Politics” by Sami Schalk
  • “The Future Is Disabled – Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
  • “Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity” by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project
  • “Gender: Your Guide: A Gender-Friendly Primer on What to Know, What to Say, and What to Do in the New Gender Culture” 2nd Edition by Lee Airton (make sure to get the 2024 edition)
  • “Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex” by Angela Chen
  • “Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture” by Sherronda J. Brown
  • “Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism, and Agender Identity” by Michael Paramo

“He/She/They” Review

“He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters” by Schuyler Bailar

Go‑to expert on gender identity, Schuyler Bailar, offers an essential, urgent guide that changes the conversation about gender identity and how we talk about it.

He/She/They uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the fundamental language and context of gender so that we can meet people where they are and pave the way to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion.

As a transgender man, inclusion advocate, and LGBTQ+ educator, Schuyler Bailar is more than familiar with the myriad questions that come up. In He/She/They, he addresses them head on, such as why being transgender is not a choice, why pronouns are important, and what is biological sex. But this book is more than a book on allyship; many of Schuyler’s vast followers come to him for support; one of his most popular reels is speaking to a young trans person who asks, “does it get better?”

He/She/They is an essential, urgent, and potentially life-saving book that will change the conversation about gender identity and how we talk about it, moving us toward a more equitable future.

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book. Schuyler did a really good job using both his personal story and additional facts about being trans to provide a lot of information. There was as lot of good information about what being Trans means and how gender is never as simple as male or female. He also had a lot of discussion about the discrimination Trans individuals face and how the sports and bathroom bans are a lot of manufactured outrage. He tells his own story about being a swimmer along with another trans athlete and how all the outrage is ridicule in the face of actual facts about their stats and the stats of other athletes in competition. I also like how Schuyler outlines various ways to handle working with other people to help them understand and how to respond to transphobic comments. The stories that Schuyler told about his own history were great too and I really enjoyed hearing about how his Korean family members responded to his transition. There are a lot of important things about this book and I think everyone should read it.

Additional reviews and warnings can be found on the StoryGraph page for “He/She/They”.

Book Details

The book cover is blue and is mostly taken up by the title of the book which is written in large font one word at a time on each line. Schuyler, a brown skinned Korean man with short black hair and a mustache wearing a white shirt and black pants  is sitting with his arms on his knees with his hands clasped in front of him.

Author’s Website
Schuyler Bailar

Publisher / Date
Hachette Go, October 2023
Genre
Non-Fiction, Essay Collection
Page Count
384
Completion Date
February 16, 2025

“Model Home” Review

“Model Home” by Rivers Solomon

The three Maxwell siblings keep their distance from the lily-white gated enclave outside Dallas where they grew up. When their family moved there, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. The neighbors acted nice enough, but right away bad things, scary things—the strange and the unexplainable—began to happen in their house. Maybe it was some cosmic trial, a demonic rite of passage into the upper-middle class. Whatever it was, the Maxwells, steered by their formidable mother, stayed put, unwilling to abandon their home, terrors and trauma be damned.

As adults, the siblings could finally get away from the horrors of home, leaving their parents all alone in the house. But when news of their parents’ death arrives, Ezri is forced to return to Texas with their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle, to reckon with their family’s past and present, and to find out what happened while they were away. It was not a “natural” death for their parents . . . but was it supernatural?

Rivers Solomon turns the haunted-house story on its head, unearthing the dark legacies of segregation and racism in the suburban American South. Unbridled, raw, and daring, Model Home is the story of secret histories uncovered, and of a queer family battling for their right to live, grieve, and heal amid the terrors of contemporary American life.

Review

I can always count on Rivers Solomon to write something deeply disturbing and powerful while exploring various themes and this book, with the central themes of trauma, memory, racism/segregation, and parenting, was no different. There are a lot of different layers to what was actually going on due to Ezri’s (along with their siblings’) memories not being completely reliable. It’s clear their ongoing trauma has caused all of their memories are muddled and mixed up with what they believe happened and what actually happened. The truth does come out in the end and it’s even worse than you might expect.

The writing style might take some getting used to as it’s somewhat stream of conscious deeply in Ezri’s head but I think it works once you get used to it. The ending is a bit abrupt and there are unanswered questions but it makes sense for the story. That said there is also the sense that the unresolved issues that still need to be worked out, between the siblings, will be more than they were before.

I will be re-reading Rivers Solomon’s other books to add reviews to my blog. I’ve enjoyed all of them!

Warnings and additional reviews can be found on the StoryGraph page for “Model Home” by Rivers Solomon

Book Details

The cover is sold green with the black drawing of a two story house with a front porch and triangle rooftops. There is an eyeball in place of one of the windows and a flames at the top left corner of the house. There appears to be a snake crawling out of the first floor window up towards the second floor. A spider is hanging from the top right roof. The title is at the top of the cover and the authors name at the bottom.

Author’s Website

Rivers Solomon
Publisher / Date
MCD, October 2024
Genre
Mystery, Thriller
Page Count
286
Completion Date
February 7, 2025