In the Vanishers’ Palace

This was both interesting and weird and finally, let me unsure about my feelings for the book. The Vanisher's Palace was kinda cool but the magic system with words was pretty confusing. The characters were okay but I liked the twins more than the MCs or their romantic plotline. And I think I'm having quite a bit of bad luck that I keep picking up these books with contagious diseases or viruses during the pandemic - so if you wanna read this novella, this is probably not the right time.

I loved the representation though - a sapphic romance, an all Vietnamese cast, multiple characters using they/them pronouns and in general, nobody's gender is assumed. I think my rating is definitely more for the inclusiveness of the world as well as the idea of the story. Maybe I could have connected to it more if the story was longer.

This review is based on an #ARC given to me for free by the author. This does not in any way affect my review. This book is slated for release on Oct. 18, 2018.



So I admit to being a wee bit leery of fairytale retellings because there's plenty floating out there that aren't all that good, but this one. THIS ONE JUST MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO READ Y'ALL. It takes elements from Vietnamese folklore and combines it with a pinch of Lovecraft to create the sci-fi/fantasy post-apocalyptic setting I didn't know I wanted. Then it weaves this gorgeous sapphic love story into that setting, all while raising questions about consent, doing the right thing even if it's the hardest thing, and taking responsibility for one's own mistakes. It's delightfully deep and dark and wonderful and I would not mind another story in this setting and/or with these characters. Grab it when it comes out on Oct. 18; you won't regret it ;D.

This is not a review of the book, because I didn't actually read the book. I did listen to a couple of minutes of it on audio. This is also not to be used to encourage anyone to read or not read this book. This is simply a note for my own edification as to why it was on my list to read and then disappeared with me remembering nothing about it.Note to self: Same narrator as [b:The Red Threads of Fortune 33099586 The Red Threads of Fortune (Tensorate #2) J.Y. Yang https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485291555l/33099586.SY75.jpg 53763118]. My library only has it as an audiobook. I am not interested in spending over five bucks for less than two hundred pages. Why was I interested in this in the first place? Was I that swayed by a (ostensibly) f/f romance in a non-European setting fantasy? (Probably.) Do your proper research, girl, before deciding that you want to read a book. You could save us all a lot of trouble.