Pride Reads: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

There are numerous lists (yay!) of amazing books to read during Pride Month, and all year long! Here is one of my favorites!

Available Now

I absolutely loved this story! LOVED IT! If you love fairy tale retellings, especially ones that point out every sexist and problematic element, then is the perfect book for you.

On Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, she finds herself dying, surrounded by rose petals, at the top of a tower. Now, Zinnia has been dying since the day she was born. Genetic abnormalities caused by environmental pollutions has caused irreparable damage to her body and Zinnia knows she has maybe one more year left to live. After a birthday party thrown by her absolute best friend Charm, Zinnia finds herself faced with a spinning wheel just like a real-life Aurora.

What Zinnia doesn’t anticipate, is finding herself transported to a fairy tale world with another Aurora-like character, Princess Primrose who is destined to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years on her twenty-first birthday.

So what happens when you combine two real-life Sleeping Beauties who don’t feel compelled to follow the story written for them? They set out to write their own.

This is a short little novella that packs a huge emotional punch. I loved this book from the very first page and found myself laughing out loud and cheering on Zinnia and Primrose as they fought for their freedom. I’m a huge sucker for books with awesome friendships and Zinnia finds a fast ally in Primrose but also has the world’s best friend in Charm, her friend since elementary school. They are all fiercely protective of each other and have no problem calling each other on their nonsense. Charm doesn’t let Zin get too down and Zin doesn’t let Charm get too lost in searching for an answer to Zin’s illness. I found myself relating to the overprotectiveness of Zin’s parents and Zin’s need to break away and become her own person with the little time she had left. Some tears were definitely shed during this book but it was easily balanced by all the amazing one-liners and banter between the characters.

A Spindle Splintered is an excellent feminist retelling of one our most loved and problematic fairy tales. It’s subversive, funny, dark, and full of wildly beautiful illustrations.

If you would like to add this novella to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Available Now

Hey all! This week is the #TransRightsReadathon and I’m rounding up some of my favorite books by, or featuring, trans people. If you’d like more information about the origins and goals of this movement, you can find it here.

This is a brutal, violent book that deals with death, abuse, suicidal ideation, assault, alcoholism, and torture.

If you, like me, get excited when you find out a book is 400 pages of feminist rage, this is the book for you! Zetian Wu has lived her whole life at the mercy of her family. Her sole purpose is to sacrifice herself so the family may succeed. When her older sister dies, Zetian focuses her rage on the person responsible and vows revenge.

Set in a future China, a battle rages between humans and the massive aliens beyond the Great Wall. Using Chrysalises, giant mechanical robots (kind of, it’s so complicated) that require one male and one female to join their life forces to pilot. One extremely unfortunate side effect of this arrangement is that the female pilots die in nearly battle, sacrificing themselves to save the male pilot. Shortly after enlisting, much to the disappointment of a young, wealthy man who offered to marry her, Zetian is given her chance to kill the pilot who sacrificed her sister. His death was fast, brutal, and gave her the title of Iron Widow. Unfortunately for the higher ups, Zetian is an incredibly powerful warrior and with nothing to lose, they have no leverage against her and she’s too valuable to kill.

When Zetian is paired with the terrifying and notorious Li Shimin, Zetian believes it’s a death sentence. Addicted to alcohol, known for violent outbursts, and convicted of killing his entire family, Li Shimin appears to be as volatile as he is deadly. What Zetian quickly realizes, is that Li Shimin is a pawn in a twisted government plot and feels deeply about the girls who have died as his partner. Luckily for both Zetian and Li Shimin, that young, wealthy man who wanted to marry Zetian has found his way to her and is able to work with both of them in an official capacity.

As Zetian points out over and over again, is a triangle is the strongest shape…

Iron Widow is a fast paced, thrilling, scream of a book. Zetian’s rage is palpable and she holds nothing back. She is an absolute force and a joy to follow in her adventures. I loved this book so much! It looks like it’ll be part of a duology and I’m really excited to see how the story moves further.

If you would to hear the author pronounce all the characters names, you can find it here.

If you would like your own copy, you can find ordering options here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Available Now

This is a brutal, violent book that deals with death, abuse, suicidal ideation, assault, alcoholism, and torture.

If you, like me, get excited when you find out a book is 400 pages of feminist rage, this is the book for you! Zetian Wu has lived her whole life at the mercy of her family. Her sole purpose is to sacrifice herself so the family may succeed. When her older sister dies, Zetian focuses her rage on the person responsible and vows revenge.

Set in a future China, a battle rages between humans and the massive aliens beyond the Great Wall. Using Chrysalises, giant mechanical robots (kind of, it’s so complicated) that require one male and one female to join their life forces to pilot. One extremely unfortunate side effect of this arrangement is that the female pilots die in nearly battle, sacrificing themselves to save the male pilot. Shortly after enlisting, much to the disappointment of a young, wealthy man who offered to marry her, Zetian is given her chance to kill the pilot who sacrificed her sister. His death was fast, brutal, and gave her the title of Iron Widow. Unfortunately for the higher ups, Zetian is an incredibly powerful warrior and with nothing to lose, they have no leverage against her and she’s too valuable to kill.

When Zetian is paired with the terrifying and notorious Li Shimin, Zetian believes it’s a death sentence. Addicted to alcohol, known for violent outbursts, and convicted of killing his entire family, Li Shimin appears to be as volatile as he is deadly. What Zetian quickly realizes, is that Li Shimin is a pawn in a twisted government plot and feels deeply about the girls who have died as his partner. Luckily for both Zetian and Li Shimin, that young, wealthy man who wanted to marry Zetian has found his way to her and is able to work with both of them in an official capacity.

As Zetian points out over and over again, is a triangle is the strongest shape…

Iron Widow is a fast paced, thrilling, scream of a book. Zetian’s rage is palpable and she holds nothing back. She is an absolute force and a joy to follow in her adventures. I loved this book so much! It looks like it’ll be part of a duology and I’m really excited to see how the story moves further.

If you would to hear the author pronounce all the characters names, you can find it here.

If you would like your own copy, you can find ordering options here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Available Now

I absolutely loved this story! LOVED IT! If you love fairy tale retellings, especially ones that point out every sexist and problematic element, then is the perfect book for you.

On Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, she finds herself dying, surrounded by rose petals, at the top of a tower. Now, Zinnia has been dying since the day she was born. Genetic abnormalities caused by environmental pollutions has caused irreparable damage to her body and Zinnia knows she has maybe one more year left to live. After a birthday party thrown by her absolute best friend Charm, Zinnia finds herself faced with a spinning wheel just like a real-life Aurora.

What Zinnia doesn’t anticipate, is finding herself transported to a fairy tale world with another Aurora-like character, Princess Primrose who is destined to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years on her twenty-first birthday.

So what happens when you combine two real-life Sleeping Beauties who don’t feel compelled to follow the story written for them? They set out to write their own.

This is a short little novella that packs a huge emotional punch. I loved this book from the very first page and found myself laughing out loud and cheering on Zinnia and Primrose as they fought for their freedom. I’m a huge sucker for books with awesome friendships and Zinnia finds a fast ally in Primrose but also has the world’s best friend in Charm, her friend since elementary school. They are all fiercely protective of each other and have no problem calling each other on their nonsense. Charm doesn’t let Zin get too down and Zin doesn’t let Charm get too lost in searching for an answer to Zin’s illness. I found myself relating to the overprotectiveness of Zin’s parents and Zin’s need to break away and become her own person with the little time she had left. Some tears were definitely shed during this book but it was easily balanced by all the amazing one-liners and banter between the characters.

A Spindle Splintered is an excellent feminist retelling of one our most loved and problematic fairy tales. It’s subversive, funny, dark, and full of wildly beautiful illustrations.

If you would like to add this novella to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Available July 6, 2021

Unless you’re a Book of the Month member, it was available as a June pick!

I have never been the biggest King Arthur fan. I love mythology, royalty, and palace intrigue, for sure, but there was always so much focus on the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur himself that the stories always fell a little short with me. Half Sick of Shadows has completely changed the way I look at the lore surrounding the Lady of the Lake and Arthur´s journey to the throne. In Half Sick of Shadows, Laura Sebastian tells the legend of Arthur´s rise to power, but through the lens of the women who made his ascension possible.

Haunted for most of her life by dreams of her own death, Lady Elaine was seen by many at court as a mad woman. Her overbearing and agoraphobic mother only amplified those feelings and made Elaine feel even more alone. When Morgana makes an appearance at court, Elaine finds herself drawn to her boldness fearlessness. After Morgana questions Elaine about her mysterious dreams, Elaine discovers that she is not mad, she is a powerful oracle in need of training and guidance.

With this new information in hand, Elaine finds herself on a magical adventure in Avalon with her new best friends Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Lance. Idyllic days spent learning magic, romping through the woods, and taking part in wild bonfire parties. But the dreamlike days can´t last forever. Told through multiple timelines and Elaine´s mystical visions, the real story behind Arthur´s ascension and the powerful women who stood by his side for years, is told.

I absolutely loved Laura Sebastian´s writing. Sebastian makes you feel like you´re Elaine, writing in your journal or trusting your secrets to a best friend. Sebastian also gives us more than just a feminist retelling, she gives us an intimate look at the relationships between some of the most well known characters in literature. We know that Arthur will go on to greatness, but Half Sick of Shadows shows us the insecurities, the doubts, and the struggles that went in to that journey. Elaine faces even more pressure than Arthur. Every vision is a burden. She has seen how her friends die, how they betray one another, how they hurt, help, and love each other. Every vision leads Elaine needing to make an impossible decision between her friends and one of the greatest prophecies.

As Elaine, Morgana, and Gwen sacrifice their happiness over and over again to ensure Arthur´s rise to power, we see the toll those sacrifices take on them and their friendship. Over and over again, the women refer to their mission of ensuring Arthur´s success, that everything they are doing is for Arthur and Arthur must always come first. You can feel their love and dedication for him, but you can also feel their frustration of having to limit their power and desires in service to their mission. Seeing the way they weigh every decision, every calculation, every effect on their friendships and their lives really showed how vital they were to the success of Arthur and his Kingdom. It´s a really interesting take on the tale and made for a lovely reading experience.

Half Sick of Shadows is a beautiful, haunting tale of friendship, family, and the lengths we are willing to go to protect the ones we love. If you have any interest in King Arthur, definitely add this to your list. You will not be disappointed.

This was offered as an early release from Book of the Month in June. I personally love BOTM and the selection of the books that are offered every month. If youŕe wanting to try it yourself, you can use my link: https://www.mybotm.com/5f24d9c326b8?show_box=true and we´ll both win.

If you would like to add this amazing tale to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.