Ally

This one is set in Penang, Malaysia, under British colonial rule in the early 20th century. The chapters alternate between Lesley's first person POV and the third person of her house guest, the (real-life) famous author W. Somerset Maugham. Eventually, Lesley begins to confess to him the story of an interesting era of her life, presuming he will use this as material for his next book. Through this, we explore complicated marriages, as well as the politics of the era, particularly those of Sun Yat Sen. The polite racism, misogyny, and homophobia felt apt for the era and setting. 

I loved the descriptions of Penang, its people and culture. I enjoyed the characters and their various personalities. I liked the doors analogies and writing generally. And really, I devoured the whole story. But there was an undercurrent that a major revelation was coming and that ended up being a touch underwhelming for me. 

This book did what I love for historical fiction books to do - it taught me about a time and place about which I knew little (or nothing).

This is a debut novel, set in a reimagined but familiar version of the colonized Caribbean. Sofia is a recently freed-woman, who is determined to find her brother, who went missing along with their (former) master years ago. They visited the vacation island of Isla Bestia, where guests experience a luxury Carnaval for the duration of their stay, and haven't been seen since. Sofia and Adelina, her white best friend, set off for Isla Bestia, determined to solve the mystery, but get swept into the Carnaval experience themselves.

The book excels when we're caught up in the fever dream of the Carnaval nights and when Sofia is trying break through the confines of her own mind to figure out exactly what's going on. I loved the incorporation of indigenous mythology and the aspects of vengeance & reclamation of power. There were parts where I couldn't put the book down because I was so enthralled.

But without revealing any spoilers, some of it just didn't completely come together for me. That and instances where the prose felt a little forced were my biggest cons. As not a huge fantasy reader, this is exactly the type of fantasy I DO like though!