Sorel Estrada

Beautiful and Heartwarming

The Tea Dragon series is marvellous. I'm very biased towards it for many reasons, so I'm afraid this will just be a very complimentary review! If you like friendly dragons, gentle stories, are stressed out, and want more inclusive storytelling that is naturally written, read it! Read them all! Did you know there's a really cute card game? And plushes that might not be available anymore! (but I have them, and they're great!) Life is hard. Read nice books about dragons.

I'm surprised to see such an excellent graphic novel not have a higher average rating at the time of this review, so let me just say how worth your time it is! The art is enchanting, the story is heart-warming, and I love the educational value as well!

With all the stories out there which vilify robots and AI, I internally cheered finding a graphic novel showing that your character isn't dependent upon the shell your mind lives in. Who we are is what we do. I can't wait to read the second volume. 🤖💜🌿🐸✨

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom was outstanding! There was a lot I could relate to, both as someone with similar mental health issues, an artist, and a POC. As an adult, I enjoy reading YA and middle grade fantasy because it tends to be a little more hopeful. I can say confidently that people of all ages will enjoy this book. It would be especially beneficial for t(w)eens of colour struggling with OCD who love Fantasy reads.

Mandanna's voice is delightful. Kiki is a character you really root for and empathise with. I think everyone is accustomed to stories of normal people turned traditional heroes fighting bad guys, but no one thinks about what would happen if they were confronted with such overwhelming circumstances. You might run away at first. Could you actually learn to fight?

The thing is, it doesn't take monsters from books to feel like you can't be brave. I like that this is a story of someone finding their own way to fight, and after a lot of failing. Kiki reminds us that it's okay to be human.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this wonderful love story. It was genuine, had perfect flow, and the world building was truly fascinating. I am a huge SciFi nerd, along the likes of 90s/00s Star Trek, Stargate, et cetera, so I'm more about that perfect balance of character building, futurism, cultural study, and romance.

This checked all my boxes! As a nonbinary individual, it was great having a nonbinary character who played an important role, not to mention, the interesting anatomical sex and binary gender role differences.

Ann Aguirre did such fantastic work developing a culture and societal structure. I'm so excited to read the second book that I received for free for signing up for her mailing list. I really hope we hear more from Beryl and Zylar in the future. I love them! I would love to know what happens next for them!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the sweet and passionate relationship between Jane and Morgan, and the secrets about Morgan's world we did get to learn. I only wish that such an interesting background could have been explored more and that what was learned was done more by showing than long question and answer sessions between Jane and Morgan.

Nonetheless, I still loved it and give it five stars! I know fantasy isn't the author's usual genre, and I hope E.J. continues to write more fantasy LesFic. It's an incredibly underserved genre, especially one where the main characters get their happy endings.

It's so nice to see more authors writing urban, light-hearted fantasy where the characters are brought into the present day and are highly relatable. The two women come from completely different backgrounds and secretly adore each other but neither feels worthy enough.

Would absolutely recommend, even to folks who aren't typically into fantasy. This is just a beautiful love story about two women taking risks and reluctantly allowing themselves to be vulnerable.

Sincerely, I wanted to enjoy this, and I feel like I gave it a fair shot. At first glance, I thought it was a bit odd it sounded like a retelling of Rozen Maiden, but it's not like the idea of dolls coming to life is unique. That isn't what put me off.

At first, I noticed a few minor editing errors. It happens. Eventually, it became difficult to ignore. The writing felt like someone somewhat young, perhaps an anime fan, trying hard to use vocabulary they don't normally use. I mention an anime fan not due to the reference above but because of modes of speech common in English-translated anime and manga, which enthusiastic anime fans use in their own speech and writing.

To be clear, I think young authors publishing their work is wonderful! However, it sounds inauthentic to write in a forced narrative voice.

Dialogue felt very unnatural, especially between Ella and the Professor's granddaughter. In her doll state, Ella is supposed to think and feel like she's 12, (work that one out for me but whatever,) and the granddaughter is literally a child. Their conversation style is inconsistent, and it's as if the author hasn't bothered to spend much time listening to how children and young adolescents speak to each other.

The quality of the writing in general was all over the place. I get the impression the author had an editor in some sections and definitely not others. I can come back and cite each passage if anyone wants more detail, but I don't want to overwhelm the author with a flood of criticism. To summarize, there was a lot of awkwardness, some misuses of words and phrases, ill conceived plot points with easy fixes, and some discrimination I want to talk about in the next paragraph.

I can handle writing that needs improvement to a point. This was pushing my limit, but I was trying to be patient. What annoys me the most is discrimination that's written into the story either unknowingly or intentionally via the author's voice, not as a way to show a character's struggle amidst adversity, even when someone believes they are being well intentioned. I don't think this author hates disabled people, but I also don't think they exactly considered us either.

I have to deal with this kind of stuff daily, and when I'm reading to escape, it's obviously not what I'm looking for. As a disabled person with a degenerative condition, I know first hand how difficult it is to lose the ability to walk, especially as a performer. I am a musician, and now, music something I enjoy differently. I can walk a little still, but not enough to get on with my life as I did.

There were definitely moments that I felt sorry for myself, but never in a million years would I let someone suggest that my body was no longer good enough, like the main character does. If someone thought for a moment they needed to wipe my memories to “help me heal,” like the Professor, because there was no other way I could be the recipient/generator of “positive vibes,” they would be out on their bottom. I'd use my wheelchair as a metaphorical ram to figuratively force them to the bloody curb.

Needless to say, I stopped reading at 83%, I don't suggest you read “Broken Doll.” My crippled body doesn't need to be any different to be a successful human and neither do my peers'. There isn't a cure for what I have, surgery makes it worse, and I've accepted my life. I can live a happy, rich, fulfilling, active life, and be a realistically-minded person as I am. (...and wheelchair dancing is a real thing that exists to anyone interested.)

Instead of buying this book that invalidates the disabled experience, here's a Goodreads list of disabled authors you could choose from:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/103171.Books_Written_by_Disabled_Authors

Every feminist needs to read this.

This is a work of true beauty. It was an honour reading a female, feminist, Nigerian perspective. Ms. Adichie has such a compassionate spirit and if only the world could learn to adapt similarly. If only the world could see black, brown, disabled, non gender conforming, and curvaceous beauty is just as wonderful as what mainstream media is selling lately. Keep fighting, friends.