The Fifth Season

Patience pays off with this book. I struggled to get into it for the first 100 or so pages; the world-building is slow and sometimes painfully opaque, and it's hard to get invested in characters. I actually considered dropping it to read something else, but other reviews encouraged me to stick with it and I'm glad I did!

I love books that offer new or fresh perspectives. This is the first fantasy book I've read A) by a black female author B) that has a trans character and C) that explores a spectrum of sexuality in a non-stigmatizing way. The author plays with timelines and character development in a different way that kept me engaged, and often surprised. The writing is straight-forward, casual, and accessible, so it reads much faster than your average fantasy.

But above all, it's the message of this one that really resonates: humans aren't destroying the earth – the planet will go on. We're destroying ourselves.

Can't wait to read the next one – it ends with a lot of questions.