Jasper's Book Stash

part of the Jasper Blogging Universe | they/them

[jasper-book-stash]

After the disaster that was my attempt to do a live reading blog, here I am with a more proper book reading and review blog. As it turns out, I hate live-blogging and prefer to do something less restrictive.

So welcome, hi, I'm the Jasper behind @jasper-the-menace and @jasper-pagan-witch, along with the rest of the Jasper Blogging Universe.

Here I'm gonna talk about books I read. Maybe they'll even be good.

Guide to the Jasper Rating Scale

[jasper-book-stash]

Keeping in mind all of the racist, appropriative, and New Age-y elements of The Magic Of Tarot: Your Guide To Intuitive Readings, Rituals, And Spells by Sasha Graham, I have to say that "remove the scary cards from your deck and don't read to predict misfortune" is the part that finally broke me and made me DNF this book at page 72.

1 out of 10, I wouldn't even use it to wipe my ass. I will not recommend this book and I will not recommend this author. This book singlehandedly turned me off of her work forever.

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Here are some of the really bad parts of it near the end where I finally gave up!

This editing error where it was changed to black instead of blank, showing that no one actually fucking read through this book to edit it.

Section of note: A card a day. This practice is described later in this chapter. Dedicate a section to recording your daily pulls and insights. Begin with a black sheet of paper. Write your question on the top of the paper: "What do I need to know today?"

It was obviously meant to say blank rather than black.

This passage which made me go "girl, what?"

Section of note: Reading for pregnant women is something to consider before an expectant mother shows up in front of your cards. Are you willing to say or show something that could frighten a woman who is soon to be in the hospital? Consider the power of suggestion. The image of the Death card can be terrifying to one unfamiliar with its nuanced meaning. Do not run the risk of frightening or stressing out a pregnant woman. Avoid it altogether. Would you really want to bear the weight of responsibility for a woman in her last trimester to see the Eight or Nine of Swords or something equallly spooky that she might internalize? I have made it a personal rule to never read for a pregnant woman and highly advise you to do the same.

Honestly the section below it about drugs and alcohol is equally cringe-worthy but I was so fucking baffled by "cards may scare pregnant women" that I didn't even process the next paragraph.

And finally, the thing that broke me once and for all, the part where the author says to just remove scary cards from the deck because they might scare your querents.

Section of note: Remove scary cards if they freak you out. Tarot should not feel frightening. If something bothers you, remove it until you are ready to integrate it. You might consider removing scary cards when reading tarot for the public. Remove the Death card when reading for strangers since people tend to take that card at face value. You never know who is going to walk up or what experience or assumptions they hold about tarot cards. What if an eleven-year-old with a sick mother walks up to your table and pulls the Death card? Do you want to be responsible for putting that image in a child's mind? There is no right or wrong answer, but it is something for you to consider.

I love how she says "there's no right or wrong answer" after giving you instructions and leading you to what she obviously thinks is the right answer.

Overall, the infantilization of everyone in this book is one of its most annoying qualities, but I cannot stress enough that the repeated racism, appropriation, and New Age bullshit is enough on its own for me to rank it a 1 out of 10. Genuinely, skip this one.

[jasper-book-stash]

Keeping in mind all of the racist, appropriative, and New Age-y elements of The Magic Of Tarot: Your Guide To Intuitive Readings, Rituals, And Spells by Sasha Graham, I have to say that "remove the scary cards from your deck and don't read to predict misfortune" is the part that finally broke me and made me DNF this book at page 72.

1 out of 10, I wouldn't even use it to wipe my ass. I will not recommend this book and I will not recommend this author. This book singlehandedly turned me off of her work forever.

[jasper-book-stash]

But when the spell dissipated, she saw there weren't any wormies left standing. She found herself regarding instead about twenty men in heavy armor, most astride barded horses. Two were dismounted, making certain the wormies weren't going to get up. When they saw her, one of them doffed his helmet, revealing a dark Dunmer face.

"I'm glad we got here in time," he said. "We spied them chasing you from the hilltop a while back, but we had a lot of ground to cross." He bowed his head a little. "I'm Ilver Indarys, and these are the Knights of the Thorn."

"Mazgar gra Yagash," she said, "Imperial scouts."

"You were at Cheydinhal? You can tell us what happened? We were dealing with some of these things in the South---had no idea a whole army of them was coming down on the city. We found it empty."

"Most evacuated," she told him. "We held them back long enough to give the refugees a head start, and that's when we got cut off."

"Thanks Azura," he murmured. "That's good to know. They're on the Blue Road then? Ahead of that monstrous thing?"

"Yes, so far as I know," she replied.

"We need to join them, then," he said. "We have extra mounts, if you would like to ride with us."

-Lord Of Souls: An Elder Scrolls Novel by Greg Keyes, page 205

[jasper-book-stash]

When you're reading a tarot book and get hit with the combo multiplier of "feminine power"-third eye-chakras-Qabalah appropriation-the g slur-the word shaman used incorrectly-saying you don't need tarot cards in a book about tarot cards because "the universe" is already sending you messages and you haven't even made it out of the introduction yet

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Chat, I shit you not, it was all within four pages plus the table of contents.

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The book is The Magic Of Tarot by Sasha Graham. Needless to say, I've removed the decks she's made from my deck wishlist. This is really bad.

[jasper-book-stash]

When you're reading a tarot book and get hit with the combo multiplier of "feminine power"-third eye-chakras-Qabalah appropriation-the g slur-the word shaman used incorrectly-saying you don't need tarot cards in a book about tarot cards because "the universe" is already sending you messages and you haven't even made it out of the introduction yet

[jasper-book-stash]

Chat, I shit you not, it was all within four pages plus the table of contents.

[jasper-book-stash]

When you're reading a tarot book and get hit with the combo multiplier of "feminine power"-third eye-chakras-Qabalah appropriation-the g slur-the word shaman used incorrectly-saying you don't need tarot cards in a book about tarot cards because "the universe" is already sending you messages and you haven't even made it out of the introduction yet

[jasper-book-stash]

Did I die trying to get a glance at a girl's panties... ...And get reincarnated as Yamcha?!

-Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated As Yamcha by dragongarow LEE, page 14

[jasper-book-stash]

The Hyacinth Labyrinth by Jamie Pacton: Advance Reader's Copy

I was offered a free copy of this book in exchange for my genuine review, but I'm not getting paid for this. Frankly, I don't think you could pay me enough for this. I'm also not making brand new dividers for this post, so just cope with the purple roses and be glad that I at least got the colors right.

The Book & The Author

A whimsical adventure full of magic, fantastical road trips, and a sapphic slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance—for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. All magic begins in stories. That’s what Fae princess Hyacinth has always been told. As the unmagical daughter of Queen Mab, Hyacinth has never fit in at her mother’s court. She hopes that if she learns about her father, who disappeared fifteen years ago, she can finally learn more about herself. When Hyacinth and her friend Chloe—a human stablehand trapped in Fae—sneak off to a riverside night market, Hyacinth learns that her father was last seen heading to a library at the heart of a treacherous labyrinth. The problem: The labyrinth was built long ago by three goddesses, and no one has ever returned from it. Still, Hyacinth has to try. With the help of Chloe and a tiny dragon named Coffee, she defies Queen Mab and sets off into the wilds of the Moonshadow Kingdom. Along the way they face bandits, magical creatures, a centuries-old human who hosts an Endless Ball, and Hyacinth and Chloe’s growing feelings for each other. Meanwhile, an ancient power lies in wait at the center of the labyrinth, and it is eager to write the girls’ ending. A lush, fairycore, sapphic YA fantasy that returns readers to the Fae world introduced in Jamie Pacton’s bestselling novel The Absinthe Underground! Perfect for readers who love Sapphic Slow-Burn, Friends-to-Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, Princess/Lady Knight, Bodyguard Romance, Fae/Human Relationships, Only One Bed, and Stories Are Magic!

Jamie Pacton is a Middle Grade and Young Adult author who has been publishing books since at least 2020 with the release of the YA book The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly. Despite being referred to as a Middle Grade writer, I can't actually find any books she's written on her website that fall in that category. Her focus seems to be YA Contemporary, YA Fantasy, and Adult Fantasy at this time. She has mentioned working on an MG book coming up, but as of right now, details on that one are sparse. She has a BA and MA in English literature and currently teaches English at the college level. There's a lot more to her life, as can be seen in her media kit and her FAQ page.

The Hyacinth Labyrinth is a standalone (according to the Author's Note at the beginning) but set in the same world as The Vermilion Emporium and The Absinthe Underground, serving as something of a soft sequel and reintroducing the same characters. I have not read these books because...frankly I can't be arsed to, my TBR is already 80 books strong and still growing and I didn't see the other ones at my local bookstore, and I'm less than a month out from this book being officially published as of drafting this. So I will be judging this book as a standalone to see if it holds up to that claim.

The Good

I adore how casually queer this book is. Within the first pages, we have the budding romance between our leads introduced, a gay male relationship between a frog prince and a High Fae elf, a nonbinary dwarf in a relationship with a nymph girl, and just...so much casual queerness. It is exactly the sort of thing that I was hoping for with the things promised on the back cover.

The author eases us into mandatory information about previous events in a way that doesn't take away from the narration and doesn't feel like infodumping. Likewise, important information about our characters is established quickly and naturally, like Chloe being a twin and Hyacinth not having any magic.

Our two main characters are absolutely lying to each other and they are doing it for very, very good reason. Chloe is lying because it's dangerous to be a human in Fae. Hyacinth is lying because it's dangerous to be a magicless princess in Fae. And they're so desperate to keep their own secrets and maintain their own lies that they're completely unable to notice that the other is lying their ass off too. It genuinely takes things going bad both times for both of their secrets to be revealed to the other because these teenagers get no breaks.

That and the yearning. Dear gods, the yearning. It is so palpable and on nearly every page (not even an exaggeration). There is exactly zero question that these characters are yearning for each other, none of this is left in subtext, it is loud and proud.

I genuinely appreciate how important family is throughout this story. Chloe is constantly thinking about her twin sister that she left behind in the human world. Hyacinth is looking for her missing father. We even meet more unexpected members of Hyacinth's family along the way. The story is about love in multiple forms, not just romantic love.

I enjoyed the setting descriptions of where the characters were, but I also found them incredibly short. Each time, it was the length of a paragraph or two, with enough detail to paint the broader strokes of the scene but not enough to fill in the more minor things. Character descriptions were often the same way if the character resembled a human.

The entirety of what happened in the Hall of the Mountain King was fantastic. Holy shit, talk about a twisted antagonist. Exactly the kind of villain I would make and exactly as fucked up as I would make it. I'm almost jealous I didn't think of it first. Shoutout to Hellebore, true MVP (Most Valuable Pixie) of that section.

The resource management aspect was unexpected, yet I deeply appreciate it. With two non-magical characters suffering through a journey, knowing and repeating what they still have access to is helpful and prevents a later ass-pull. This book was very good at follow-through.

Coffee is perfect and I would kill someone for him. The end and reveal of his identity was fantastic.

I want Maurelle to kiss me under the moonlight. I'm aroace but I am willing to make an exception.

And finally, it felt like everything logically worked out. Sure, there were some wild things, but the four-month-later epilogue smoothed out the loose ends like an epilogue should.

The Bad & The Ugly

I know some of this is because this is an ARC and thus not fully edited, but good gods the writing feels too amateur sometimes. And I don't believe that a book being aimed at a younger demographic means that the writing should be low-quality.

The Neutral

This is a nitpick more than anything, but despite being tagged as princess/lady knight, Chloe is very pointedly not a knight. She knows how to use a sword, but that's from independent training. There's none of the devotion and oath-sworn yearning that I expect and want out of that sort of dynamic.

Final Thoughts

...Huh. Huh. You know, usually I come out of books feeling pretty damn mean about them. But this one? This one was pretty damn good. Obviously as an ARC it has some editing issues, and some of the pacing felt a bit off at times, but ultimately this was an incredible book.

But to answer the question I initially posed: Did it work as a standalone? I would say...yes. Sure, the previous books might help give context to the world, particularly the human one we only see snippets of, but I enjoyed being immersed entirely in Fae and keeping up with characters who have already been through some shit.

Would I recommend it to the age group offered on the back, which is 14+? Yes. I believe it is quite appropriate for that age, even with a 17-year-old and 18-year-old pair of protagonists.

Did this book deliver on what it promised? Yes, undoubtedly.

Final Rating: 9 out of 10

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[lucy-the-wyrm]

Animals like me, but I occasionally think they must find me frustrating, as they stare and twitch at unknown spirits and I say inane things like 'Who's a good fellow, then?' and 'Does kitty want a treat?' (Look, if you don't make a fool of yourself over animals, at least in private, you aren't to be trusted. that was one of my father's maxims, and it's never failed me yet.)

What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher

[jennamacaroni]

Aye, our lives are short and shaped by circumstance, and maybe we can't control most of what's to come. But we can control how we feel. We can savor the sweetness of a blackberry scone, and the company of our friends, and the warmth of the summer wind at night, and be grateful for it. We can be nothing, and choose to be miserable about it, like you–or we can be nothing, but choose to be happy, and let that be purpose enough. Which sounds more worthwhile to you?

Julie Leong, "The Teller of Small Fortunes"

[jasper-book-stash]

And who was I? A flawless Christian woman. The manic pixie American dream girl of this nation's deepest, darkest fantasies. The mother every woman wanted to be, and the wife every man wanted to come home to. Like a nun in a porno, it didn't make sense, but also, by God: it worked. My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

-Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, page 4

[lucy-the-wyrm]

After she is safe. After she has her inheritance and her own place again, and she can spurn you if she wishes. To do so now would either force her to forgive you when she should not or abandon you when she dares not, and neither option is fair. And you're afraid. If she does abandon you, even if it is no more than you deserve, you will lose her. She looked over at him and smiled, and Sarkis wondered what he would promise her, to keep her from abandoning him, and did not know the answer.

Swordheart - T. Kingfisher

[whaleb0nez]

it is always interesting to see how often women are described as ravenous when it is the men who, without exception, take without thought of compensation.

— the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

Have you read The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable (2012)?

yes

no

I didn't finish it

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onJun 11

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

Have you read Spellbinder by Helen Stringer (2009)?

yes

no

I didn't finish it

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onJun 11

[whaleb0nez]

— the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw)