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legs_mcgee's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Neon Hemlock Press for an eARC of OFF-TIME JIVE!
This was a quick and exciting novella, OFF-TIME JIVE makes me excited to see what else A.Z. Louise has up their sleeve. I often say that I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but I think Louise has the perfect approach to a grounded speculative fiction: the magical system is grounded in a vivid alternative Harlem Renaissance, and they spend just enough time to situate the reader before taking off on a romp of a mystery/investigation.
The characters are so well drawn that I'm left wanting more: not because there's not enough, but because they've been fleshed-out enough for me to want to spend more time with them!
An easy recommendation to readers who like their mysteries with a solid foundation of magic, and who don't mind some timey-wimey twists. Could be paired with Nicole Glover's Muder and Magic series (Underground Railroad/Post-Civil war alternative history), or with P. Djèjí Clark's Dead Djinn Universe series (magical 1912 Cairo!) if you're a reader looking for magic, murder, and thrills in alternative historical fiction!
This was a quick and exciting novella, OFF-TIME JIVE makes me excited to see what else A.Z. Louise has up their sleeve. I often say that I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but I think Louise has the perfect approach to a grounded speculative fiction: the magical system is grounded in a vivid alternative Harlem Renaissance, and they spend just enough time to situate the reader before taking off on a romp of a mystery/investigation.
The characters are so well drawn that I'm left wanting more: not because there's not enough, but because they've been fleshed-out enough for me to want to spend more time with them!
An easy recommendation to readers who like their mysteries with a solid foundation of magic, and who don't mind some timey-wimey twists. Could be paired with Nicole Glover's Muder and Magic series (Underground Railroad/Post-Civil war alternative history), or with P. Djèjí Clark's Dead Djinn Universe series (magical 1912 Cairo!) if you're a reader looking for magic, murder, and thrills in alternative historical fiction!
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