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Series Review: The Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books. I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout. This episode discusses The Kingston Cycle by C. L. Polk.  Full Audio Here    In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own. Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after...
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Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Fire burns bright and has a long memory....

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she's returned to her mother's imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria's royal palace.

Thanh's new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh's home. Eldris won't take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country's fate--and her own?

TITLE: Fireheart Tiger
AUTHOR: Aliette de Bodard
PUBLISHER: Tordotcom
YEAR: 2021
LENGTH: 106 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Main Character(s).

“I didn’t remember that everything I touched caught fire.”

Princess Thanh is trying to reconcile what she wants as the youngest royal child in a small country being pressured by a larger one. She has a strained relationship with her mother, a past romance with one of the royal foreigners, and a strange connection with a girl made of fire. Short and good, this blends interpersonal and political drama as Thanh figures out what she wants and whom she loves.

CW for sexual content, toxic relationship, colonization, fire (graphic).

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A woman walking furtively, holding a small cup with flames coming out.


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