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Series Review: The Suitable 'Verse by R. Cooper

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. Full Audio Here Powerful noble families known as the beat-of-fours, answerable only to a ruler and the mysterious, godlike fae, scheme and squabble amongst themselves, and go to war for the chance to put one of their own on the throne. But the fae might be pulling more strings than the nobles realize and they definitely have their favorites. A series of love stories loosely centered around the political crisis that led to the current ruler, featuring oblivious librarians, crafty though loving kings, an innocent half-fae noble, a legendary outlaw turned conqueror, worried warriors, clever guards, and an infamous beauty. PUBLISHER: Independently Published LENGTH: ~1000 pages so far AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Romance RECOMMENDED: Highly Queer Rep Summary: m/m and m/m/...

Coulrotopia by Matt Doyle

When Coulroptopia—the world’s only circus where the performers are all animatronic clowns—comes to your town, you know you’re in for a show like no other. From the knife-throwing of The Juggla to the attempts to tame the monstrous Boozle, there’s something for everyone.

But when an accidental power outage sees the mechanical monstrosities loaded with a new, murderous AI, the screams turn from awe to fear. Now, a man on the run, a happy couple, and a handful of staff members are fighting just to survive the night.

So, sit back and enjoy the thrills, chills, and blood spills as these killer clowns take you through a mascot horror tale where death just became part of the show.

PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 64 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Horror
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Main Character(s), Gay/Achillean Main Character(s), Bi/Pan Secondary Character(s).

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

COULROTOPIA is a killer robot clown horror story with a clever conceit for why the robot clowns would suddenly turn murderous. It establishes characters swiftly so that by the time the violence starts the reader is invested in whether or not they survive the ordeal. It’s fast-paced, gory without being overly graphic, and overall a great short story. There’s several very cool character moments, conversations that I had not expected to turn funny, and a really sweet and thoughtful relationship between a couple attending the circus.

Graphic/Explicit CW for blood, gore, injury detail, violence, gun violence, murder, death.

Moderate CW for misogyny, toxic relationship, fire/fire injury.

Minor CW for child abuse, confinement, sexual content, infidelity, sexual harassment, vomit.

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A dimly-lit forest of trees with red light rising from the gloom


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