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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...

Moon Dark Smile by Tessa Gratton (Night Shine #2)

Ever since she was a girl, Raliel Dark-Smile’s best friend has been the great demon that lives in the palace. As the daughter of the Emperor, Raliel appears cold and distant to those around her, but what no one understands is that she and the great demon, Moon, have a close and unbreakable bond and are together at all times. Moon is bound to the Emperor and his two consorts, Raliel’s parents, and when Raliel comes of age, she will be bound to Moon as well, constrained to live in the Palace for the rest of her days.

Raliel is desperate to see the Empire Between Five Mountains, and she feels a deep kinship with Moon, who longs to break free of its bonds. When the time finally arrives for Raliel’s coming of age journey, she discovers a dangerous way to take Moon with her, even as she hides this truth from her travel companion, the beautiful, demon-kissed bodyguard Osian Redpop. But Osian is hiding secrets of his own, and when a plot surfaces that threatens the Empire, Raliel will have to decide who she can trust and what she’ll sacrifice for the power to protect all that she loves.

CONTRIBUTOR(S): Sarah Naughton (Narrator)
COVER ARTIST: LeVurong (illustration)
PUBLISHER: Blackstone Publishing
YEAR: 2022
LENGTH: 432 pages (13 hours 6 minutes)
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Secondary Character(s), Gay/Achillean Secondary Character(s), Bi/Pan Secondary Character(s), Genderqueer/Nonbinary Seconary, Trans Main Character(s), Closeted/Questioning Main Character(s).

I love this book and I have so many thoughts they will soon be released as an essay about both NIGHT SHINE and MOON DARK SMILE. I love the way that queerness is showed in so many ways, that there's an explicit idea of generational queer connection and trans role models, Kiran's acceptance of any kind of queerness his daughter could display, and the idea that villains are those who refuse to adapt and change, thereby unlinking fluidity and monstrosity from each other. Osian Redpop is the son of the Sorcerer of the Fourth Mountain, sent by his mother to kill Kiran or Raliel in order to get revenge for his father's death. Instead he grows to care for Raliel and the Emperor's family, enjoying his time at the palace and then helping Raliel on her journey. Moon and Raliel are trying to free Moon from the palace, and much of their journey is based on figuring out how to become a sorcerer and familiar in order to free Moon from the earlier binding which enslaves him.

As a sequel, MOON DARK SMILE wraps up dangling threads related to the slain Sorcerer of the Fourth Mountain, Kiran's ascension to the throne, and the fate of Night Shine and her wife. There's a new storyline with Raliel's friendship with Moon and her heir's journey, with several big things both introduced resolved. The series seems to conclude as a duology, with a very satisfying ending which somehow develops several characters even further right as things wrap up. 

Moderate CW for grief, misgendering, child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, confinement, violence, animal death, death.

Minor CW for sexual content, excrement, parental death, self harm.

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A pale girl with long dark hair and a sword in her hand stands on the edge of a beach under a bright crescent moon


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