One of my new favourite books of all time. The writing in this is absolutely breathtaking. The characters are lovely and heartbreaking. The relationships are nuanced and dynamic. Seriously, it was amazing!

I just want to read everything this author writes 🖤🖤🖤😱

“I was a girl who would never exist in a fairy tale, not just because of the brown of my body but because of my heart, neither pure enough to be good nor cruel enough to be evil. I was a girl lost in the deep, narrow space between the two forms girls were allowed to take.” Beyond shocked to learn the cover is not in fact a rose and is actually two swans entwinedLike all Anna-Marie McLemore books, this was so beautifully written and I thought this one had an ethereal quality about it I really

ARC provided by Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. “If I wanted to, I could believe it was our colors that decided Blanca would be the gentle sister, pure and obliging, and I would be the cruel one, wicked and difficult. She would be the blessed daughter, the one the swans would spare. And I would be the one the swans would take. But my sister saw our story ending another way.” Blanca y Roja is the best retelling I’ve ever read in my entire life. The way Anna-Marie McLemore re...

A story about two sisters, and a prince who got turned into a bear, and all the ways magic can save you but also fuck you up. This is such a beautiful, queer fairy tale.On the surface, Blanca & Roja is a mash-up retelling of Snow-White and Rose-Red and Swan Lake, but the sheer amount of layers and thought that has gone into this novel makes it a whole number of other things, too. Peel back the familiar fairy tale aspects and underneath there is a moving tale of stereotypes, expectations and

If you ever need a story that’s guaranteed to give you all the feels, break your heart, and look good doing it, Anna-Marie McLemore’s definitely the right woman for the job. If this tells you anything about how much faith I have in her writing, I don’t even like the fairytales this book pulls from, yet it’s still been one of my most anticipated releases of 2018. ‘There will always be two daughters. But we will always take one back.’ Predictably enough, I was not disappointed. Blanca &...

2.5 stars Who knew a book could be so bewildering and yet at the same time so painfully boring? The story (supposedly) follows two sisters who are cursed - one of them will turn into a swan after their sixteenth birthday - and two boys who for differing reasons have decided to leave their families and start new lives as bears in the woods or something (I don't know, the story had already lost me at this point). As magical realism, it was less about the fantastical elements and more about the rel...

I didn’t think it was possible but now I really hate swans// buddy read with fic trash and asmr queen

I loved this book and I am so happy that I loved this book. I wanted Anna-Marie McLemore to be a new favourite author, and they are, or will be once I have my hands on their other works. But this book is certainly a new favourite. It was literally a work of art; the words were so lovingly crafted, so delicately pieced together, so earnestly and carefully chosen. This is possibly my favourite book of the year and I urge you to pick it up and read it. It's not only beautiful and imaginative, it'

TW: Physical assault, non-consensual kiss, gunshot, fatphobia, panic attack, misgendering.Full review originally posted on my blog: Word Wonders I HAVE FINALLY READ BLANCA & ROJA and if you couldn’t tell by the all caps it did not disappoint. By Anna-Marie Mclemore fashion, this book went above and beyond my expectations. Everytime I read their latest book, I just get more assured that they *indeed* are my favourite author. Hands down. No questions asked. Gimme her grocery list, to-do...

Another intriguing read. Fantasy books are special this year.

first of all. never hav i ever wanted to murder a bunch of swans this much.

Anna’s books are literally magic

McLemore centers Blanca Y Roja on the del Cisne sisters who couldn’t have been more different—Blanca, light-skinned and golden-haired, and Roja, darker-skinned and with a heart that gleamed so red it showed in her hair. Blanca and Roja have always lived in a perpetual state of disaster preparedness: sisters in their family were offerings for the swans to choose from, and for many generations, they delighted in taking one of them and leaving the other.Blanca and Roja’s fear of this curse was its

This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription “The strong devour the weak, even when the weak are your own. It’s how any family gets stronger” 🌟 Let me just point again the fact that the cover of this book has not only 1 swan but 2 swans!! (bonus points for Elysia for discovering the second swan)!!🌟 This is my third time reading a Magical realism book without knowing so. I think that is magical xD. I found out the hard way that this genre is just not for me. I

Anna-Marie McLemore never disappoints.Not only Blanca & Roja is a beautifully-written retelling of Snow White and Rose Red meets Swan Lake featuring latinx, trans and disabled protagonists. It's also a story about finding the truth about yourself amidst all the lies, and defying the binaries society taught you were necessary.As usual, what stood out to me first about Blanca & Roja was the writing. I could visualize everything perfectly. The apple is never just an apple, it's a symbol and an appl...

Breathtaking.

A gorgeous novel, brimming with the author's recognizable and gorgeous style. I have a distance when it comes to McLemore's work, in that it usually takes me 2/3 of the novel before I'm truly invested. I think this one came around a bit faster due to the beautiful description of Blanca & Roja's relationship as sisters. Their deep, abiding love for one another is one of those remarkable things in fiction that I know I'm going to remember. As an older sister myself, every one of Blanca's chapters

This is the story of sisters who love each other so so much...the nearly begin to hate each other. It's such a whimsical mix of fairy tale and magical realism, and honestly McLemore's writing style makes my bones ache. It's beyond gorgeous. It's ethereal and whimsical, a sensory delight. I will read everything they write JUST for the writing. Also magical realism has a special place in my heart when it manages to be full of heartache, important messages, and beautiful storytelling.And oh the hea...

But I would not let the swans write our story for us. So… let’s start with, I cried reading this? Anna-Marie McLemore is one of the most talented authors on any market right now. They are consistently fantastic at creating compelling characters, beautiful sentences, and Super Good Romances, all wrapped up in narratives of generational trauma, colonialism, & queerness. ➽W H Y T H I S W A S A M A Z I N G This book is about a few things: internalized colorism, systematic transp