enemyofperfect | Confectionary Regency London fantasy, guest starring the Malay Archipelago

I took longer to read Zen Cho's The True Queen than I should have, because a glance at its prologue made me expect something a little more solemn than the usual lively charm of Cho's work, but I should just have kept reading! As soon as the main body of the story starts, it is an absolute delight.

I think there's an extent to which The True Queen and its predecessor Sorcerer to the Crown would benefit from being read in publication order, though they have different protagonists, but I also think I might love this one even more than the first book -- of which I was already very fond! But The True Queen not only expands on the series' LGBQ content, but also foregrounds kindness and loyalty where Sorcerer was a bit more openly ruthless, so it's basically all the things I love wrapped together in one big delicious package. Including appearances from Prunella and all my other faves!

While I'm flailing fannishly, I might as well mention that the author has some amazing stories available for free online, including If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again and its shorter coda, Head of a Snake, Tail of a Dragon. (Content warnings for human mortality, identity issues, and the pressures of everyone expecting you to become a dragon when that's actually really, really hard.) They're a bit different in tone and setting from her novels, not being Regencies, but everything Zen Cho writes is just so good!