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I received an ARC of Cinder last week and have barely put it down since. Thank you, DN Bryn, for your emails pulling me into the GriMM Tales ARC team and for the copy of Cinder.

After the death of his birth mother, Cinder-Szule Reinholz is the only member of the household who knows how to make a home. He does the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the shopping, and the mending. His father is constantly away on mysterious business (Cin literally never finds out what his father does, only knowing he comes home with cash), and his stepmother dreams of grandeur with each balance of the checkbook. Cin’s eldest sibling Floy is consumed by their academic studies while his brother Manfred would burn the beans on purpose to avoid doing it again. Cin’s solace are his pet pigeons and his sister Emma (who could be taught chores if he found the time). Well, pigeons, Emma, and his serial killing.

Yeah, there’s a lot going on in this book. In addition to the “Cinderella” plot beats, GriMM Tales tie-ins, and world-building the Hallin kingdom, we have a serial killer plot, a trans medical transition story, an aromantic coming-of-age, and a set up for the next book, The Frog Prince. While Bryn juggles all these elements well enough, the narrative strained under the weight. Some scenes discombobulated, and some questions were unanswered (mostly about the serial killing). Still, from page one Bryn established themself as a fantastic storyteller doing their best to meet the prompt challenge of a GriMM Tale. I buckled in for the ride. The intimate scenes pushed my buttons. I adored the theme work about complex villains and imperfect victims. Bryn engages with, responds to, and critiques the Jack Zipes/Brothers Grimm story. The exact workings of Hallin’s legal system may be murky (do they have divorce? Female inheritance?), but the sensory details made me feel like I could step into it. The pigeons are a delight.  

I’ve enjoyed all the GriMM Tales, but Cinder is a highlight. If you’re pursuing queer “Cinderella” retellings, fly away with Cinder!

I’m here because of BlerdyOtome! After reading her article and watching her Let’s Play, I hit download. No regrets!

Rosea’s gentle nature and the cute art belied some very heavy theme and plot work. While Rosea herself may disagree with me, she did not have a happy or safe childhood. Between her cheery lines about cooking and sewing, the player can trace the dripping blood of Kaffir’s theocratic dystopia. The content warnings do not hold back. The hair on my neck prickled as I read yet another hint that Rosea is a lamb raised for slaughter. Her pride at her compliance with Kaffir doctrine made me shudder. My dark impression may be colored darker by the Mystery Path’s Church ending. I’m unsure if there are other endings for the demo prologue—I thought I had Clematis’ affection quite high, but I’m a notoriously poor VN player without a walkthrough.

All that said, I’m very much looking forward to the full game. I fawned over the soundtrack, the happy colors, the high feminine fashions, the lovely CGs, and the flowers in abundance. Rosea was my favorite character. Her determination to help, to uplift her people, to be kind; to do right by her mother was wonderful. She displays incredible inner strength in a world intent on abusing her. Clematis and his budgie bubble with charm. Alyssum’s world is thoroughly thought out, from the magic system and the religions to the geography and race relations. While sometimes the exposition could stand to be more spaced out, I ate up the nuances and details about the Bell Flower faith and its Maidens. 

Light fluff hides quite the meaty game. If you’ve been searching for a soft Black girl protagonist in a well-developed romantasy, give Bell Maiden’s Bloom a play!

To Wield the Darkest Night is a standalone romance novel set in the same universe as the Prince’s Dearest Guards series, albeit hundreds of years later. Think seventeenth or early eighteenth century fantasy to Guards’ medieval. I didn’t intend to read the series in chronological order, but sometimes ya get lucky!

While the kingdom has improved in some ways, trans citizens still struggle to be accepted. The apothecary Sol is so far in the closest he hasn’t changed his clothing style since university graduation. With the apothecary shop, his aging mentor, and his increasingly vivid dreams of a man in black armor, there’s plenty else going on. His life (and heart rate) escalates when his dream man knocks on the door, asking for Sol to help cure the ailing king. Oh, and that dark armor wasn’t for show–Yohan is one of the Old King’s Cursed Riders and his contract is up.

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. I was surprised when the Acknowledgements mentioned an editor, because To Wield needs some more rounds. Words are misspelled or wrong (campfire became vampire, which made me pause to think about vampires in this setting); physical continuity suffers (camping inside a barn changed mid-scene to camping outdoors under moonlight); and deus ex machina lacks storytelling sense (While they’re camping in the boonies, Sol’s tent is randomly stolen by his school bully. Somehow). When I read self-published books, I aim to be generous and overlook mistakes–self-publishing is immensely difficult–but the missteps here are glaring. What Van Dalen absolutely nails is Sol’s trans journey. That throughline glowed, spun; shone. Yohan’s conflict is quite easily overcome, and I enjoyed the fantasy of the perfectly accepting, matching-every-preference man walking over the threshold. Sol and Yohan together made my toes curl with cozy. The emotional gentleness is only matched by the high passion of the sex scenes. Sol and Yohan pay attention and ask questions of the broader world, and I enjoyed learning more facts about the Guards universe. 

Overall, I recommend To Wield the Darkest Night to experienced trans romantasy fans, who are interested in a trans coming out story in a fantasy setting. Having read books like this one, I can fill in the gaps and reap the reward that is Sol’s journey to happiness.

While I bought Baker Thief back when it was first published, it’s been sitting on my e-reader since. What made me hit download again was my sapphic book club doing an “aces gone wild” month. Baker Thief fits the bill, haha.

By day, Claude is a hunky, handsome baker. By night, Claire is a thief trying to take down Montrant Industries, an energy corporation that may or may not be disappearing people. If that wasn’t stressful enough, the government is back on its anti-magic, anti-witch bullshit, with witches already driven underground in this alternate Quebec. If that wasn’t stressful enough, he needs to explain his aromanticism and genderfluidity before anything can happen with Adèle, the cute customer/earnest rookie cop assigned to capturing Claire (fuuuuuck). If that wasn’t stressful enough, his sister is kidnapped.

Claude/Claire’s under a lot of stress okay.

Stress which passed to me while reading–kudos to Claudie Arseneault on making my stomach clench. What stopped me from reading Baker Thief back in 2018 were the content warnings against police brutality and state-sanctioned violence/genocide. Ironically, wanting to be alive and politically aware in 2025 has encouraged me to develop coping and self-soothing methods in order to handle these triggering topics, because they’re much more common and real today. The work’s themes about police and state corruption land awkwardly with a detective protagonist. Adèle and her police team are supposed to be “one of the good ones,” in a station of bad apples. This exceptionalism is a more subtle form of copaganda, but copaganda nonetheless. The scene where SPOILER Adèle, acting in her capacity as a police woman, tackles Claire to the ground is played off as arousing to Claire, but I had to take a break END SPOILER. I wonder, if Arseneault re-wrote Baker Thief today, if Adèle would be a private detective, lawyer, social worker, or another investigative profession.

What was supposed to be a buttress against the darker mystery was the presence of croissants in a cozy bakery. Flaky, fluffy croissants don’t have the structural integrity to hold against such grit. Arseneault stares unblinking at the horrors of minority stress, human trafficking, and state oppression. Funnily enough, the same year Baker Thief published, a traditionally published book dealt with similar themes, but maintained the cozy, gentle vibe by side-stepping and shoving the horrific truth until the end. I’m not saying that CL Polk’s Witchmark is better than Baker Thief–they’re both excellent–but pastries and crêpes do not automatically a cozy queerplatonic make. 

Speaking of the queerplatonic, Adèle and Claude’s enemies-to-partners arc is brilliant. As advertised, Baker Thief plays with romance tropes and re-structures them for a platonic relationship, and it plays with them well. I also enjoyed how language was re-structured to give it a French sort of cant. Learning all the names for trees was a treat! The representation of gender minorities and the queer community was brilliantly spot on, of course. In another time, in another place, I think I would have enjoyed this book more. One day I’ll tackle Painted Flock and we’ll see.

Star God is a very small collection of poetry and microfictions. Paired with Wing, I’m starting to like Van Dalen’s shorter fictions. He’s a marvelous hand at concentrating the writing down, boiling excess off and transmogrifying prose into condensed goodness. Gorgeous space and ocean imagery; sincere angst, heartbreak, and healing all float together in Star God. Walk that road!

Once on a windswept night is just so damn good. I feel like I say every ebi-hime visual novel is the best ebi-hime visual novel, but it feels true every time.

To tell the plot is to recount a dream. The player’s ambiguous body meets Lycoris, a princess-looking lady in a library full of books written and yet to be written. She asks for help resolving a book and we’re thrust into the nested stories of Daffodil, Sister Madeline, and The Traveller. Usually I content myself with one run of a game, in the name of getting through my backlog, but I couldn’t stop playing windswept until I reached the true happy ending. The ruminations on loneliness, grief, coming-of-age, hunger, toxicity, love vs obsession, self-actualization (like having the selfishness to declare oneself a Person with Wants and Needs), emotional desperation/desolation, fairy tales, authorship, and narrative arcs (as in, what characters think is supposed to happen vs what they want to happen) are recognizable themes from ebi-hime’s other works. At points, Once on a windswept night felt like a proto- or sister story to It gets so lonely here. Madeline and the gravedigger would have a lot to talk about, and Daffodil admires a cannibal queen from another land. There’s tons of Easter eggs to ebi-hime’s earlier games. I feel honored to be able to witness repeated motifs and preoccupations in one creative person’s body of work. Us fans are so lucky. Each game is a delectable treat, and Once on a windswept night is no exception.

Be a little selfish! Take up space! Vocalize your feelings and let people know you love them! An ever increasing number of lesbians!!!! Dive into this story about stories.

A tragic fairy tale all the sadder for how pointless the suffering is. They could have been happy!

The Prince’s Pretty Guards is a midquel between The Prince’s Loving Guards and the next one, and I loved it. The smarmy god of Arkaus grants another wish—and this time Hal lets his guards explore their secret desires. Suddenly, Hal isn’t the only one being vulnerable. I relished in the character and relationship growth between Kaiser and Elwood. Sometimes it feels like the guards instantaneously fell in love with Hal (unless there’s a secret previous connection revealed later?), and their own love story is a slow burn paced to stretch the whole series. Connect that final triangle side, boys! The prose is highly polished, and I only have one quibble. The dresses could be described more vividly and more often. When Elwood came out in a pink dress, I visualized one million billion petticoats, but that begged questions later of how anyone made eye contact while buried in his thighs, hahaha. Overall, I found myself reading very slowly because I didn’t want the book to end. The Prince’s Pretty Guards might be my favorite of the series so far. I look forward to the next!

As the second full installment in The Prince’s Dearest Guards series, The Prince’s Loving Guards delves deeper into Hal’s magic, what that means in society, and the guards’ pasts. The boys have great sexual chemistry, but Elwood and Kaiser are emotionally keeping each other at arms’ length. I was a little frustrated with how little we learned, but the regular clip of spice sated me. Van Dalen’s prose has improved remarkably. I could visualize the scenes more and keep better track of limbs, haha. Another good entry in an affirming and—dare I say it—loving series.

The Prince’s Dreamy Gods whisks our heroes away to a different reality where a god fulfills a single wish. In addition to deliriously good sex scenes, we’re treated to some hints at the larger fantastical world and Hal’s place in it. There’s Big Trans Feels that make me blubber. Some awkwardness lingers in the prose, but I easily forgave it. Elwood and Kaiser are so soft with their prince, and dear Lord, sometimes I need to read that. If you liked The Prince’s Dearest Guards, you’ll love this midquel entry in the series.

I bought all of Van Dalen’s books on bundle sale and decided to dip my toes in The Prince’s Dearest Guards series first. While there are some typical independent author fumbles like continuity and awkward phrasing, The Prince’s Dearest Guards magnificently accomplishes what it set off to do: tell a mega-hot, sexy tale of love and acceptance between a trans prince and his two cis guards. The magic-hating monarchy takes a backseat to character work, leaving plenty of questions for the sequels to answer. The novella is tender, sweet, and wholesome. If you’re looking for a gentle trans man polyam romantasy, I definitely recommend!

As I continue to work my way through ebi-hime’s free VNs, I was especially looking forward To Have and To Hold because ebi-hime is so effusive with her love of Tavi and Yuel. To Have and To Hold blew me away. It combines the gut punch of Emmeline Burns and the New Adult angsty schmoop of Night Before into some something truly special. Yuel and Tavi sparkle on a narrative and visual level. I stopped play to stare at Cherry’s sprites and CGs. Resu and RialynKV’s backgrounds captured perfectly the wedding’s overdone opulence (even more impressive because Yuel inhabited the sidelines exclusively), the hotel’s aggressive bare-minimum, and the beach’s wide open freshness. Depressed, gloomy characters like Yuel are tricky to craft in an authentic, compelling way, but ebi-hime makes it look easy. Tavi is the familiar charming party king, but the gleaming waters run deep: Yuel may be desperate, but Tavi’s yearning to care was a visceral, physical thing. After playing the game, I couldn’t stop thinking about these two. To say I’m excited to dive into the other Yuel/Tavi games is an understatement. I wish them happiness after a long journey!

I'm here because of BlerdyOtome! She featured Juniper in one of her Thrifty Gamin' posts, and the beautiful art and escapist premise drew me in.

Playing Juniper reminded me of a creative writing professor's adage: we learn more in the restriction of chains than in the comfort of loose sweaters. He was talking about writing, but the saying seems to apply very well here. As a participant in Only One Of Any Asset Visual Novel Jam, Juniper navigates an intimidating list of restrictions to create a truly gorgeous game. Every storytelling element pulls its weight to immerse the player. The background, Juniper's sprite, and the voice acting drip intrigue and grotesque anguish. Unrestricted elements like the UI and animation bring the dreamy, dank mood home to roost. The endings made me audibly gasp. I wish the titular Juniper the best, and I look forward to more of WickedWhite's work.

It gets so lonely here was so good that it got me into ebi-hime’s games in general, fast making her one of my favorite indie solo-developers. When The end of obsession was announced, I eagerly added it to my To Play list. While I didn’t enjoy this sequel as much as the original, ebi-hime’s second foray into yandere witches and princesses is worth playing.

The end of obsession has a much more straightforward take of the yandere archetype, and is a lot more dismal and depressing for it. Chains, cages, torture, mental deterioration, knives: it runs the gamut. The music matches perfectly with the mechanics and themes of the game. The art is cutesy and fantastical—the witch’s outfit is an especially remarkable work. Between the music and the vivid narration, the atmosphere tenses the stomach, despite the lack of plot. I think The end of obsession achieves the minimum of what it set out to do, but my frustration with the POV character and lack of catharsis caused me to enjoy it less than its predecessor.

(I shortened my review here to avoid as many spoilers as possible. If you want the whole thing, you must follow me, sorry! DX)

When Moonlight Bomber announced he’d made a short kinetic novel over the course of forty-eight hours, I knew I had to play The Peregrination of Criselda de la Vega. With a thirty minute run time, the game is quite short, but it captures a coming-of-middle-age flashpoint between two lost adults. At times hilarious, at times sweet, at times bitter, Bomber nails the floundering feeling of doing one’s best in a confusing world, grasping for reassurances amid changing societal norms, and wondering at the limits of life. The music and blurry photo backgrounds perfectly fit the vacillating moods. If I had one quibble, I wish Cris’ sprite had some wrinkles. In a game about turning forty, the characters should look forty, even in the anime style. Still, The Peregrination of Criselda is a remarkable achievement in such a short time span. If you’re looking for a game with that special fortieth birthday feeling, I do recommend.

As soon as the credits rolled on my first run of Dragon Age 2, I downloaded Bittersweet after match. Fenris' romance spun my head and overwhelmed my heart, and Bittersweet perfectly matched that energy. The game finds Fenris, Hawke, and Dog camping out, still wanted by the Chantry but not in an immediate way. The future is uncertain, but the love isn't. The devs absolutely nail the characters, all their earnest charm and quiet strength in tact. 

At about thirty minutes, the game has more choices than I expected. I was surprised and pleased when choices followed the blue/purple/red personality-type model from the original game. Being able to choose Hawke's body type separate from pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them) was also a treat. Dog's name is inputable! As is their gender! Nice. Choosing Hawke's class offers unique animation and dialogue. I applaud the devs for taking up the challenge to offer such customization. It's difficult to do. I stumbled upon some hiccups in text, but nothing too jarring.

The art is mwah! The dusky, minimal coloring made the linework pop, especially the sprite expressions and armor. When we do see color, the moment feels all the more potent. Like the narrative text, the art wonderfully balances warm, soothing comfort and angsty hurt, with round lines that beg for a hug.

Overall, Bittersweet after match feels like a natural extension of Dragon Age 2 and a bridge to Dragon Age: Inquisition. Worthy of a canon world state! If you love Fenris, you must download and play!

Gray's books are auto-buys for me, and I dropped everything to buy and devour The Scales of Seduction. What a mouthwatering meal. While I was expecting to be wow-ed by Gray's third take on Medusa, Petra's journey slithered into my heart, making me wonder, "Am I into all types of snake lesbians now?" Yes. The theme of reclaiming and shaping the body made my heart thud, and of course, the intimate scenes re-wired my brain chemistry. The more Greek-based diction felt like little tasty morsels and enriched an already lively setting. I'd also like to give a shout-out to the gorgeous, sensual cover art! Hot damn. Why are you still reading this review? Go read The Scales of Seduction!

Seure the Tempered took me longer to read than Martis or Valerin because after every reading session I felt like I had a hangover. The prose's vivid lushness is cranked up to a level I think only fully perceivable by shrimp. I was left intoxicated and dizzy. On the plot end of things, Gray flickers tantalizing flashes of future intrigue that I hope will be explored more in the series. Seure is just the kind of knight a younger me wanted to be when I grew up, and their journey with Ganeida is brilliant. Long live Out of True!

Gray does it again! By "it" I mean they pen another phantasmagorical Arthurian romance. This time Martis is the star, after we saw a tantalizing peek of her in Valerin the Fair. I ate up the rich prose. The beauty at once assuages and gives voice to deep grief. The romance takes a back seat to Martis and her parents' relationship, but Martis' future is much brighter for the discovery she doesn't have to bear her emotions alone. This novella is as delicate, intricate, and beautiful as stained glass.

As a huge medieval and Arthurian nerd, this series scratches an itch that long needed attending. Every sentence lit up my brain. I adored the twist, and the dichotomy of woodsy & fire imagery had me swooning. Gray can write whatever they want forever.

A fantastic, bloody streak of desire. Gray brings their signature intoxicating lushness to this winter-themed erotica, where horror and romance are one and the same (as they should be!).

After riding the high of What Happened the Night Before and Play Choices' The Haunting of Braidwood Manor, I wasn't sure what to expect from The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns. What I found was a thoughtful, beautifully wrought story about the intertwining of familial legacy and growing up. The sprite, CG, and background art are the high quality I've come to expect from ebi-hime's games. The music stood out as particularly wonderful. After playing the game proper, the main menu offers a cute bonus scene of Emmeline and Nellie as well as access to a music box of the game's soundtrack. Do check those out! Emmeline Burns is a sparkling gift of a game. I can hardly believe it's free.

I played What Happened the Night Before after It gets so lonely here and wow, what a difference! While not without its complications, Mikage and Noah's love story is blessed, darling cuteness. Ebi-hime balances realistic family struggles and besties-to-lovers schmoop. The signature touch of angst and uncertainty makes the happy ending that much sweeter and hopeful. The art, UI (I did love the cute basketball!), and CGs make the love story pop in a way I think it wouldn't if What Happened the Night Before was a novella.  The integration of art & story are essential to capturing Noah and Mikage. I'm very much looking forward to more of ebi-hime's games.

Wow! What an amazing game! This is my first game by ebi-hime, and I'm absolutely enthralled. Scuttling away from the more bloody aspects of the yandere archetype, It gets so lonely here buries itself alive in the trope's psychological horror. The love interests are deeply traumatized by grief, guilt, death, and, yes, the loneliness of survival at all costs. The heroine isn't immune either, as her insecurities and jealousies stick to her like barnacles, making me think she would lock these women up, if given the power. Murder isn't the most healthy of love languages, but the twilit dreamy atmosphere, artful melancholy, and eerie soundtrack can lull you into thinking about it. I definitely recommend playing twice so you can sink your teeth into the True Ending!

Red Spring Studio KNOCKED this demo out of the PARK. Already this game feels like treasured art. The soundtrack is pitch perfect. The backgrounds are evocative. The character sprites are mouth-watering. The writing is gorgeous and visceral with a thought-provoking mystery. This piece is incredibly polished and I keep upping my Kickstarter backing for more.

I won a copy of Dual Chroma: Far Shore in a giveaway. Many thank for the free game! Aradal is a big fantasy world we get a little tropical slice of in Far Shore. The art and music are soothing and immersive, and Kassian's VA does fantastic work adding depth to his dialogue. I wasn't expecting his mouth to be animated! Cool! The bittersweet romance with Kassian felt a little forced, but I enjoyed his and MC's conversations about traveling, getting older, and figuring out what one wants out of life. The game really nailed what it's like to have an older person listen, advise, and converse with you during a long beach walk. I was left with some questions, but overall, Far Shore is an a hour well-spent among the sand and sea.