Hope everyone’s end of October beginning of November is going well. I handed out candy and played Dragon Age Veilguard on Halloween.
I’m already enjoying the game and am playing it alongside BG3 because everyone needs two massive RPGs right.
Synopsis
Anyway I want to share a book I finished in October called Crumbs by Danie Stirling.
I picked it up on a random trip to the library a few weeks ago. But it ended up being on theme for October.
It’s about a WOC who is working on becoming a council member for her local magical city. Her name is Ray, and she goes to a special academy where she is learning to hone her seer powers.
But Ray is different from most seers, instead of mostly seeing the future, she sees current event. Though she does have occasional flashes of the future.
In her spare time from studying she goes to a cafe called Marigold’s which has different feelings baked into the food. Yes, again with me and my food magic books.
Anyways Ray starts to become friends with the store owners nephew Laurie. Laurie is working at the cafe while trying to find work as a musician.
Laurie invites Ray to one of his shows and the two slowly start to become friends.
They both want something more, but Ray is worried about her ability to be a seer affecting the relationship. While their relationship is growing Ray has become an intern for the magical council. She’s having trouble fitting in and wants to grow her skills.
Meanwhile Laurie is having no luck with his music career and starts lying to Ray, because he feels like he isn’t worthy of her affection.
Ray eventually discovers the lie and the two have a rocky period where Laurie questions what he wants, and how he is treating himself. Ray continues to have trouble on the council wondering if she should still try to become a full member of the council.
While they choose to go their separate ways after a time, the ending is sweet and leaves hope for the future.
Review
This was not only very sweet. But it dealt with relationships between partners in a healthy way. Ray showing use of boundaries and Laurie having to come to terms with being a people pleaser and keeping everyone shut out by trying not to ‘burden’ them.
Another highlight was the very extensive secondary cast which was pretty much all queer and racially diverse.
Both Ray and Laurie are also people of color.
I’d give this book five stars, it was well plotted, with beautiful art and delightful pacing. Can’t wait to read more from the author.
Amazon: Crumbs
About the Author
Danie Stirling is the creator of the webcomic Crumbs (Etch/Clarion 2022).
Their other works include Small Blessings, which is both free to read online and available in print.
Image by Helena Jankovičová Kováčová from Pixabay
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