Genre: Fantasy, Holiday
LGBTQ+ Category: Lesbian
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About The Book
Offend the Frost King? Get kicked from the Court. Land in the jaws of a living dinosaur?
Ink, the black ice fairy, isn’t shocked that his frostiness banished her, but she’s shocked to find herself sent to a swamp. It’s hot, sticky and mucky—an ice fae’s worst nightmare. Banishment means she’s stuck with the heat and the stupid, hungry alligators. She’s gone from knowing all the rules of her world to knowing absolutely nothing about existing in her soggy new home. At least the draiad guardian’s kinda nice, though what the hell is a draiad?
A thunderous boom and an ice fae being dropped into her swamp interrupted Pickerel’s quiet, contemplative day of preserving flowers. The fae is abrasive, just shy of rude, and apparently unable to leave. The last thing Pickerel needs this close to the winter solstice celebration is another responsibility. But she can’t ignore her host obligations, nor can she deny the fae is rather attractive.
When dangerously reckless human poachers invade the swamp, all other concerns evaporate. Ink and Pickerel must learn to work together, combining their knowledge and their wildly different talents to combat the threat to the wildlife and the peace of the swamp. And–oh no—they might even have to admit they like each other.
Ice + Alligators is a novella that contains talkative squirrels, a mischievous and overly opinionated alligator, and a shy but grumpy fae who might’ve found a caring nature spirit who is everything she needed.
The Review
Ink is having a bad day. She’s an ice fae, but not one of those petite little shiny ones who makes pretty snowflakes. Everything about Ink is dark. Her skin, her mood, and the black ice she specializes in.
She’s been thrown out of the Ice Court by the Frost King after refusing to pull a prank on his orders that might have harmed human children, and now she’s permanently banned to the worst place possible… a warm, steamy, smelly swamp.
Pickerel is perfectly happy in the swamp. Half naiad, half dryad, she’s a guardian for all the living things in her wet domain, and has been perfectly happy to be alone there for nigh on four hundred years.
Now she suddenly has an unwanted visitor – well, three if you count the two poachers who are intruding on the swamplands to try to catch alligators without a license. But maybe, just maybe, she’s starting to warm to the ice fae who could help her roust out the two villains…
Martinez has penned another fanciful lesbian holiday tale. as the two protagonists warily circle around one another, each insisting to themselves that they are perfectly fine living single lives. Ink brings a brutal and funny snarkiness to the story, the perfect foil for Pickerel’s more welcoming good nature.
And Benji the dinosaur… I mean, alligator… steals the show more than once.
There is a sex scene, for those who enjoy (or prefer to skip) such things. It’s beautifully rendered at a pivotal moment in the book.
Ice + Alligators is a delightful romp through the swamp with laugh-out-loud funny author Angel Martinez, a great lighthearted read perfect for summer vacation.
The Reviewer
Scott is the founder of Queer Sci Fi, and a fantasy and sci fi writer in his own right, with more than 30 published short stories, novellas and novels to his credit, including three trilogies.