So, a reviewer sent me a review of OLYMPIA KNIFE to post, and I have to say it’s one of the loveliest reviews! I swear I didn’t write it!
M. M. Chandler wrote:
“Alysia Constantine is a maverick world maker. I first discovered her modern magical realism meets LGBTQ romance writing (which is just the perfect queer genre mashup, really) with her debut novel, SWEET. In SWEET, she crafts the most enchanting world of baked goods and broken hearts, filled with all the bitter, sweet, and bittersweet flavors of old loss and new love. In OLYMPIA KNIFE, the gloriously queer fin-de-siècle circus becomes Constantine’s stage, which she sets with lovingly fleshed-out and complex characters who are as flawed as they are endearing, and whose misfit misfortunes provide both a fantastical and familiar backdrop for explorations of queer identity, familial loss, and sexual awakening. Even though O.K. is an accessible work of fiction, it is also filled with multi-layered concepts and thought-provoking analogs; Constantine doesn’t just tell a captivating historical love story, but also hits upon deep themes that will resonate with anyone who has felt marginalized, non-normative, or invisible in their identity. I couldn’t help but break out my highlighter while reading, underscoring and earmarking entire sections that were just too rich and good to think about only once. In short, this is a beautifully and thoughtfully written work from an author who has quickly become a personal favorite, and who will soon be one of yours, too.”
Told you it was nice.
Alysia Constantine 