Aliette de Bodard: In the Vanishers' Palace

[auroracloud]

Something of a review in my journal. This short, intricate, beautiful fantasy novel tells the story of a woman who has to go to live in the palace of a female dragon (one with both human-like and more dragon-like forms), in exchange for the dragon healing someone in her village, and she finds herself falling in love with the dragon. It's inspired by the Beauty and the Beast and by Asian culture and mythology (I believe specifically Vietnamese), but weaves its own tale of love, otherness, outcasts, families, and learning to see beyond appearances and to choose your actions rather than letting others define who you are. Heartily recommended for those who read the description and think they might like it.