Nice things people have said about my writing…

HEARTS ARE JERKS

Five Star Amazon Review: “This book introduces ethical relationship concepts in an engaging way. The narrator is a smart and honest teen trying to do her best at school, at work, and for her loved ones. Her struggles with heartbreak, long-distance love, bullying, and prejudice will resonate with any reader. Highly recommended for its modeling of conversations concerning love, sex, and consent. Also highly recommended for its easy, casual inclusion of queerness and disability.” https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Are-Jerks-Gabrielle-Harbowy-ebook

Five Star Goodreads Review: “I very, very rarely give five star ratings. This book was a breath of fresh air and exactly what I needed; a book where being polyamorous was just a normal, every day thing. I especially loved that the main character worked in a library, as I do too, and all the little references made me smile. I’ve highly recommended this to anyone who’ll listen.”  – Ella, Goodreads review

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Five Star Amazon Review: It’s not impossible to write and publish a great young-adult novel that centers on a polyamorous relationship. It’s improbable. Gabrielle Harbowy nailed it. One of things I like best about this book–aside from the dry wit and the deep sweetness–is the naturalistic placement of high-school polyamory into a world where high-school polyamory has consequences. And especially the fact that the consequences are not lazily predictable ones.

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Five Star Amazon Review: I bought a copy for my classroom, since we do SSR and ninth graders are always forgetting their “fun books.” It made its rounds of girls, and then a couple of boys. Now it has gone missing, so I hope it connected with someone who needed to feel seen. Time to buy another copy!

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Five Star Amazon Review: It takes a certain sort of book to really capture the chaotic emotional turmoil of youth, but Hearts are Jerks meets the challenge with finesse and enthusiasm, instilling its tale of a heroine just trying to be happy and make her loved ones happy with dramatic verisimilitude. The characters are believably young and unwise, and make foolhardy decisions with the best of intentions, never expecting the harshness of real life to crash down on them.

The novel confronts and challenges the difficulties of its sometimes heavy subject matter with seriousness and grace. Too often we dismiss bullying and harassment as “harmless” or “don’t feed the trolls”, but this story shows us that sometimes such actions have real consequences for everyone involved, and it’s extremely cathartic to see.

Also, ethical polyamory rules. 🙂

I learned a great deal from this book, and I hope you will too.

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HELLMAW: OF THE ESSENCE

Harbowy writes with the precision of an editor, and the sensibility and passion of a writer.   — Leah Peterson, Author of the Physics of Falling series

Hellmaw: Of the Essence is a satisfying read on many levels and marks Harbowy a talent to watch out for.  — Deborah J. Ross, Author of The Seven-Petaled Shield and jury chairperson for the Philip K. Dick Award

Real history is woven expertly into a fictionalized modern-day world, just like real emotion is woven expertly into characters whose alienness makes them all the more human.  — Cynthia Hamilton, author

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PATHFINDER TALES: GEARS OF FAITH

This is a mystery story packed with solid characters and a cozy romance. [It] brought depth and warmth to the Pathfinders Tales world. – Jay Roberts, Goodreads review

The author does a great job of inserting characters with some but limited expertise (but not overblown power) into a potentially epic tale. It all flows into a fantasy plot that makes sense while also presenting twists and turns challenging the characters’ faith as well as threatening potentially world-changing, epochal events.  – Mike, Goodreads review

I really enjoyed the two main characters, Zae and Keren. Zae is a gnome and a cleric of Brigh, so she works on clockwork mechanisms and cool things like that. She’s also optimistic and friendly, which I love. Keren is a human knight, follower of Iomedae (I think?). She’s more broody and trying to find her place in her order, which is an archetype I can’t say no to, haha. They’re just nice characters, which I need every once in a while, and they’re fun to read about separately or together. They’re also romantic partners. I liked that their relationship is shown as a source of comfort and strength for both, and it was refreshing that it was accepted in the world… I like that the book was pretty effortlessly inclusive.  – Carrie, Goodreads review

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WOMEN IN PRACTICAL ARMOR

“A great addition to any library.” –MySF Reviews

“There are no weak stories in this collection; all of them are enjoyable reads.” –Tiamatty, Goodreads Review