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The Ballad of Aidy and Leftie
The Left Hand of Darkness is a notorious assassin and apocalypse cult survivor, newly arrived on Mutopia. Invulnerable Aidy has the job of being her bodyguard, which is something they’re not entirely pleased about. Especially since both of them have secrets in their past waiting to come to light. The ballad of Aidy and Leftie is about to begin. It’s going to be a banger.
416 pages, Paperback
Published July 25, 2022
20 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Whitby
18 books138 followersSJ Whitby lives in New Zealand with their partner, as well as various children and animals. They are predictably obsessed with X-Men and spend too much of their free time writing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 4, 2023
4.5/5 Rounded up.
The Ballad of Aidy & Leftie is a companion Cute Mutants Universe novel. While it can stand alone, it's better to have read at least the first five Cute Mutants volumes to understand characters and the universe history. This novel follows Aidy, a nonbinary mutant who's skin is invulnerable, and Leftie, a lesbian with shadow powers similar to Violet's.
Aidy has been running from their past for as long as they've known. Now that they're finally on Mutopia they think they can finally create the version of themself that they want to be. Leftie, or The Left Hand of Darkness as she's known, is a survivor of an apocalyptic cult that was going to use her to start doomsday. But when she was given mutant powers from Goddess, she killed everyone in the cult instead. When Chatterbox rescues Leftie from certain death, she doesn't know how to proceed, especially since she's out for vengeance and someone else is out for her.
I had such a fun time reading this book! I would pick it up and easily get lost in the story. Both Aidy and Leftie are compelling characters. At times I found myself frustrated with them, but by the end I was really happy with how they both had grown or started to grow. Aidy really lost me for a bit near the end, but they realized their mistakes and actually tried to correct them instead of running away which endeared them to me. I think they need some therapy so they can continue growing. Maybe Ray can give them a session lol.
Leftie is such a feral queer. Like she is Dylan and Feral combined into one. Which is certainly a lot. Also this bitch is out here trying to be like "I am Darkness Fear ME" and then gets soft over some alien plant kids. I love it. I really liked how both Aidy and Leftie were brought into the Cute Mutants family. I hope we get to see their squad in action in the future!
Rep: white sapphic nonbinary MC with anxiety, white lesbian cis female MC, BIPOC sapphic cis female side character, deaf white sapphic cis female side character, bisexual Pacific Islander cis female side character, demiromantic pansexual genderfluid MC with anxiety, lesbian Korean female side character with a metal arm, Latine queer female side character, BIPOC lesbian cis female side character.
CWs: Death, murder, violence, blood, queerphobia/queermisia, transphobia/transmisia, injury/injury detail, grief, mental illness (anxiety), hate crimes & prejudice against mutants, abandonment, deadnaming, misgendering, gore, gun violence, religious bigotry.
The Ballad of Aidy & Leftie is a companion Cute Mutants Universe novel. While it can stand alone, it's better to have read at least the first five Cute Mutants volumes to understand characters and the universe history. This novel follows Aidy, a nonbinary mutant who's skin is invulnerable, and Leftie, a lesbian with shadow powers similar to Violet's.
Aidy has been running from their past for as long as they've known. Now that they're finally on Mutopia they think they can finally create the version of themself that they want to be. Leftie, or The Left Hand of Darkness as she's known, is a survivor of an apocalyptic cult that was going to use her to start doomsday. But when she was given mutant powers from Goddess, she killed everyone in the cult instead. When Chatterbox rescues Leftie from certain death, she doesn't know how to proceed, especially since she's out for vengeance and someone else is out for her.
I had such a fun time reading this book! I would pick it up and easily get lost in the story. Both Aidy and Leftie are compelling characters. At times I found myself frustrated with them, but by the end I was really happy with how they both had grown or started to grow. Aidy really lost me for a bit near the end, but they realized their mistakes and actually tried to correct them instead of running away which endeared them to me. I think they need some therapy so they can continue growing. Maybe Ray can give them a session lol.
Leftie is such a feral queer. Like she is Dylan and Feral combined into one. Which is certainly a lot. Also this bitch is out here trying to be like "I am Darkness Fear ME" and then gets soft over some alien plant kids. I love it. I really liked how both Aidy and Leftie were brought into the Cute Mutants family. I hope we get to see their squad in action in the future!
Rep: white sapphic nonbinary MC with anxiety, white lesbian cis female MC, BIPOC sapphic cis female side character, deaf white sapphic cis female side character, bisexual Pacific Islander cis female side character, demiromantic pansexual genderfluid MC with anxiety, lesbian Korean female side character with a metal arm, Latine queer female side character, BIPOC lesbian cis female side character.
CWs: Death, murder, violence, blood, queerphobia/queermisia, transphobia/transmisia, injury/injury detail, grief, mental illness (anxiety), hate crimes & prejudice against mutants, abandonment, deadnaming, misgendering, gore, gun violence, religious bigotry.
September 30, 2022
This was another great read in the Cute Mutants Universe!
Aidy and Leftie are both well developed characters and if you know me, you know I loved Leftie right away and that hasn’t changed throughout the book.
This one mainly focuses on character development, learning to trust and earning trust, figuring out who you are and dealing with your own demons. Its main trope again is found family, which you all know I’m a sucker for. Still, there is lots fighting, but this time not on a world-ending level, which is a nice change of pace as well. I love how this book focuses on friendship and there is barely any romance in it, we need more books like that!
However, the ending felt a bit too rushed, some of the characters decisions came too easily.
I’m also not that big of a fan of Aidy, they were the first protagonist in one of Whitby’s books I felt like I was supposed to like, but did not.
Still, a great read as always.
Aidy and Leftie are both well developed characters and if you know me, you know I loved Leftie right away and that hasn’t changed throughout the book.
This one mainly focuses on character development, learning to trust and earning trust, figuring out who you are and dealing with your own demons. Its main trope again is found family, which you all know I’m a sucker for. Still, there is lots fighting, but this time not on a world-ending level, which is a nice change of pace as well. I love how this book focuses on friendship and there is barely any romance in it, we need more books like that!
However, the ending felt a bit too rushed, some of the characters decisions came too easily.
I’m also not that big of a fan of Aidy, they were the first protagonist in one of Whitby’s books I felt like I was supposed to like, but did not.
Still, a great read as always.
September 17, 2022
Another incredible book set in the Cute Mutants universe. This one tells the story of Aidy and Leftie, two mutants, both with a dark past and who don't get along that well but eventually form a friendship.
I like books like this that focus on friendship instead of romance and I think we need more books like this.
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I like books like this that focus on friendship instead of romance and I think we need more books like this.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews