3.5

Robson describes this novella as a "lesbian stoner buddy comedy with fairies - about Brexit" and I would say that's a very accurate description.

It is a novella, so there is no real explanation for <b>why</b> things are happening the way they are, like why are fairies running the human world? That being said, I think despite the length Robson does a great job of using this as a framework to talk about the state of modern global politics.

I think your mileage may vary depending on how well you get along with Lana as a main character. She is self-described as lazy and very much a stoner. Really all she wants is to have a good time with a pretty lady. And for some that can be frustrating because the book has high stakes, like they will all drown if parliament can't make a decision. However, I found Lana to be quite relatable and amusing. I mean, she's just trying to live her life while the world crashes down around her, and really aren't we all.

I think my biggest issue, is the ending. I just didn't really find it satisfying. That being said, it doesn't color my enjoyment of the rest of the work and while I might not agree with the choices, I think I can understand why the author chose to end it that way.

I thought this novella had a lovely whimsical and cozy vibe to it and I had a great time listening to the audio. While I think Amy Scanlon's narration captured Lana's personality incredibly well, I struggled a bit with the voice for Bugbite.

Overall, I would recommend this, with the caveat that it is definitely going for a more niche audience.

2.5 stars

Okay, so this book wasn’t bad. I just had no idea what was going on. This human ends up being forced to be a scribe in the lower parliament (England), and there are fairies who seem to act as a sort of go-between for the humans that are forced to work there and the parliamentarians? Sort of? But then the parliamentarians are actively trying to get parliament to collapse. Maybe that means proroguing parliament, I’m not sure. And when parliament fails all the humans will be drowned.

It was very confusing. The writing in and of itself was good, it just didn’t really make any sense.

I did like the narrator overall, however, I didn’t love her choices for the fae voices, they kind of hurt my ears.

High Time in the Low Parliament is a sapphic novella about flirting with pretty women, getting high and navigating a confusing parliament system.

Lana, our flirty MC ends up being sent to Low Parliament as a scribe. She quickly makes her faerie boss Bugbite, her bestie by supplying the faerie with yeast (happy drugs) in exchange for /magic mushrooms. They then seek the pretty Human Deputy Eloquentia, to help them possibly save Parliament. Nobody wants to work at parliament because if parliament is ‘hung’ the fairies will drown them all!

This is a novella, so it doesn’t go into depths about WHY the fairies run the human world and WHY the fairies will drown parliament, but it’s pretty obvious it's because <spoiler> humans can't be trusted (we war amongst ourselves a lot and kill fairies in the process) and if we can’t even decide on politics we’re doomed and must be eliminated. </spoiler>

I had so much fun reading this high ride. I read it as an audiobook and I think the narrator Amy Scanlon did an amazing job capturing Lana’s stubbornness and lazy nature.

Lana’s quick relationship with her faerie boss ‘Beauty’ Bugbite was entertaining and their blossoming relationship with Eloquentia was a treat. If you want a quick light hearted read about getting high and being confused and annoyed at a government (a bit like real life!) this is a great read. Also, men don't exist in this world, so no chances of them ruining the mood with misogyny ;)

I was given a digital audio review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

* received a copy for review.**
This book was just a bit of a mess. I felt like I had stumbled into a story where everyone knew what was going on except me.

I received an advanced copy of High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson through Netgalley so I could share my review with you! Be sure to head over to my blog (link in bio) to see a full synopsis and more details about the book!

This book contained some extremely compelling components, including:
- Optimists who don’t know what’s good for them (or who are too busy flirting to care about impending doom)
- More lesbians and queer women than I could count
- An absolute disaster gay protagonist
- The healing power of dance
- Fairies who have absolutely had it with human politicking

Novellas are one of my favorite formats to read, especially when they’ve got queer representation, so High Times in the Low Parliament was the perfect read for me! I loved Lana’s easy-going personality and how it clashed with the high-stakes world around her. The world needs more characters who, when faced with imminent doom, flirt their way out.

In addition to reading my print copy of High Times in the Low Parliament, I also had the pleasure of listening to an audiobook version. Narrated by Amy Scanlon, the High Times in the Low Parliament audiobook was an absolute five-star hit for me! I loved the way that Scanlon’s characters paired with Robson’s writing style. Additionally, the shorter length of this novella translated very nicely into the audio format, so I listened to the whole book in only a couple of days.

My Recommendation-
If you love a queer story with a flirtatious, devil-may-care protagonist, you need to grab a copy High Times in the Low Parliament as soon as possible! I would especially recommend this novella to readers who prefer short-and-sweet stories, like Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower!

This was a really fun little novella. This book was short but packed full of story and magic. I found myself wishing this book was longer so I could get more of this world. I definitely recommend this! It's very short and worth ever bit of your time.

This book was really weird and kind of whimsical! It’s also really short, so we never really find out what is going on, there’s simply not enough space. Why are there only women in this world? Why do fairies rule everyone? Not a problem, not an issue, just deal with it. Worldbuilding? No! Here is a world, take it or leave it. And you need to know that piece already before you get into it, I think. Interesting character development! I got this on audiobook AND ebook, and I started the audiobook and ended up finish it as an ebook during a doctor’s appointment. Which was perfectly fine! Three and a half stars, rounded up for Netgalley/Goodreads.

This was a cute little read. I enjoyed the fast pace and wit of the narrative. Everything gets tied up in a nice neat little bow for our (rather horny) protagonist Lana. Bugbite was a lot of fun. There wasn't a ton of depth in the story, but if you're looking for a quick read with some fey shenanigans, wlw, and a dash of politics, this is great little novella.

So this novella is sort of like Alice in Wonderland if Alice were a very flirtatious female version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Though maybe the reader is actually Alice here? I definitely felt thrown into an unfamiliar and somewhat befuddling, though not entirely unenjoyable world. I liked Lana and the other characters, and did find the story humorous. I even kind of liked the trippy, aimless meandering of vibe of the book.

But I didn’t know enough about the world to be really interested or invested in what was happening. And while it was a chill listen, it wasn’t entertaining enough for me to disregard the fact that not much really happens and I also felt confused much of the time. I guess I just needed a bit more in order to find this memorable.

I also didn’t love the whole “this world only has women and girls” aspect. There’s not much mention of it and no real explanation, but a fictional world that’s like “if you aren’t a woman you don’t exist here” is not my favorite.

The narration for the audiobook was great. My only complaint is that the narrator made Bugbite’s dialogue so shrill and loud. The rest of the characters and general narration were much quieter, so I had to keep constantly adjusting the volume.

I’d say audio is the way to go if you give this one a try, because it is a somewhat fun listen, but overall the lows outweighed the highs for me with this novella.

The narrator was wonderful but the story left too many questions and I think would have been better as a full length novel. I found myself feeling like I had picked up the second book in a series and was missing all the world building all ready done.

What even was this book? It reads like a sequel. Like you're already supposed to know and understand these characters in this world and I found myself going back multiple times looking at the authors back list to see if I had accidentally stumbled upon a second book in a series but I didn't. This is a standalone novella and it's confusing.

You're thrust into this world where apparently fairies are in charge and then there's scribes and humans but nothing really makes a lot of sense. It's super fucking queer and that's awesome but I had no idea what was happening for the entire book. I liked the main characters that we heard about but I wasn't actually able to process anything because I was so confused by the world building / lack thereof.

This had a 2 star plot and a 3 star protagonist.

Starting off with what I enjoyed: Lana the flirtatious scribe. I enjoyed her "play hard, avoid work" approach to life, and kudos to her for wanting to flirt with and kiss ladies as her goals in life. I liked the honesty, and Lana only had one thing on her mind: ladies. Lana also really liked any kind of ingestible to alter her reality a bit. Good for her that she wasn't villainized for the drug usage throughout the book.

Prefacing to say that I am not an expert on Brexit, and I also am not a big believer that one passioned speech by a random person can end historical tension between groups, solve governmental tensions, and wrapped up everything in a pretty bow. There were parallels between the fairies and humans with conflicts of how each were treated, and it felt like a very infantilized under-explanation that ends with everything being fine. This was a novella length book, and maybe a full length novel could have explored the relations between groups a bit more to show whatever point the author was trying to make?

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is the gayest book I have ever read. I repeat, the absolute gayest book I, a 32-year-old queer bibliophile, have ever read. It was fun and I loved how literal “High Times” is.

High Times in the Low Parliament is a strange queer stoner historical fantasy novella by Kelly Robson. Released 9th Aug 2022 by Tor, it's 160 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is such an odd little book. It's undeniably well written, with distinct characters (human and fairy) and well rendered settings based on an alternate Earth in what seems to be the late Victorian era. The world building, magic systems, and pretty much everything else is barely sketched in or totally missing. Most of the characters are remarkably unlovable, although they grew on me over the course of the book. There are only female characters in the book, and, apparently, the world. There are only the briefest mentions of *why* that is, or the mechanics of how it works (apparently babies are gifted to humans by the fairies but no mention of why).

The titular political organ is filled to the brim with horribly stubborn, smug, acerbic, self-satisfied, and not terribly intelligent politicians. There's a *huge* amount of the content taken up with political protocol and posturing. The main protagonist is an eye-rollingly flirty "lad" whose raison d'etre seems to be an attempt to pull any girl with a pulse in a 50 kilometer radius. The pickup lines are atrocious.

The book is stuffed with drug use from cover to cover, mostly hallucinogenic. I don't mind personally, but it's definitely something of which to be aware if gifting this book. Especially given the current political climate with regard to public and school library acquisitions, I would strongly suggest caution in regard to adding it to any collection. Additionally, there are scenes of graphic violence which occur on-page.

It seems to be aimed at a YA/NA audience, but the drug use and deep sarcasm seem to make it moderately inappropriate for those readers.

The audiobook version has a run time of 4 hours and 36 minutes and is read by Amy Scanlon. For a short book, there were long stretches of dialogue which were nearly impossible to listen to without turning the sound way down to nearly a whisper. She narrates one of the main characters, Bugbite, in an ear-shattering screech that is literally painful to listen to, even after the character grows into a more sympathetic version of her earlier self. The sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Three and a half stars. It's well written. The author is certainly adept at her craft. It's also disjointed and just *weird*. I'm not sure for whom I would recommend it. The audiobook version is a no-go.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Trigger Warnings: Knife, guns, violence, blood, death, alcohol

Representation: Lesbian

High Times in the Low Parliament is a fantasy Novella about scribe, Lana Baker. Lana agrees to deliver a message and ends up in Low Parliament thanks to a fairy. Lana is tasked to transcribe the arguments as she tries to save humanity from flood and a return to endless war.

To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of this novella. I think it had great potential and could have been very great, but it didn’t have enough pages to get there. Honestly I had to check an ebook to make sure the audiobook was the full story because the ending doesn’t feel like the end at all. The story is an interesting concept and I think would be a better fit for a British audience because of the satire about Brexit.

I did enjoy the opportunity for a lesbian to just flirt. I loved how Lana was so carefree and brave and had the opportunity to be flirty without consequence or judgment for being sapphic. And as a sign language interpreter though, I absolutely loved Lana’s comment about non-verbal languages!

"fantastical lesbian stoner buddy comedy-slash-political satire" is a hell of an unwieldy premise to manage, but Robson pulled it off with aplomb. I had a delightful time, and the audio narrator was top notch.

At times sharp and political, but with a hazy dreamlike quality. This little novella packs a punch.

Set mostly in an unstable and chaotic parliament, High Times in the Low Parliament manages to establish an interesting and well established world in such a short time.

Weird and wonderful, I need this novella to get the Wayward Children treatment. I'm not ready to leave this world yet.

The narrator does a fantastic job of making all the characters distinguishable and the way she voices the fairy Bug Bite is especially great.

Overall this was strange, charming, and bitter. Like biting into a tart blueberry. What a joy. 3.75 stars

Thank you again RB Media and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

High Times in the Low Parliament is a snack-sized delight for lovers of political satire, fantasy, and stories that leave you wanting more.

I greatly enjoyed spending the few hours of audiobook runtime following Lana’s escapades as she grapples with her tunnel-vision desires amidst a what even she notes are much more pressing priorities. She was a delightful main character to spend time with, and maintained a consistent voice throughout.

One thing I loved about this book was the levity and obscurity - the light and mildly ridiculous tone of every character interaction is an effective motivator for the suspension of disbelief needed here, as while the foundations of something truly special are there, the world building is relatively weak. While a slightly extended length may have fixed this, I may still prefer it as is, as the confusion is part of the fun. This book leaves the reader with a lot of ‘wait, why?’ thoughts about the way this world works, but personally I quite liked the ambiguity of this as it let me sink deeper into Lana’s overall relaxed (read: mostly stoned) perspective.

Overall, this was an absolute delight, and baffling in the best way.

A scribe, Lana, gets sent to Low Parliament (essentially a prison) to, well, scribe. While there she gets caught up in the fact that the fairies are keen to drown the world and start things anew (not that I can blame them really).

While this sounded like an interesting concept on paper, I felt there was a lot left to be desired in the execution. Lana isn't really a likable character and is only interested in being high and flirting (badly). If that was supposed to be part of the joke, I didn't really get it. Also, I'm not sure if this is supposed to be an allegory for Brexit or not, but that didn't come across well at all. Perhaps others might find Lana charming and enjoy this story, but I did not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Amy Scanlon was a great narrator, but even her narration couldn't save this story for me.

A delightfully horny novella!

This little book was a blast to read, or listen to as was the case for me. Politics, shenanigans, and a protagonist so horny Gideon Nav would ask her if it wasn't all a bit much.

Lana, our protagonist, is your basic fantasy lady himbo, except instead of a sword, she's good with a pen. She's a delight from top to bottom, looking for kisses and highs and kinda stumbling into saving all of Europe.

This book is an intentional satire of brexit, and some may find its politics naive. I think that's a very intentional choice. It is hopeful and bright in a fantasy world of political idiocy, because we need hopefulness and brightness in our own world of political idiocy.

It's also a book about friendship and love and beauty, about weird found families. And it is full of women. Human women and fairy women, angry women and horny women. Friends and enemies and lovers and political operators. All women. Gloriously queer women.

Disclaimers: I was able to listen to the audio edition thanks to Netgalley and RB Media. Also, the author is a pal.