High Times in the Low Parliament

Lana Baker is Aldgate’s finest scribe, with a sharp pen and an even sharper wit. Gregarious, charming, and ever so eager to please, she agrees to deliver a message for another lovely scribe in exchange for kisses and ends up getting sent to Low Parliament by a temperamental fairy as a result.
As Lana transcribes the endless circular arguments of Parliament, the debates grow tenser and more desperate. Due to long-standing tradition, a hung vote will cause Parliament to flood and a return to endless war. Lana must rely on an unlikely pair of comrades—Bugbite, the curmudgeonly fairy, and Eloquentia, the bewitching human deputy—to save humanity (and maybe even woo one or two lucky ladies), come hell or high water.

Thank you to TorDotComPub for sending me an ARC of High Times in the Low Parliament for review! This does not affect my review, all opinions are my own.

I’m chuckling to myself right now, because after reading this book I understand double meaning of the title. Or at least *I* see it two ways haha. The way I interpreted it before reading was just sort of like high times = hijinks in the Low Parliament. But after reading it, you also understand that oh it is LITERAL high times. Like, high on drugs. Because throughout the novella the main characters are high, a LOT. So definitely trigger warning for that if you are sensitive!

The author self-described this book as a “lesbian stoner buddy comedy” and I mean, of course the author knows her book best haha. But yes, I’d say that description is incredibly accurate. It was a really fun read, and I enjoyed the different characters. And not only are the main characters all lesbians (as far as I can tell) but the world seems to be entirely women! No men!! How refreshing is that??

There is also a really lovely lover trio that develops between the main three characters. It’s great to see representation for polyam relationships in fiction! We can always use more polyam rep.

Where this book fell a bit short for me was in the world building. There kind of… wasn’t really any? The characters work in the Low Parliament, and we’re told that if the politicians don’t come to a consensus then the fairies will drown the humans in Parliament. But there isn’t really any explanation of what they’re arguing over, why it’s like this, etc. This might work for some people, but I personally found it frustrating. I think I needed just a little bit more to have the plot work for me.

I had fun reading it, but ultimately it’s not a new favorite. However I would like to check out other things by the same author! (Right now I’m eyeing her short story collection). Have you read this, or other things by Robson? If yes, which of hers should I read?