La Biblio-Fille

_{By Teshelle Combs}

Where to start?!

Reading The Underglow but Teshelle Combs (Tess), you follow a snippet of Aurelie Kendrick’s life. You will meet her friends, enemies, pyres, as well as other (less palatable) creatures. You will join her adventures, highs, and lows. There will be harsh losses, but great gains so prepare yourself for an overall emotional roller coaster.

“She is the strangest human, this one. Is she not?” _{(Episode 88)}

Aurelie is frequently described as “strange”, so if you also relate to strange you will find comfort in her character as I have. She is strong, courageous, thoughtful, reflective, and mute in a society that expects women to be pliable, talkative, and generally dim. She refers to herself and her most cherished persons as “wildlings”, those who do not conform to societal norms and expectations, who are deemed as undesirables, who follow their dreams, and fight for what is right.

There are many characters to love: Aurelie herself, Alexander, Niall Rennington, CJ Rennington, Jane Rollins, Rosemary, Cybil Kendrick, Vincent, Willoughby and Favian Kendrick to name a few.

There are also many characters to outright despise: Latimer Tower, Chrysanthemum Tower, Hallen Tower, Valeria Tower, Duval Rennington, Isther Rennington, Oeric Rennington, Royce Rennington, Edgar Cranley, and Milieu to name a few.

Sam Crawford, for me, earned a rightful redemption towards the end of the story. Yet, until that point, I was immensely disappointed in his actions towards Aurelie and his inability to listen even if she was not physically speaking to him. Active listening is more than just about the spoken word. It’s about picking up nonverbal cues and providing appropriate responses. He also needed to learn that bravery is not just about apparent strong actions, but about thought-out actions as well. Storming in and wreaking havoc without a full understanding of the situation(s) at hand is far from helpful. He probably had the most character growth throughout the story, even if he was a side character.

Poppy and Ruxley Rennington are simply excellent tension breakers. They each appear in a handful of scenes for well-placed, much appreciated comedic relief.

“For one snap means something is near, but two snaps means something is prowling.” _{(Episode 56)}

There are a handful of creatures unique to The Underglow that I figured I’d disclose while I’m here.

Gripplings are known for their incredible speed, terrifying smiles, and their need to hug their victims….to death.

Emittunts are massive, putrid frog creatures that spew acidic slime and are known for their greed.

Spelothems are also massive, but they are bear-adjacent creatures.

Cawlers are quite the unique creature. Being a cross between a crow and a witch, they have the ability to trap their victims in nightmare loops.

Banishees (banshees), Lobulin (werewolves), Pyres/Vampyres (vampires) and Trolls also make appearances in the story, but these are more familiar creatures, so I do not feel the need to explain them. Hopefully you understand.

“Hello, quiet one.” _{(Dedication Page)}

There is disability and disability and neurodivergence representation throughout The Underglow, as most (if not all, I have not read all her works yet!) of Tess’s stories include. Aurelie represents selective mutism/nonverbalism. The pyres are also all mute, being able to telepathically communicate with each other, but not to humans (except for Aurelie, you’ll find out!) and she refuses to speak in solidarity with them.

Aurelie is also confirmed by Tess to be Autistic. Having a relatively recent earth-shattering realization that I am also on the Autism Spectrum; this meant the world to me to find out. It is so challenging to relate to some characters while reading, but having this connection really instills why I truly love all of Tess’s main characters so far as many are ADHD/ASD like me.

“Carrots be damned.” _{(Episode 52)}

In Aurelie’s solidarity, she is protesting the treatment of pyres by society. Her immediate family does not partake in the trade of pyres; should she or her father purchase pyres, they immediately write up the paperwork to ensure their freedom. It is mentioned later in the story that human slaves are no longer used, but there is no real delineation between pyres and humans aside from their supernatural abilities, looks, and sleeping habits. This is directly calling out to the Slave Trade in the United States’ history, and the inequality that BIPOC people still experience today. There is no reason for such racism,

I find myself asking more and more frequently lately, where are people finding their audacity and entitlement? And can they please put it back where they found it?! It’s astounding to me how entitled people act and feel on the daily, how audacious they are. How do they go to sleep at night and not feel like complete and utter garbage?

“I would be leagues ahead if not for the pace of valiant men.” _{(Episode 21)}

Tess frequently calls men out on their “valiant” efforts, pompous and egregious acts, as well as their truly unkempt audacity and entitlement through Aurelie and I am here for it! Misogyny has no place here and the men can take their audacious entitlement elsewhere. Ain’t nobody got time for that! “Too much waiting. Always waiting for men to figure out what to do with themselves when I already knew exactly what I wanted out of life at any and every moment,” (Episode 6). And so, so many more.

“I belonged only always to myself” _{(Episode 31)}

There is a huge underlying theme of self-actualization, embracing your true self, and unleashing that person onto the world. Aurelie, Sam, and Jane all have immense growth (just as a few examples) throughout the story. It is so important to show positive character progression as it helps aid in personal growth, even if the inspiration comes from a fantasy novel from your favorite author.

“No thoughts. Only fangs…” _{(Episode 102)}

On a lighter note, there is plenty of smut throughout the story. There are even delightfully, wickedly, naughty sentiments scattered abound for your enjoyment. It is not the main focus of The Underglow, but it sure is enjoyable when it’s there!

Ultimately, I adored this book and will cherish it. There are so many important topics raised and challenged, such emotion brought forward by the characters. How did I live this long without Tess’s stories?! I’ll leave you with this: as Alexander told Aurelie, “there is greatness in you, my dear” _{(Episode 109)}. Remember you are incredible; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

XOXO