Wrap-up: January 2020

As always and to no one’s surprise, Charlotte read more last month than me & I watched more than she. But surprisingly, I read quite a few fantasy novels! So really, if you think about it, it was a month of surprises…

Anyway, we both read some amazing books, so take a look at our lists!

(Also I realised I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately, so if any of you wants a specific rec list from me, please don’t hesitate to say so in the comments & I’ll do my best!)

What we read

Anna

The Impossible Contract by K.A. Doore (lesbian mc, sapphic li, poc cast) – 4 🌈 [review]
Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers by Jake Skeets (poetry; gay Native American author) – 3 🌈
Junk by Tommy Pico (poetry; gay Native American author) – 4 🌈
🔥 War of the Foxes by Richard Siken (poetry; gay author) – 5 🌈
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert (bi mc, wlw mc?) – 3 🌈 [review]

Bent by Martin Sherman (gay mc, gay characters) – 5 🌈 (tw homophobia, concentration camp, torture, murder, forced necrophilia & pedophilia, suicide)
Ghosted in L.A., vol. 1 by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan & Cathy Le (bi/pan Jewish mc, gay side characters) – 3 🌈
🔥 Crush by Richard Siken (poetry; gay author) – 5 🌈
These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch (gay mc, bi li, wlw side characters, poc cast) – 4 🌈 (tw torture, child abuse, death & murder)
These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch (gay mc, bi li, wlw side characters, poc cast) – 5 🌈 (tw torture, child abuse, death & murder)

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (gay mc & characters) – 4 🌈
The Library of Lost Things by Matthew Bright (mlm mc & li) – 4 🌈

Charlotte

🔥 After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott (lesbian mc, bi li) – 4.5 🌈
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (gay mc & li) – 4.5 🌈
Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers by Jake Skeets (poetry) – 5 🌈
The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend by Mabel Maney (lesbian mcs) – 3 🌈
The Electric Heir by Victoria Lee (Jewish bi mc, Jewish gay mc) – 4.5 🌈 [review]

Buuza!!: Good Morning Salwa by Shazleen Khan (Turkish mlm mc, Kazakh Mongolian wlw mc) – 4 🌈
Remember by Claribel A. Ortega (Latina wlw mc) – 3 🌈
Invictus by L. M. Holden (bi mc, gay li) – 1 🌈
Moontangled by Stephanie Burgis (wlw mc & li) – 4 🌈 [review]
The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan (bi mc, Jewish lesbian side character) – 4 🌈

The Charioteer by Mary Renault (gay mcs) – 3.5 🌈
Wilder Girls by Rory Power (bi mc, wlw li) – 4 🌈 [review]
La destrucción o el amor by Vicente Aleixandre (poetry) – 4 🌈
The Best Bad Things by Katrina Carrasco (butch or gnc bi mc, Black wlw side character) – 3 🌈
The Better Liar by Tanen Jones (bi mc) – 3.5 🌈 [review]

These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch (gay mc, bi li) – 5 🌈
Stormsong by C. L. Polk (wlw mc & li, mlm side characters) – 2 🌈 [review]
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (gay mc & li) – 4 🌈 [review]
The Morning After by Jae (lesbian mcs) – 2 🌈
The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah (lesbian mc, bi mc) – 1 🌈

The Toll by Neal Shusterman (bi/pan genderfluid character) – 2 🌈
Renegades by E. M. Lindsey (Moroccan American gay mc with PTSD, gay mc with SCI, mlm side characters) – 3 🌈
Troublemaker by Sean Ashcroft (bi mcs, dyslexic mc) – 3 🌈
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst (gay mcs, gay & lesbian side characters) – 2 🌈
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert (bi mc, Black wlw mc) – 3 🌈 [review]

The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Michael R. Johnston (gay mc & li) – 3.5 🌈 [review]
The Huntress by Kate Quinn (bi mc) – 2.5 🌈
Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi (bi character) – 4 🌈
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley (mlm mc with synesthaesia, Japanese mlm mc) – 5 🌈 [review]
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes (Cuban pan mc) – 2 🌈 [review]

What we watched

Charlotte

9-1-1: Lone Star (S1) cr. Brad Falchuk, Tim Minnear, Ryan Murphy (Black trans mc, gay mc, Latino gay mc)
October Faction (S1) cr. Damian Kindler (biracial Black gay mc, biracial Black bi mc, Indian American gay li)
Grantchester (S5) cr. Daisy Coulam (gay character)

Anna

Akron, dir. Brian O’Donnell & Sasha King (Mexican-American gay mc, mlm li) – 3.5 🌈
The Pass, dir. Ben A. Williams (gay mc, gay Black character) – 4 🌈
Center of My World, dir. Jakob M. Erwa (gay mc, bi/pan li, side sapphic couple) – 3.5 🌈
Harvest, dir. Benjamin Cantu (mlm mcs) – 3.5 🌈
Hidden Kisses, dir. Didier Bivel (gay mc & li, lesbian side character) – 0.5 🌈 (tw outing, homophobia, child abuse, attempted suicide)

My Best Friend, dir. Martín Deus (gay mc) – 2 🌈
Summer, dir. Colette Bothof (lesbian mc, sapphic half-Black li) – 3 🌈 (tw rape, suicide, death (car crush), homophobia, racism, domestic abuse)
🔥 Shelter, dir. Jonah Markowitz (gay mc & li) – 3.5 🌈
Sócrates, dir. Alexandre Moratto (Black gay mc, mlm character) – 4 🌈
Sex Education, cr. Laurie Nunn (Black gay mc, gay poc mcs, pan half-Black mc, wlw mc, bi mc) – 4 🌈

On the blog

• Interviews with Anna Burke & Suna Dasi.
• Rec lists for music of June 2019, music of July 2019, more f/f mystery/thrillers, and novellas you can find on tor.com.
  
• ARC reviews of Nottingham, The Relic Spell, & Moontangled.
• Our February book for the book club.
• The second half of January’s book releases and all of February’s.
• Anna’s lists of upcoming YA releases through January-June and all the books featuring non-cis protagonists.

On other blogs

• Laura @ Laura with Her Books reviewed The Rise of Kyoshi.
• Fadwa @ Word Wonders featured Anna-Marie McLemore and Patrice Caldwell in her Color the Shelves series (which you should also check out in its entirety).
• Shri @ Sun and Chai reviewed The Electric Heir.
• Amy @ Bookish Heights posted about her most anticipated February releases.
• E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook reviewed The Starless Sea.
• Michelle @ Magical Reads reviewed The Midnight Lie.
• Rach @ Anxious Nachos reviewed Rules for Vanishing.
• Jess @ Crowing about Books reviewed The Last True Poets of the Sea.
• Em @ Moonlight & Moths reviewed Blood Countess.
• Lauren @ YA Bookers reviewed We Unleash The Merciless Storm.
• Elise @ thebookishactress reviewed Less.
• Megan @ YA Bookers reviewed Wranglestone.

So, how was January for you? Did you read or watch anything truly great?

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