Wrap-up: August 2021

It’s the end of August and the end of the summer (if you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is), which brings us to our wrap up post. I don’t know about you, but time seems to be passing so quickly at the moment and yet, at the same time, I do not remember reading half of these books in August. We have a jam-packed September for you, but first, let’s recap the previous month.

What we read

Anna

🔥 Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales (bi mc, trans sc, Vietnamese-American lesbian sc, bi sc, gay sc, pan nonbinary sc) – 5 🌈 tw for biphobia, internalised biphobia, toxic parents, drugs, alcohol, vomiting [review]
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros (Romanian Jewish gay mc, Lithuanian Jewish gay li, Ukrainian Jewish gay li, Jewish characters) – 3 🌈 tw for antisemitism, mentions of past rape, mentions of past pedophilia, body horror (chapter 42), blood, gore, violence, murder, drowning, vomiting, fire, immolation [review]
The One That Got Away by Sophie Gonzales (bi mcs, f/f, Black gay sc) – 5 🌈
Tell Me More, Tell Me More by Sophie Gonzales (gay mc, bi Venezuelan li, gay side character) – 4 🌈
Pale Colors in a Tall Field by Carl Phillips (poetry) – 3 🌈

Charlotte

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes (Cuban American gay mc, Chinese American gay li, nonbinary side character) – 2 🌈 cw homophobia, teacher-student relationship, homophobic violence
The Other Man by Farhad J. Dadyburjor (Indian cast, gay mc, Brazilian American gay li) – 2.5 🌈 cw mentions of homophobia, mentions of past domestic abuse [review]
🔥 Role Model by Rachel Reid (gay mcs) – 3.5 🌈 cw mentions of rape, homophobia [review]
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Chinese Indonesian sapphic characters) – 4 🌈
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (lesbian mc with anxiety & psychotic depression, lesbian li, nonbinary side character) – 3 🌈 cw animal death

The Things We Don’t See by Savannah Brown (lesbian mc, bi side characters) – 4 🌈
🔥 Face Offs & Cheap Shots by Eden Finley & Saxon James (gay mc, pan mc, gay & bi side characters) – 3.5 🌈
All Are Welcome by Liz Parker (lesbian mcs, gay side character) – 2.5 🌈 cw casual homophobia, alcohol abuse, drug use [review]
The End Zone by Riley Hart (Black bi mc, gay mc) – 2.5 🌈 cw f slur, outing, homophobia
Bossy by N. R. Walker (gay mcs) – 3 🌈

Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey (gay mc & li) – 2.5 🌈 cw child neglect, homophobia, suicide, attempted suicide
Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett (Black lesbian mcs) – 5 🌈 cw torture, gore, violence
Unwritten Rules by K. D. Casey (Jewish hard of hearing gay mc, Venezuelan American bi li, sapphic side characters) – 3 🌈 [review]
🔥 The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski (lesbian mc & li) – 4 🌈 cw emotional and physical abuse
The Door into Fire by Diane Duane (bi mcs) – 2.5 🌈

The Undertakers by Nicole Glover (Black gay, trans, & lesbian characters) – 4 🌈 cw violence, period typical racism [review]
The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski (lesbian mc, nonbinary lesbian mc, gay side character) – 4 🌈 [review]
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani (gay mcs) – 4 🌈 cw blood, gore, racism/racial trauma, emotional abuse, implied rape, implied child trafficking [review]
What We May Be by Layla Reyne (bi mcs, polyamory, gay side character) – 3 🌈
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (gay mc, gay li) – 4 🌈 cw past & implied domestic abuse, rape, mentions of suicide

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper (bi mc, bi li) – 3 🌈 [review]
The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska (lesbian mcs, bi character, gay character) – 3 🌈 [review]

What we watched (and listened to)

Charlotte

The Mire ’97 (S2) cr. Jan Holoubek & Kasper Bajon (lesbian mc & li) – 4 🌈 cw labour camps, drowning, child death, antisemitism, vomiting, homophobia, g slur, attempted suicide, implied rape, implied dismemberment
The Tunnel (S1) cr. Ben Richards & Hans Rosenfeldt (bi mc) – 3 🌈 cw drug use, vomiting, gore, prostitution, antisemitism, implied rape, child neglect, child abuse, beheading, police killing, immolation, racism
The Fall (S1) cr. Allan Cubitt (bi mc, lesbian side character) – 3.5 🌈 cw drug use, femicide, violence, suicide, implied animal death, implied paedophilia, implied domestic abuse
Dogs of Berlin (1.01) cr. Christian Alvart (Turkish German gay mc, gay li) cw gore, racism
Hightown (S1) cr. Rebecca Perry Cutter (Black lesbian mc, gay & lesbian side characters) – 3.5 🌈 cw drug use, death, gore, alcohol abuse, car crash, prostitution, overdoses, fatphobia, vomiting, antiblack racism, relapses, violence, blood, sexual threats, homophobic slurs, dismemberment, gun violence

Anna

The Mire ’97 (S2, episodes 1-3) cr. Jan Holoubek & Kasper Bajon tw for labour camps, drowning, child death, antisemitism, vomiting, homophobia, g slur, attempted suicide, implied rape, implied dismemberment

On the blog

• Our August book of the month.
• Interviews with Elisa A. Bonnin and Skye Kilaen, and a guest post from Amara Lynn.
• ARC reviews (and mixes!) for The Charm Offensive.
• Rec lists for zodiac signs, ace protagonists and crime dramas.
• Releases lists for ownvoices achillean books from July to December and 2019’s non-cis books.
• July’s music releases and September’s book releases.

On other blogs

• Kate @ Your Tita Kate revealed the gorgeous cover of Dauntless.
• Cande @ Cande Reads reviewed The Girls I’ve Been.
• Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books reviewed Malibu Rising.
• Lili @ Utopia State of Mind reviewed The Breath Between Waves.

So, how was August for you? What did you read and watch?