Wrap-up: November 2021

Better late than never comes our wrap up post for November. This month was pretty busy for us, and December is only going to get busier. Which is… good news of a sort? Risky news for the frequency of posts on the blog, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.

But anyway! I hope your Novembers went well, and that December is good to you. Here’s a little summary of our reading, watching, and now listening habits!

What we read

Anna

Fake It by Lily Seabrooke (bi trans mc, bi mc, nonbinary side character) – 3 🌈
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins (fat Black lesbian mc, Afro-Latina butch lesbian mc, Black side characters, Afro-Latine side characters, lesbian side characters) – 2.5 🌈 tw bigotry, colorism
Mamo by Sas Milledge (sapphic mc, Filipino sapphic mc) – 4 🌈 tw mention of past child abuse
The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O’Neill (poc sapphic mc, sapphic li, achillean character, disabled poc achillean character) – 4 🌈
The Tea Dragon Festival by Kay O’Neill (poc nonbinary mc, achillean mc, poc sapphic character, poc achillean character, achillean character) – 5 🌈

The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Kay O’Neill (poc sapphic mc, sapphic mc, poc achillean disabled character, achillean characters, poc nonbinary character) – 5 🌈
Never Mine by Bryce Oakley (lesbian mcs, lesbian side characters, achillean side character) – 3 🌈
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (poetry) – 5 🌈
The Lie And How We Told It by Tommi Parrish (bi mc, achillean side character, sapphic side character) – 4 🌈 tw internalised homophobia
Xena, the Warrior Princess: Road Warrior by Vita Ayala & Olympia Sweetman (sapphic mcs, sapphic side character) – 3 🌈 tw blood, violence

Spell on Wheels by Kate Leth & Megan Levens (Vietnamese American sapphic mc) – 4 🌈
Spell on Wheels, Vol. 2 by Kate Leth & Megan Levens (Vietnamese American sapphic mc) – 4 🌈
Fools In Love, ed. by Rebecca Podos & Ashley Herring Blake (sapphic mcs, achillean mcs, trans mc) – 3 🌈 [review]

Charlotte

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski (biracial Black sapphic mc, lesbian li) – 4.5 🌈 cw casual racism, misogyny, lesbophobia, transphobia, implied rape, mentions of domestic abuse [review]
The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves (gay mcs) – 4 🌈 cw discussions of severe depression, mentions of suicide/suicide clubs, ableism
Dirty Slide by Lauren Blakely & K. D. Casey (gay mcs) – 3 🌈
Innate Magic by Shannon L. Fay (bi mc, achillean side characters) – 4 🌈 cw violence, blood, extreme gore (inc. skinning alive)
The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy (lesbian mcs) – 3 🌈 [review]

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski (trans mc, lesbian mc, nonbinary side character) – 3 🌈
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (nonbinary characters) – 5 🌈
Bitter Eden by Tatamkhulu Afrika (achillean mc) – 3 🌈 cw homophobia, assault, gore, implied child sexual abuse
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (nonbinary characters) – 5 🌈
Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan (Iranian American lesbian mc, bi li, gay side character) – 2.5 🌈 cw mentions of racist microaggressions, lesbophobia, mentions of homophobic bullying, toxic friendship, sexual assault, d slur, outing

The Pursuing and the Pursued by AJ Odasso (gay mc, bi li, intersex sapphic character, Black Jewish sapphic character) – 3.5 🌈
The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney (gay mc) – 4.5 🌈 cw homophobia, misogynistic violence, mentions of rape, gore
🔥 The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K. J. Charles (gay mcs) – 5 🌈 cw child abuse, implied domestic abuse
Behind Bars by Meredith Katz (bi/pan mc, nonbinary li, achillean side characters) – 2.5 🌈
Diving Into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich (poetry) – 3 🌈

Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson (gay mc, agender intersex mc) – 1 🌈 cw torture, bodily control by magic, murder
The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (gay mc, gay li) – 5 🌈 cw torture, implied institutional abuse, child sexual abuse, mentions of rape, incest, violence, mentions of domestic abuse [review]
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (poetry) – 5 🌈
A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale (gay mc, gay li, Cree two-spirit side character, lesbian side characters) – 3.5 🌈 cw rape, period typical homophobia, anti Indigenous racism, mentions of residential schools, assault, attempted suicide, transphobia
The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee (lesbian mc, Vietnamese lesbian side character) – 2.5 🌈 cw animal death, past child abuse, alcoholism

The Map to You by Rachel Stockbridge (lesbian mc, Chinese American lesbian mc) – 2.5 🌈 cw child abuse, child neglect, drug abuse, toxic relationships [review]
The Harbinger of Freedom by Freddie A. Clark (bi mc, achillean side characters) – 2.5 🌈 cw gore, violence, implied child sexual abuse, past child abuse [review]
🔥 The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (gay mc, Japanese gay li) – 4 🌈
The Royal Art of Poison by Eleanor Herman (nonfiction) – 4 🌈
Letting Go by Cat Clarke (lesbian mc, bi side character) – 2 🌈

Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell (lesbian mc with PTSD) – 4 🌈 cw violence, torture, genocide
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (Indigenous Mexican American lesbian mc, Chinese American lesbian li, Indigenous Mexican American bi side character, Black gay side character) – 2.5 🌈 cw outing, deportation, racism, lesbophobia, homophobic slurs, mentions of suicidal thoughts, disownment, implied homophobic violence
Season’s Change by Cait Nary (gay mc, bi mc) – 4 🌈 cw internalised homophobia, implied past homophobic abuse [review]
7 semanas en París by Paula Gallego (bi mc, lesbian mc) – 2 🌈 cw past suicide, panic attacks
A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar (Egyptian Palestinian bi mc) – 3.5 🌈 cw physical abuse, rape

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (African & Arab coded cast & setting, bi/pan mc, sapphic mc) – 3 🌈 cw gore, violence, child abuse [review]
🔥 The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley (physically disabled gay mc, Peruvian gay li) – 5 🌈

What we watched (and listened to)

Charlotte

Miss Scarlet and the Duke (S1) cr. Rachael New (gay character) – 3.5 🌈

Anna

Only cishet romcoms, sadly.

Music on repeat

still got me by Sean Doherty
Tu mi hai capito by Madame, Sfera Ebbasta
Per dirti ciao! by Tiziano Ferro
VOCE by Madame
tonight by LIE NING

carry the weight by morgxn
i’m in love by Elliot Jones
Sensation by Bright Light Bright Light & Jake Shears
Aoede by Mashrou’ Leila
KLAN by Mahmood

On the blog

• Our November book of the month.
• Interviews with Lea Falls and Casey Hamilton.
• An ARC review (and mix!) for Fools in Love.
• Rec lists for gay adult fantasy, bi/pan adult fantasy, trans & nonbinary adult fantasy, fake dating, messy teens & graphic novels.
• A discussion post, looking at the state of LGBT rep in Goodreads’ awards.
• October’s music releases and December’s book releases.

On other blogs

• …we didn’t have time to go through any this month sadly.

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