reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
I think we can all agree that books including sports in any way, be it a romance between two teammates or the main character running marathons, just somehow hit harder. Sometimes they’re truly all you need in life! Which is why I’m here with ten sports books.
Anyway, I hope no one is surprised that more than half of this list are YA books…
A new interview to share with you today, with Shawn Hitchins, the author of the upcoming The Light Streamed Beneath It, a memoir of grief, memory and recovery. It’s out in just a few days’ time as well, so there’s no need to wait too long for it!
So make sure you’re following Shawn on twitter and don’t forget to preorder!
Today’s post is a new addition to our myriad of releases posts! If you’re looking for books for age groups younger than young adult, perhaps even for small children, then trust me, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. A round-up of all the middle grade and picture book releases of 2021! It’s a little delayed, it’s true, partly because we decided to do this post on a whim, but it’s here! And there’s so many exciting books on offer!
Making sure y’all have lots & lots of new music to listen to by bringing you all the September releases by LGBT artists that I heard about. Please comment if you know any I’ve missed and I will add them to the mix (available at the end of the post!), but in the meantime check out ten of my personal favourites.
That’s not enough for you? Try all my previous monthly posts right here!
And hey, on an unrelated note! We started a bookstagram account, check it out!
Today’s post is part of a blog blast to celebrate the release of Lana Harper’s John Tucker Must Die inspired fantasy romcom, Payback’s a Witch. Also known as the most perfect read for spooky season. And you can read it right away, there’s no need to wait! But if you’re not quite convinced yet, let us help you with that…
And don’t forget to follow Lana on twitter too!
Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn’t been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.
But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She’s determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.
On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?
But most concerning of all: Why can’t she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?
Lana Harper
Rep: bi mc, Russian American bi li
Release: 5th October 2021
Another month, another book of the month. October’s selection is a book both me and Anna are looking forward to, the kind of book that seems as though it’ll feel like a big warm hug. And, really, aren’t we all searching for a book like that deep down?
Yet another month seems to have flown by at the speed of light, leaving us ever closer to the end of 2021 (ha. haha). We have an exciting (and spooky) month planned for October, so you’ll want to stick around, but before we can get to that, here’s how our September looked.
We’re nearing the end of the year, which means it’s probably the last post this long. Over 100 LGBT books, my guys! Remember to preorder whatever you want to read, given the current publishing situation, too.
Anyway, my apologies in advance if any books are wrongly categorised – let me know & I can fix it. And as per usual, you can find all our previous releases posts here & the rainbow emoji indicates an author who id’s as LGBT.
It’s a companion post of sorts to one of my previous rec lists, where I recommended people books based on their favourite Richard Siken quotes. This time the quotes are lesbian, though.
The idea is very simple: I asked our followers on twitter to choose their most beloved quote by Mary Oliver (which isn’t easy, I know!) & then tried to figure out what book does it remind me of. Sometimes based on vibes alone, sometimes based more on the plot. So let’s go.
If you’re on a lookout for a spooky read with the autumn fast approaching, look no further! Just let us tell you why you should absolutely be reading The City Beautiful, for all your gothic needs.
And remember, we actually talked with Aden Polydoros a few days ago!
So have fun, and get scared!
Death lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together.
Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.
But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.
Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next.
Aden Polydoros
Rep: Romanian Jewish gay mc, Lithuanian Jewish gay li, Ukrainian Jewish gay li
TW: antisemitism, mentions of past rape, mentions of past pedophilia, body horror (chapter 42), blood, gore, violence, murder, drowning, vomiting, fire, immolation
Release: 5th October 2021
I’m sure that, much like us, The City Beautiful is one of your most anticipated releases. And now, approaching the end of September, there’s only a few more days to go! Just to whet your appetite a little bit more, we have a couple of exciting posts upcoming, the first of which is today’s interview.
So get yourself a drink, make sure you’re following Aden on twitter, and give this a read.
And here’s the preorder link, because you’re going to want it!
I’m sure this next book is one you’ve all been highly anticipating (and if not, why not?). It’s also coming out at the perfect time for Halloween and all things spooky! If you want a book that’ll scare you out of your wits (and I’m not just saying this as a certified wimp), then this is the book for you.
So, sit back, give Alison a follow on twitter, and get yourself ready for the perfect spooky season read!
Debut voice Alison Ames delivers with a chilling, feminist thriller, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Sawkill Girls.
Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.
Clem and Nina form a perfect loop—best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena—sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.
Alison Ames
Rep: lesbian mc, bi li
CWs: animal death, death of a parent, gore
Release: 21st September 2021
Iron Widow is one of those 2021 debuts that possibly everyone has already heard about it and is (rightly!) excited about, so let us stoke the fires some more with our reviews of this glorious beast of a book. There’s a music mix, too!
And if you want to do yourself a big favour, go ahead & follow Xiran on twitter already!
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Xiran Jay Zhao
Rep: Chinese-coded cast, bi mcs, polyamory
CWs: gore, murder, torture, mentions of rape, threats of rape, misogyny, femicide, suicide ideation, abuse, alcohol addiction
Release: 21st September 2021
If, a few days back, you read our review of Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani, and thought to yourself, wow I wish I could find out a bit more about this book and the author, well we have a treat for you today!
And after that, while you wait, you can follow him on twitter, and also preorder a copy of Beasts and Beauty (links can be found here).
There’s something about a good histrom that just perfectly scratches a certain itch for me. And once I find an author whose books I enjoy, I will binge their entire backlist. That being said, it’s still an area where, at least in tradpub, it’s very cishet and white. So, here I’ve done my utmost to find you 10 recs that are very much not cishet (although they do remain quite white, so if anyone has recs of their own, please do drop them in the comments!). For that time when you just need a good histrom.
