• All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: King and Lionheart

    24 October, 2020

    Initially, I had not a clue what my second rec list this month would be. Spooky season recs was an obvious one, but after that, I was stuck. But then along came Shri and told me to rec books that fit the king and lionheart trope.

    Before we start, though, a quick definition, courtesy of Shri, again:

    it’s like hero burdened with the main problem and person who is unconditionally loyal to them and a protector. their rock if you will.

    For want of a better example, think Merlin and Arthur from BBC’s Merlin. And since what’s better than a trope, than that same trope made gay, I come bearing recs (sometimes romantic, sometimes not).

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  • Interviews

    Author Interview: Kalynn Bayron

    20 October, 2020

    Back with another interview for you today, and it’s an exciting one! Cinderella is Dead was one of our most anticipated reads this year, so we’re absolutely stoked to be able to interview Kalynn Bayron. So, if you want to find out how exactly she’d describe her current project, which character she’d fight zombies with, and more, read on!

    And don’t forget to follow her on Twitter!

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Spooky Season

    17 October, 2020

    It being October, and almost Halloween, clearly the time was perfect for a rec list that combines the best of the spooky season and LGBT rep. Now, full disclosure, I’m very easily spooked (ha) when it comes to these things (especially if I’m reading late at night) – although not as easily as Anna.

    I’ve tried for variety in these recs, so it’s not going to be all horror (since I don’t read a whole lot of that, for the aforementioned reason), but anything that features something that you might see around All Hallows’ Eve/All Saint’s Day.

    So have a scroll, and let me know what else you would rec!

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Gay books matching the feeling of Siken poetry

    15 October, 2020

    My credentials to write this post are as follows: I have read War of the Foxes 6 times, and Crush 27 times. When I say I’m obssessed with Siken’s poetry…

    I asked people on twitter to share their favourite quotes by Siken with me. And granted, that happened a few months ago, but time flows differently in 2020. So here I am today, with gay and sapphic novels that somehow match the feelings evoked by said Siken quotes. Some of them will make you cry, as they should, but some of them are just beautifully hopeful.

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  • All Reviews,  Interviews,  Literature

    ARC Review + Author Interview: Z Jeffries

    12 October, 2020

    It’s two posts for the price of one on Reads Rainbow today as we are bringing you both an ARC review and an author interview. Chase: The Boy Who Hid is a middle grade science fiction novel, out in just a few days, and we had the pleasure of talking to the author, Z Jeffries, about it (among other things).

    So, this post starts with five reasons you should read this book, and follows on with the interview. Enjoy!

    Don’t forget, you can also follow Z Jeffries on twitter.

    40864832

    Don’t hide from your feelings. Hide from the giant robot trying to kill you.

    I always knew I’d inherited my grandad’s mind for science and technology, but when he goes missing, I get his spot in a top-secret government game of hide and seek. The military camouflage challenge, DARPA’s game where shapeshifters, mechs, and telepaths hide from a robot seeker, is also where Grandad vanished.

    To find out what happened, I’ll play along- gain the team’s trust, master the tech, and avoid catching feelings for the team navigator. If I can do all that, then maybe I can survive the dangerous game. But if it comes down to winning or finding Grandad, I’ll ditch the game and betray my team in a millisecond. Even if it means I go missing, too.

    Book One in the Hide & Seek Series, the action-packed coming of age stories of STEM-minded queer kids getting their hands on the tech of the future.

    Chase: The Boy Who Hid

    Z Jeffries

    Published: 15th October 2020
    Goodreads
    Rep: bi mc, nonbinary character, Black lesbian character

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  • All Releases,  Music,  Music Releases

    Music Releases: LGBT songs of September 2020

    8 October, 2020

    I feel like every month there are more amazing songs by LGBT artists coming out, and every month my job in choosing ten the most favourite is harder. But hey, someone has to do it. On the plus side, though, no one can stop me from making the whole playlist for the month (available at the end of the psot) 50 songs long.

    If you want even more music, check out all my previous monthly posts right here!

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  • Book of the Month,  Literature

    Book of the Month: The Liar’s Guide to the Night Sky

    5 October, 2020

    It’s been a little while since we featured a sapphic book on our book of the month feature, but this month’s is just that! I (Charlotte) have read this book and adored it, so I can’t recommend highly enough that you preorder it. (You can also read some of the other works by this author in the meantime, which are also not straight so…)

    But anyway, read on to find out more about this book!

    Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.
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  • Wrap Ups

    Wrap-up: September 2020

    2 October, 2020

    Do you ever get the feeling that September just doesn’t feel real? Like, I feel as though it was August, I blinked, and now it’s October. That may just be me.

    September, as you can see, was a productive month. Anna watched a lot, I read a lot (I don’t want to talk about it), time went by. So take a scroll through, and let us know how September was for you!

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  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: October 2020

    30 September, 2020

    If you’re looking for something new to read this fall, you’re in luck. Actually, if you’re looking for something spooky, you’re also in luck – there are quite a few horrors and thrillers coming out in October. Among other kinds of books. Among almost 90 titles.

    A little bit different than I usually do on my posts, but I decided with Charlotte that’s actually a more important piece of information. So. A rainbow emoji indicates that the author is LGBT, but not necessarily that the specific rep in the book is ownvoices.

    And if you need some more books, you can find all our previous releases posts here.

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Middle Grade

    28 September, 2020

    Have you ever picked up a gay middle grade book, in the hopes of something lighter to read in between YA or adult books, and suddenly found yourself bawling over it, because there’s something about MG that just hits and yet is so hopeful?

    If you haven’t, you’re missing out.

    So, in the interests of helping you not miss out any more, I have compiled a rec list of MG books for you to cry over*.

    *Disclaimer: you might not actually cry. I don’t know.

    Because I haven’t read huge amounts of LGBT MG myself, here you’ll find 6 books I’d rec, and 4 upcoming releases I can’t wait to read.

    Enjoy!

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Sapphic Science Fiction (I)

    24 September, 2020

    After a last minute switcheroo, today’s rec list is a long-awaited continuation of all those other sapphic rec lists (all the previous posts are here) which you have probably forgotten about. On request, this iteration is the first of (hopefully) many sapphic science fiction rec posts!

    Same disclaimer as in that adult sci fi rec list (in which I apparently recced most of these books anyway…huh) applies: I really like hard sci fi, but I know that that’s not the case for everyone, so there are soft sci fi recs in here too (although by some strange coincidence, most of these recs take place in space…proof space is gay I think).

    And, because I like fun, 5 of the books on this list are upcoming! (Okay, 6, but does it really count when that 6th is out in 5 days?).

    So have a gander!

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: LGBT YA books with supportive parents

    22 September, 2020

    If there is one thing I care about deeply when it comes to YA literature, it’s supportive parents. I firmly believe that at least in fiction, LGBT kids deserve only the best. And nothing can be more formative than your parents being perfectly fine with who you are (as they always should be!) & allowing you to grow up with love and confidence.

    So this is why this rec list got made. Because as much as I personally adore supportive parents, it’s still not the opinion shared by majority and books featuring them are scarce. All the more reasons to appreciate them!

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  • Discussions and Guest Posts

    Discussion: The L Word

    20 September, 2020

    Or, regarding the erasure of the word ‘lesbian’ from YA contemporary literature. I don’t know if you’ve noticed (perhaps you haven’t) that, while the use of some labels to describe sexuality is (wonderfully) on the rise, the use of the label ‘lesbian’ has stagnated, to say the least. So this piece will, hopefully, provide an explanation of sorts of why this shouldn’t be.

    A note to start: we’re limiting this discussion to mainstream YA contemporary because that is what’s most likely to get into young lesbians’ hands, especially if they are not so deep into talking about books on the internet.

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  • All Recommended,  Music,  Music Recs

    Music Recs: Love Is Home

    18 September, 2020

    Not to get ahead of myself, but this is probably the best mix I have ever made. Not just because I used only great songs which also work together very well, but most of all because of theme of those songs.

    I used one of the Twenty-One Love Poems by Adrienne Rich (from the collection “Dream of a Common Language”) as the original description of it & it should tell you better than I ever could, what the theme here is.

    I wake up in your bed. I know I have been dreaming.
    Much earlier, the alarm broke us from each other,
    you’ve been at your desk for hours. I know what I dreamed:
    our friend the poet comes into my room
    where I’ve been writing for days,
    drafts, carbons, poems are scattered everywhere,
    and I want to show her one poem
    which is the poem of my life. But I hesitate,
    and wake. You’ve kissed my hair
    to wake me. I dreamed you were a poem,
    I say, a poem I wanted to show someone . . .
    and I laugh and fall dreaming again
    of the desire to show you to everyone I love,
    to move openly together
    in the pull of gravity, which is not simple,
    which carries the feathered grass a long way down the upbreathing air.

    I think you will all agree that having someone love you makes you feel like you’re home, safe & sound. And gay love somehow makes that feeling more pronounced. And so here we are! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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