reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
In these weird times, all of us could use something nice to read. Especially if wanting to read books means pre-ordering them and helping out authors who are debuting in upcoming months. And hey!, if you can afford it, consider using an indie bookstore for all your orders! Which should be plenty, given how many great books are coming out next month, just saying.
So, without further ado, here are 85 (!) LGBT April releases!
(As always, the rainbow emoji indicates that the author is LGBT.)
It’s yet another round-up post! But this time it’s books by authors based in the UK and Ireland (I say “based in”, some may still be published by American publishers, but most not). Because this is one of many areas overlooked in favour of US output.
So here are 53 releases from this side of the pond that you can look forward to!
Amidst the pandemic we want to bring you guys a little bit of joy in a form of a new interview! Hopefully, just like us, you never get tired of getting to know new LGBT authors!
Today our guest is Valentine Wheeler, whose first full novel – No Parking – just came out last month. Valentine talked about the importance of worldbuilding even in contemporary novels, the difference between writing adult lit & YA, and why she always includes bi characters in her stories. And a lot more, so dive in!
Of course, remember to follow Valentine Wheeler on twitter!
I’m a simple reader: give me a good mystery and I will be satisfied. Make it gay and I will be over the freaking moon. And I’ve finally read enough excellent mysteries that I can make a rec list of them!
I have fairly high standards for mysteries, I’ll admit. I mean, I want something where I could potentially guess the culprit myself for a start. But not too easily. Basically I have to be able to follow along but also have some element of actual mysteriousness. I told you it was high standards.
But that, of course, means that all the books on this list are especially excellent (not that they wouldn’t be otherwise but. Stringent criteria and all).
So, onwards.
Guys, look, I almost made it to the end of the year with my posts! I am so close to being up to date, I can nearly taste it!
And anyway, here are 10 of my absolutely favourite songs that came out in October and even more songs in the Spotify mix. You can it at the bottom of the post!
And if you have never been here before, you can catch up on my previous posts here!
‘She loved me as I loved her, fierce as a bloodied blade.’
When teenage queen Lia inherits her corrupt uncle’s bankrupt kingdom, she brings a new spymaster into the fold … Xania, who takes the job to avenge her murdered father.
Faced with dangerous plots and hidden enemies, can Lia and Xania learn to rely on each another, as they discover that all is not fair in love and treason?
In a world where the throne means both power and duty, they must decide what to sacrifice for their country – and for each other …
Helen Corcoran
Published: 23rd April 2020
Goodreads
Rep: lesbian mcs, lesbian, gay & bi side characters
If you’re looking for books with bisexual and/or pansexual characters, you’re in luck. Here’s a list of all books coming out in January-June 2020 that fit that description. (The July-December list is available here.)
Finding specific rep in upcoming books isn’t always easy, so I want to make some things clear before we start:
1) I included only books that use the bi & pan labels or, in case of sff ones, that make it clear from context the characters are bi or pan. It’s not always clear-cut but I figured that if you’re looking for bi/pan rep, you’re looking for something concrete;
2) I did not include books which I wasn’t sure about, because I didn’t want to falsely advertise. If there’s anything I missed that you know for a fact features a bi or pan protag, please let me know!
I’ll be also marking YA books with a ✌️ emoji, if that’s something that you’re interested in. And, as always, a 🌈 emoji indicates a book is by an LGBT author.
(You might also be interested in these posts about 2020 YA releases & 2020 releases with non-cis characters.)
We’re back with another interview (we’re sure you guys love to get a peek into the minds of LGBT creators just as much as we do)! Today our guest is Kathleen Jowitt, whose second novel is coming out later this year.
Kathleen told us about the messiness of her writing process and how showing people a draft early isn’t always a good idea, about the power of finding a writer idol and much, much more.
Of course, you can follow Kathleen on twitter!
Last month, we read The Stars and the Blackness Between Them. I say “we” but Anna didn’t actually manage to read it (something called a “book slump”, they say). So what you get is just my review.
So yeah. Enjoy.
February was #FFFeb, so we both challenged ourselves to only read sapphic books for the whole month. Which was, to a degree, successful. Which means what you see here is every single book we read this month.
It’s also the first month I think ever that I (Anna) have watched less things than Charlotte… Let’s please all give her a round of applause!
For March’s read, you voted we pick sci-fi. So the chances of Anna not reading a third book club book in a row have immediately skyrocketed.
We ended up picking a very recent release from an author we have both liked the short stories of for March’s read. Hopefully, that means we’ll both read the book for the first time in about 3 months.
So take a look to see what we selected.
March brings us another 81 releases – we are really being spoiled this year, aren’t we – featuring some of mine and Anna’s most anticipated. And, like last month, they’re all in one place!
You can find all our previous releases posts here. Any errors in rep are mine, etc, etc.
Enjoy!
Every month of 2019 was great to us, music wise, but September was especially good. Some of my favourite LGBT songs of the year are in this post!!
Per tradition, there are 10 songs in the post itself and a lot more in the Spotify mix. You can find it at the bottom of the post!
And if you have never been here before, you can catch up on my previous posts here!
Today, I have for you a massive rec list of books by and about QPOC (and Latinx authors/characters). There are fifty books on here – though that isn’t the sum total of those I know, so if your favourite isn’t here, it’s simply because I couldn’t fit it.
It’s gonna go like this: I’ve split this post into contemporary, historical, science fiction or dystopia, and fantasy sections. In each section, half the books have been released, half are upcoming (barring sci fi, where I could only find 4 upcoming releases).
So, enjoy!
We’re back today with another interview, this time with K.B. Wagers, whose new series, Neo-G, kicks off in just over 2 weeks! If you like space, and gay characters, and gay characters in space (I mean, don’t we all?), then their books are for you.
And, of course, don’t forget to follow them on twitter.
