reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
There comes a time (usually after you’ve read all the fics) when you want to read a book similar in feeling to your favourite, but also different enough that it doesn’t just seem like a reread. Something to hit you right in that nostalgic spot.
That’s what I have here today: 10 LGBT books that kind of feel like The Raven Cycle. A lot of different themes going on, so let’s explore!
Earlier, I ran a quick Twitter poll to ask the question of what genre of sapphic recs people would prefer and so, here we are! 20 science fiction recs (and some dystopia) just for you! If you’re interested in what I recced last time, that list is here. And if you’re interested in all the other sapphic posts I’ve done, those can be found here. Otherwise, enjoy!
You know when you want to read a YA book, but actually you don’t want to read about teenagers, because you just got back home from your day job & you’re in a different head space? I got you!
Just so we’re clear, though, I’m not saying those books should be shelved as YA, I’m not saying those authors didn’t know what they were writing, I’m not saying those authors have no idea how to write adult books… I’m not here to infantilise anyone, I’m simply offering you books with the vibes you’re looking for.
About two years back now, maybe nearer three, I started a rec series of posts of sapphic books split by genre. Then, sometime early 2020, I got bored, and stopped. Now, though, I’ve decided to come back to it, partly because I’ve read so much more since then I feel I have more content to rec. Partly because of recent dumbass twitter discourse. So yeah.
It’s been a while, though. It’s been so long, in fact, I decided I had to expand how many books I included in here, just so none of my favourites would have to miss out! I upped it to 25 and there are still more that I haven’t added, so keep an eye out for a third post sometime soon…haha…
As ever, all of the previous posts can be found here.
As ever, when I run out of rec list ideas, I turn back to this one. Books which I consider underrated (where “underrated” is specifically defined as “less than 400 ratings on Goodreads. Yeah, Goodreads is not the be all and end all, yeah, 400 is pretty harsh comparably, but it’ll do. At least until I run out of books and need to increase the number haha). I’ve done this 3 times already, so this rec list marks the 76th-100th books (round of applause please). Hopefully, there’s something here for everyone.
And don’t forget, you can also check out the previous posts: find the first post here, the second one here and the third one here.
This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while. We all know about all of the Big 5 books, the ones that appear on most rec lists most often, that get more marketing (comparatively speaking) and which more people know about. So, today’s rec list is specifically the opposite of that. Today, I’m reccing you books by independent publishers, small presses, and self-published authors.
For ease, the definition of indie here that I’m using is “not Big 5 or an imprint of Big 5”. That is, not Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, or Hachette. Since the indies range in size beyond that, I’ve split those into two sections: smaller and larger (generally decided by output).
A little key before we start:
💛 = sapphic
💚 = achillean
💙 = trans or nonbinary
🌻 = contemporary
🌿 = historical
🐚 = fantasy
🌺 = mystery/thriller
🍂 = paranormal/horror
🍃 = science fiction
For this list, I stuck to a single book by each author (although there are many where I’d rec multiple books) because I figured, hey, this can be a series! So, check back later this year for more, I guess!
In a shocking turn of events, both of us are reccing the same number of titles this year! And there was only one movie among Charlotte’s choices, that we actually both wanted to include. I hope we’re all proud of Charlotte for watching so much gay shit!
If you want to see what we loved in 2020, here’s that post. Otherwise, enjoy!
It’s 1st January, which means, firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Secondly, here’s our best of summary of 2021, in typical expanding fashion (alright, so maybe a few books shorter than last year). If you want to have a look at the last few years of lists, you can find them here: from 2018, from 2019, and from 2020.
Once again, we have divided our list into 3 categories: backlist books, books released in 2021 & books to be released in 2022 (that we read ARCs of). Books of 2021 has a further category of ones we both loved (upped to six this year simply because we couldn’t keep it to five). However, on the whole we’ve tried to do that (except where Anna only read a handful of backlist books, so filled up their 10 with 7 releases from this year).
Before we start, though, I (Charlotte) would just like to note I found it incredibly hard to pick only 5 backlist books because there were so many I loved. So while this is technically our “best of” post, there’s still a lot that only just didn’t make it.
But anyway. Here’s our list of our favourite 36 books of the year!
Movies about gay teenagers just hit differently, don’t they? Which is why I am here with this list of ten coming of age movies where the main character is achillean. The list is a little bit chaotic, but I think that’s a good thing? It means you will find some more serious movies here, some more romance heavy, some with very little romance at all… A little bit for everyone!
In the three and a bit years this blog has been up, I’ve made two enemies to lovers rec lists and always intended to make a friends to lovers list too, but somehow never got round to it. Well, today, I have finally got my act together! If you love the friends to lovers trope, the pining, the yearning, the belief that it’s unrequited—this rec list is for you! (And if it’s not your favourite, then I live in hope these books will convert you.) So, let’s go!
Yesterday, I asked for book rec suggestions, having completely forgotten that I had this list all ready and drafted. Handily, someone asked for more mystery recs so here we have it! My part two. Part one can be found here. If you’re looking for a good mystery to dive into, look no further!
Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s high time for a rec list of movies to watch while you cosy up with some hot chocolate. Those are basically all new releases, since Happiest Season coming out last year gave studios a kick to bring us more LGBT Christmas movies. Finally. And no, I’m not including Single All the Way on my list, because you probably already know about it (and because, well, I didn’t really enjoy it much).
I made a part one to this, with gay Christmas movies, two years ago, and I obviously encourage you to check it out, but also I have to be honest: most of the good stuff came out since then.
There are also 11 movies on this list and that’s because one of them is a short feature, so it’s like a cute little bonus.
As you may have noticed, we ran the awards a little differently this year, allowing for a week’s worth of nominations in all categories, before taking those nominated more than once, adding a few more to reach 20 per category (although 15 in two, and 30 in debut), and then opening up voting for 3 and a half weeks. In selecting nominees, we tried out best to ensure different books were nominated in each category (debut and romance aside) and that, within each category, an author appeared only once.
But enough of that. The results of that vote, with 2320 ballots cast, are now here and I’m sure you’re all excited to see who won! First though, if you’re interested in just who made the cut in this year’s awards, below you can:
Otherwise, happy scrolling!
Wouldn’t be much of a stretch, would it, to say that the fake dating trope is quintessential for LGBT lit somehow. Which is why it was only a matter of time for a fake dating rec list to be posted on the blog.
At the end of this post you will find a few upcoming titles that I haven’t been fortunate enough to read an ARC of yet, but absolutely want y’all to be aware of. And if, like me, you’re constantly on the lookout for fake dating books with trans rep, we’ve been told you should keep an eye out for TJ Alexander’s projects (and follow them on Twitter).
And hey, quite a few of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
