• All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Passing Playbook

    3 June, 2021

    So you’re looking for an ownvoices trans m/m book by a Black author? Boy, do we have a treat for you! And listen, even more importantly The Passing Playbook is one of the most joyful & loving young adult books we know of – loving in a way that it lets the LGBT teens know they’re loved and valued.

    Read on to see more reasons why you absolutely should order yourself a copy, too! And we even have a music mix to listen to while reading!

    And hey, while you’re at it, follow Isaac on twitter!

    Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a Messi-in-training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio.

    At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy’s soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans – he’s passing.

    So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him after he discovers the ‘F’ on Spencer’s birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even if it means coming out to everyone – including the guy he’s falling for.

    The Passing Playbook

    Isaac Fitzsimons

    Goodreads

    Rep: biracial Black mlm trans mc, gay li, bi side character, nonbinary side character
    CWs: mentions of past transphobic violence, religious homophobia
    Release: 3rd June 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

    27 May, 2021

    Please don’t be fooled into thinking I’m biased in my opinion about Jonny’s book, I’m really not. They really just are that talented and created that lovely & soft novel. The music mix accompanying this review is titled “inside your arms i feel so much warmer” (Where We’re Going / Gregory Dillon), and that is exactly the vibe of this book.

    And hey, we actually interviewed Jonny some time ago, check it out!

    Also don’t forget to follow Jonny Garza Villa on twitter!

    A poignant, funny, openhearted novel about coming out, first love, and being your one and only best and true self.

    Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.

    Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

    Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

    Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.

    Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

    Jonny Garza Villa

    Goodreads

    Rep: Mexican American gay mc, Vietnamese American gay li, gay, lesbian, bi & pan side characters
    TWs: past & present parental abuse, physical abuse (chapter 14 & 28), homophobia, outing, mc gets kicked out
    Release: 8th June 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    Blog Tour: How to Become a Planet

    24 May, 2021

    I loved In the Role of Brie Hutchens…, so when I was invited to take part in a blog tour for Melleby’s new middle grade book, it was a no-brainer. And I was right, and got exactly as soft & thoughtful book as I was expecting. So yeah, big thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for allowing me to shout about this lovely novel!

    Apart from a review, I also prepared a music mix you can listen to while reading the book.

    Also don’t forget to follow Nicole Melleby on twitter!

    For Pluto, summer has always started with a trip to the planetarium. It’s the launch to her favorite season, which also includes visits to the boardwalk arcade, working in her mom’s pizzeria, and her best friend Meredith’s birthday party. But this summer, none of that feels possible.

    A month before the end of the school year, Pluto’s frightened mom broke down Pluto’s bedroom door. What came next were doctor’s appointments, a diagnosis of depression, and a big black hole that still sits on Pluto’s chest, making it too hard to do anything.

    Pluto can’t explain to her mom why she can’t do the things she used to love. And it isn’t until Pluto’s dad threatens to make her move with him to the city—where he believes his money, in particular, could help—that Pluto becomes desperate enough to do whatever it takes to be the old Pluto again.

    She develops a plan and a checklist: If she takes her medication, if she goes to the planetarium with her mom for her birthday, if she successfully finishes her summer school work with her tutor, if she goes to Meredith’s birthday party . . . if she does all the things that “normal” Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom in Jersey. But it takes a new therapist, a new tutor, and a new (and cute) friend with a checklist and plan of her own for Pluto to learn that there is no old and new Pluto. There’s just her.

    How to Become a Planet

    Nicole Melleby

    Goodreads

    Rep: sapphic mc with depression and anxiety, nonbinary li, side sapphic couple
    CWs: panic attacks
    Release: 25th May 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: Jay’s Gay Agenda

    22 May, 2021

    To say we have mixed feelings about this book is probably a very fair statement. So, we discussed and we figured the best thing to do in reviewing this book would be like so: split the review into factors that we liked, and factors that we didn’t get along with. The caveat of course being that these are our personal opinions, so please don’t let us put you off this book unnecessarily!

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    There’s one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he’s a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all this friends can’t stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience—his Gay Agenda.

    Then, against all odds, Jay’s family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he’s found where he truly belongs, where he can flirt with Very Sexy Boys and search for love. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he’ll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones…because after all, life and love don’t always go according to plan.

    From debut novelist Jason June comes a moving and hilarious sex-positive story about the complexities of first loves, first hookups, and first heartbreaks—and how to stay true to yourself while embracing what you never saw coming.

    Jay’s Gay Agenda

    Jason June

    Goodreads

    Rep: gay mc, Chinese-American gay li, gay genderqueer side character, gay side character
    CWs: vomiting
    Release: 1st June 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: One Last Stop

    20 May, 2021

    Kicking off the Pride releases’ season the right way, with our reviews of an absolute gem, a sapphic time-travel rom-com of your dreams. One Last Stop hits all the spots for a perfect book.

    And as an extra treat, apart from the mix you can listen to while reading the book, we want to offer you one more thing: Charlotte actually set up a bot that will start tweeting in mid June, to avoid spoilers.

    Cynical twenty-three-year old August doesn’t believe in much. She doesn’t believe in psychics, or easily forged friendships, or finding the kind of love they make movies about. And she certainly doesn’t believe her ragtag band of new roommates, her night shifts at a 24-hour pancake diner, or her daily subway commute full of electrical outages are going to change that.

    But then, there’s Jane. Beautiful, impossible Jane.

    All hard edges with a soft smile and swoopy hair and saving August’s day when she needed it most. The person August looks forward to seeing on the train every day. The one who makes her forget about the cities she lived in that never seemed to fit, and her fear of what happens when she finally graduates, and even her cold-case obsessed mother who won’t quite let her go. And when August realizes her subway crush is impossible in more ways than one—namely, displaced in time from the 1970s—she thinks maybe it’s time to start believing.

    Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.

    One Last Stop

    Casey McQuiston

    Goodreads

    Rep: bi mc with anxiety, Chinese American lesbian li, gay side character, Black sapphic side character, Black gay side character, Puerto Rican American trans side character, Black pan side character
    CWs: past homophobic violence, off page death
    Release: 1st June 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Kingdoms

    18 May, 2021

    We needed abut half a second to decide we want to request an early copy of this book, once they became available. We’ve read everything else that Natasha Pulley has written, so we thought we know what to expect. And yet, The Kingdoms just stunned us. It’s a masterpiece.

    There’s a mix at the end of this post, and I highly recommend you listen to it while reading the book. It somehow makes it more painful. And after, make sure to follow Natasha on twitter.

    (Also for those of you who are already fans of Pulley’s work, can I point you in the direction of a bot I made that tweets quotes from her books every two hours?)

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    For fans of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and David Mitchell, a genre bending, time twisting alternative history that asks whether it’s worth changing the past to save the future, even if it costs you everyone you’ve ever loved.

    Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English-instead of French-the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he’s determined to find the writer. The search for M, though, will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire’s Royal Navy. In the process, Joe will remake history, and himself.

    From bestselling author Natasha Pulley, The Kingdoms is an epic, wildly original novel that bends genre as easily as it twists time.

    The Kingdoms

    Natasha Pulley

    Goodreads

    Rep: gay mc with epilepsy, gay li
    CWs: implied conversion therapy & rape, violence, gore
    Release: 25th May 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: These Feathered Flames

    17 April, 2021

    A young adult fantasy book both of us have enjoyed? If you know anything about us (and especially about Charlotte), you realise it must be a miracle! Or just a really good book! Read our reviews to find out what is the truth.

    But seriously, if you haven’t pre-ordered These Feathered Flames yet, this is your sign that you absolutely should. And follow Alexandra on twitter, for more info about her upcoming projects!

    When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she’d need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm.

    But before Asya’s training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned.

    As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they’ll discover who they can trust, who they can love—and who killed their mother.

    These Feathered Flames

    Alexandra Overy

    Goodreads

    Rep: lesbian mc & li
    Release: 20th April 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: In Deeper Waters

    14 April, 2021

    It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were both very excited about this next book. And it’s no little help that the cover for it is absolutely gorgeous. And you can get your hands on it in just under a week! So, without further ado, have a read of why we think you want this book!

    A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

    Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

    Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

    That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

    In Deeper Waters

    F. T. Lukens

    Goodreads

    Rep: bi/pan mc, mlm li
    Release: 20th April 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    Blog Tour: Malice

    8 April, 2021

    “Once upon a time, there was a villain” is frankly the only kind of a fairy tale opening I want to read from now on. But only if the fairy tale in question is as good as what Malice offers. Because it truly has it all: great characters, magic, betrayals, and a lesbian romance. I assure you, it is the fairy tale retelling of your dreams.

    So yes, we’re very excited that we’re part of the blog tour that Del Rey runs for Malice! And hey, you can actually grab yourself a signed copy of Malice right here!

    Also follow Heather Walter on twitter!

    Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die, and could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.

    Utter nonsense.

    Let me tell you, no one actually cares about what happens to our princesses. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her.

    Princess Aurora. The last heir to the throne. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.

    But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating – and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

    Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-

    I am the     villain.

    Malice

    Heather Walter

    Goodreads

    Rep: lesbian mcs
    CWs: past torture, lesbophobia, past suicides, blood, drug use
    Release: 13th April 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Sky Blues

    4 April, 2021

    If you follow either of us on twitter (and were following us back in December), you probably already know how much we love The Sky Blues. Personally I would have probably chosen it as my most anticipated April release, of it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve read it last year… (But I did sneak it onto our list of fav reads of 2020!) It’s a one that will make you laugh and cry, and feel absolutely loved.

    But let’s not get into details now, when you can just read our reviews below. And listen to the mix we made for the book!

    Also follow Robbie Couch on twitter! He has more exciting things for us in the store!

    Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and I Wish You All the Best.

    Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it.

    What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen?

    Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator.

    But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?

    The Sky Blues

    Robbie Couch

    Goodreads

    Rep: gay mc, mlm li, trans & gay characters
    TWs: homophobia, racism, f-slur, past car accident, past death of a parent, vomiting
    Release: 6th April 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Unbroken

    20 March, 2021

    Hopefully, you’ve all heard of this book. Hopefully, you’re all as in love with the cover (and those arms! 😍) as we are. But if you haven’t heard of it, or have only been tangentially interested in it (as inexplicable as this seems to us), let us do our best to convince you that you need to get your hands on this book.

    In a political fantasy unlike any other, debut author C. L. Clark spins an epic tale of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire.

    Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

    Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

    Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

    The Unbroken

    C. L. Clark

    Goodreads

    Rep: Black lesbian mc, bi mc with physical disability due to injury, wlw side characters, mlm side character, nonbinary side character
    CWs: violence, gore, past attempted rape, threats of rape, torture
    Release: 23rd March 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: Sweet & Bitter Magic

    7 March, 2021

    If you aren’t excited about the upcoming Sweet & Bitter Magic, sadly, we must conclude that you have been living under a rock. But not to worry! Today we come prepared to extract you from that situation, with our reviews and also a mix to listen to.

    And if you need any more convincing, check out the interview we did with Adrienne in 2019!

    In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.

    Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.

    Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.

    When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.

    Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first…

    Sweet & Bitter Magic

    Adrienne Tooley

    Goodreads

    Rep: bi/pan mc, lesbian mc
    Release: 9th March 2021

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: Night Tide

    24 January, 2021
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    Tides change, but some feelings can’t be washed away.

    Lillian Lee doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Hate is a different story—and one she is intimately familiar with. Luckily, she hasn’t seen her arch-nemesis, Ivy Holden, since graduating from veterinary school five years ago. Since then, while her life isn’t going exactly according to plan, she’s happy. She has great friends, a job she loves, and the best pets in the world. Most importantly, her life is stable.

    Seal Cove, Maine, is the last place Ivy Holden anticipated ending up. But when an unexpected medical condition forces her to relocate to be closer to family, she can’t turn down the opportunity. Her new job at Seal Cove Veterinary Clinic has everything she needs: flexibility, proximity to her family’s summer home, and the chance to do the work she loves. Unfortunately, it also has Lillian Lee.

    Thrown back into each other’s orbits, Lillian and Ivy must find a way to work together, despite the treacherous emotions threatening to drown them both.

    Night Tide

    Anna Burke

    Published: 26th January 2021
    Goodreads
    Rep: bi mc, bi mc with MS, lesbian & bi side characters
    CWs: internalised ableism

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    Book Reviews: Lesbian Books for the Soul

    12 December, 2020

    In case you haven’t heard of Bywater Books before now, they are an independent publishing company that only publishes lesbian fiction. So obviously, they’re one of our favourites. And we are very lucky to be able to review three of their books today!

    So, if you’re looking for a contemporary romance, or a mystery, check out these books!

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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.

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    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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