• All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Four Profound Weaves

    31 May, 2020
    49245102

    Wind: To match one’s body with one’s heart
    Sand: To take the bearer where they wish
    Song: In praise of the goddess Bird
    Bone: To move unheard in the night

    The Surun’ do not speak of the master weaver, Benesret, who creates the cloth of bone for assassins in the Great Burri Desert. But Uiziya now seeks her aunt Benesret in order to learn the final weave, although the price for knowledge may be far too dear to pay.

    Among the Khana, women travel in caravans to trade, while men remain in the inner quarter as scholars. A nameless man struggles to embody Khana masculinity, after many years of performing the life of a woman, trader, wife, and grandmother.

    As the past catches up to the nameless man, he must choose between the life he dreamed of and Uiziya, and Uiziya must discover how to challenge a tyrant, and weave from deaths that matter.

    Set in R. B. Lemberg’s beloved Birdverse, The Four Profound Weaves hearkens to Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. In this breathtaking debut, Lemberg offers a timeless chronicle of claiming one’s identity in a hostile world.

    The Four Profound Weaves

    R. B. Lemberg

    Published: 4th September 2020
    Goodreads
    Rep: trans mcs, nonbinary side character, past polyamory
    CWs: deadnaming, misgendering, transphobia

    Read More
  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: June 2020

    28 May, 2020

    It’s almost Pride!! Personally I can’t believe it’s already time for the best month in a year…

    A lot of great books is coming out during Pride, but also it’s actually really amazing that Pride isn’t even the busiest month for LGBT releases this year. There are only around 80 and take it from me, guys, that’s number is far from being a record high.

    So, without further ado, browse away!

    (As always, the rainbow emoji indicates that the rep is ownvoices.)

    Read More
  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Twitter’s Favourite Trans Books

    13 May, 2020

    The other day I asked people on Twitter to give me their 5 favourite trans books. Now, I’m using trans here as an umbrella term to include all non-cis identities, so you will find recs with nonbinary characters, genderqueer characters and more.

    And let me just say, the responses were great and I managed to compile a list of so many gems! And a lot of them seem to be rather overlooked, which is just another bonus & very good news to people starved for rep, who have already read all the popular titles.

    Of course, as always on this blog, books by LGBT authors are marked with a 🌈 emoji. Please let me know if I got something wrong, so I can correct it!

    See also: 100+ books by trans & nonbinary authors
    Read More
  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: 2020 Sapphic Releases (January to June)

    8 May, 2020

    Not to be bringing any sort of bitterness to this blog or anything, but there’s only so many times you can see “there’s no (good) f/f” as a tweet before you snap. So in the interests of not snapping, I compiled a list of all the sapphic releases I know about this year.

    And I know a lot.

    So this list is actually going to be split into two. The first, this post, is going to take us from January to June. The second will come in a few months time and focus on July to December. Actually, the post is based on a thread I did on twitter, so if you’re impatient, go check that out (though dates aren’t always correct, and it’s not the most up to date).

    So do you want to read f/f books but you don’t want to look for them?

    Well it’s your lucky day. I did the looking for you!

    P.S. dates are correct to the best of my knowledge, but if I have missed a postponement somewhere, please let me know.

    Read More
  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: 2019 LGBT YA Books

    6 May, 2020

    If you follow our blog and/or twitter accounts, you’re probably aware I’m (Anna) a big fan of YA books. So it was always just a matter of time before I made for you guys a compilation post like this, to highlight the books I enjoy reading the most…

    For this list, I decided to mark if a book is a part of an ongoing series, just so you know you have some catching up to do before you can read it. Per tradition, I also listed trigger warnings whenever I knew about them. If there’s something else you think I should add, please let me know!

    And of course, books by LGBT authors – to the best of my knowledge – are marked with a 🌈 emoji! Once again, please correct me if I’m wrong.

    So dive in! There are over 160 books on this list, you’re bound to find something for yourself!

    See also: LGBT YA books of 2021 and more
    Read More
  • Book of the Month,  Literature

    Book of the Month: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

    4 May, 2020

    Our newest feature is back today! Last month we highlighted Clap When You Land as our book of the month (it’s out tomorrow but there’s still time to preorder!). This month, we’ve selected a June release to bring to your attention.

    So, if you like wuxia fantasy and found families, look no further!

    Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.
    Read More
  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: May 2020

    29 April, 2020

    Another month has gone by which means it’s time to look ahead to what next month has in store for us with releases! If there’s any on here that you’re really excited about, there’s still time enough to preorder them and make sure you support the authors in this time.

    Since there have been a lot of date changes due to the current situation, I’m not sure I’ve kept up with them all, so if any dates are completely in the wrong ballpark, please let me know!

    You can find all our previous releases posts here.

    Read More
  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Sapphic YA Contemporary (II)

    22 April, 2020

    It’s been a while since I last did one of these, and I have since read a fair few sapphic books. So, with the second resurgence of the f/f twitter discourse in a week, obviously my only recourse is to rec posts.

    And here I am.

    I also figured I’d go back to YA contemporary because, duh, I know more of them. But to mix things up a little, I’ll add a couple of upcoming ones you can support!

    As ever, all the previous posts are here. The previous contemporary rec list can be found here.

    Also as ever, it’s actually f/f or otherwise sapphic books.

    Read More
  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Scribd LGBT Starter Pack

    13 April, 2020

    It’s quarantine day 2839394, you already baked your sourdough bread, learned how to embroider, cleaned all the grout in your flat, and – in a ideal world – finished all the books on your bookshelves. What to do now, you ask? Read more, of course!

    Because we’re all tight on funds right about now, I would like to remind you that Scribd is offering a 30 days free trial on their whole library. If you’re not familiar with the website, this post would be a good place for you to get going. I tried to include a variety of genres in this list, but like it says in the title, it literally is just a starter pack.

    (And if you’ll use my invite link, you will actually get two months off and I will get one, too. It’s a win-win situation.)

    Final note: I very much encourage you to leave reviews of the books you’ll read on amazon and/or goodreads, and buying your own copies, if you can afford it. Or requesting them at your local library once it’s open again!

    Read More
  • Book of the Month,  Literature

    Book of the Month: Clap When You Land

    8 April, 2020

    Big news this month, as we’ve decided to scrap the book club (which, really, was just a series of failed buddy reads), and replace it with something new. A Book of the Month feature!

    This, honestly, is in part because of how uncertain everything is right now. We want to use this middling-size platform we have to highlight some upcoming (or backlist at times) books that have, perhaps, gone under the radar (or, simply, people don’t realise are gay).

    So, here’s how it’ll go. Each month we’ll post here and on twitter with information about the book, and order links. And hopefully raise your awareness of another amazing book!

    Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.
    Read More
  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Stone of Sorrow

    6 April, 2020
    49245102

    In a land of myth and ice, seventeen-year-old Runa Unnursdóttir is not the runecaster her clan has been hoping for. She spends her days daydreaming of sailing away and exploring the world instead of studying the runes and learning her spells. The villagers consider her odd, in looks and in manner. She’s nothing like her talented sister, Sýr, keeper of the sacred moonstone that ensures the village’s continued survival. But when a rival clan led by an evil witch raids the village and kidnaps her sister, Runa is forced to act. With a fallen Valkyrie by her side, and the help of a gorgeous half-elf Runa is not quite sure she can trust, the apprentice must travel to the site of an ancient runecasting competition to try to win back the magical gem. But the journey will not be easy; the three unlikely companions encounter malevolent and supernatural creatures at every turn. Somehow, Runa must summon the courage and strength to face her destiny, a destiny she never wanted. Or die trying.

    The Stone of Sorrow

    Brooke Carter

    Published: 7th April 2020
    Goodreads
    Rep: nonbinary character, wlw characters

    Read More
  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Twitter’s Favourite Sapphic Romances

    5 April, 2020

    The other day I asked people on book twitter to list 5* of their favourite books with best sapphic romance and this is what happened. I got so many great responses, I couldn’t just leave it as a tweet and let it disappear forever! Which is why I decided to turn all those recs into a post.

    *Yes, Charlotte was allowed ten books because she’s my co-blogger and gets special treatment.

    Some books appear multiple times on this list, yes, I know! But that only shows the bookish community loves them a lot. And I mean, a lot. And if they shower those books with love like that, then you definitely want to read them as well!

    (As always on this blog, ownvoices books are marked with a 🌈 emoji.)

    Read More
  • Book Club,  Literature

    Book Club: April Read

    29 March, 2020

    It’s obviously a very uncertain time at the moment, and all you really want to do is lose yourself in a good book. And what better genre to do that than romance? So this month, we picked what will hopefully be an excellent choice for escapism.

    Check it out below.

    Read More
  • All Releases,  Book Releases,  Literature

    Book Releases: April 2020

    27 March, 2020

    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.)

    Read More