• All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Classics (I)

    15 November, 2019

    I have to put my hand up here and admit me and classics don’t tend to get along. There’s just something about them that seems so dry. But then again, how do we define what constitutes a “classic” and what kind of social forces influence that? (But that’s a discussion for another time.)

    Anyway to cut that long discussion short, classics tend to be white and straight and about men. Or the ones that have been long considered classics (isn’t it notable how a lot of the gay classics are more “modern” if you will – but that is also a discussion for a different time). Here you will obviously find only gay classics.

    Before we start, a confession. I haven’t read any of these, so I’ve dispensed with the “why you should read it” sections.

    (Also please rec me more, as ever!)

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    Book Club: The Disasters

    11 November, 2019

    Took us a hot second to write down the reviews, but come on guys, it just be like that sometimes… The important thing is that we’re here and we’re ready to talk about the book! Hopefully you have read it with us and we can actually have some fun chatting!

    And don’t forget: for November we chose three novellas! They’re so short, you have no excuse not to read at least one of them!

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  • Book Club,  Literature

    Book Club: November Read

    27 October, 2019

    For November, we figured we would do something a little different (given that it’s currently book club 2 – 1 Anna). So instead of a picking a single book, we’ve picked three novellas, two at 20 pages and one at 60. I (Charlotte) will be trying to read them all (cannot speak for Anna, who has not yet even started the October read), but you’re welcome to pick and choose which to read or not. And because they’re novellas, they can hopefully be read in one sitting.

    And, of course, each of the novellas contains a trans or nonbinary main character in a fantasy (or sci-fi) setting.

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    Book Recs: Urban Fantasy (I)

    18 October, 2019

    High fantasy’s all well and good, but sometimes you just want to read something that happens in a world you recognise. So that’s what’s happening in this rec list! Ten great urban fantasy novels (featuring LGBT characters, of course).

    And just to make it that much better, I’ve tried to make this rec list as not-white as possible (though you’ll be able to tell where I failed in that), for whoever asked for this specifically (because I don’t remember, so I hope you see this!!).

    So, let’s go!

    See also: Urban LGBT Fantasy, part II.

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    Book Club: Orientation

    10 October, 2019

    September saw us read a mystery book for the book club! We selected Orientation by Gregory Ashe, an ownvoices m/m novel. For once, though, we didn’t have mixed reactions over this book. In fact, we had remarkably similar views (bets on how that lasts for the next book?). Part of that was because, yeah, there are quite a few content warnings for this (we’ve tried to list them all, but please let us know if we’ve missed any!) and they felt almost gratuitous at times.

    So, did we like it? You’ll have to read on to find out!

    One last thing first: you can find our October read here, and look out for the twitter chat we’re planning at the end of the month!

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  • Book Club,  Literature

    Book Club: October Read

    30 September, 2019

    This month, we asked something different in choosing our read. Instead of genre, we wanted to know a trope you wanted to read. (And also because Anna wanted to read contemporary because they’re picky about genre like that.)

    And the trope you picked was found family. At which point, me and Anna realised we don’t actually know any contemporary found family books that we haven’t yet read, so we ended up instead going for sci fi.

    But this is all just an incredibly rambly way of saying, we have picked our October book, and are very excited for you to join in!

    Also, don’t forget to take part in our Orientation twitter chat happening tomorrow at 4pm GMT if you read the book!

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    Blog Tour: Crier’s War

    28 September, 2019

    This is a second blog tour I’m a part of hosted by the lovely Karina @ Afire Pages and honestly, what a joy! And like before, not only do I have for you a review of one of my most anticipated books of the year, but a giveaway as well. Check out the link at the end to win a copy!

    There’s also another little surprise, and by surprise I mean a playlist for Crier’s War by yours truly.

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    After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

    Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

    Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

    Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

    Crier’s War

    Nina Varela

    Rating: 5/5 ðŸŒˆ
    Published: 1st October 2019
    Goodreads
    Rep: lesbian poc mc, bi poc mc, poc cast, numerous side mlm & wlw couples

    Inside her chest, in the core of her, Ayla felt her heart stretch and swell and take root.

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    Book Club: Sing the Four Quarters

    14 September, 2019

    Our first official Book Club review post! Yes, we originally said we will be putting those up at the end of the month, but then realised people can take the whole month to read! So it only makes sense to talk about the book after said month is finished. Which is why we’re here in the middle of September.

    As a reminder, our September Book is Orientation by Gregory Ashe & you can find the TWs for it on our twitter (there are a few, yeah). We also want to hold a little chat on twitter close to the end of September or maybe in the first days of October. Just some questions about the book, so we can all actually talk. Hopefully you guys will want to participate!

    But anyway, here’s our reviews of last month’s book!

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  • Book Club,  Literature

    Book Club: September Read

    30 August, 2019

    I know what you’re thinking. It’s not even the end of August yet, and that’s true, there’s still a few days left on our last book club read (which was Sing the Four Quarters), but we wanted to let you know what’s up next anyway.

    Again, we asked on twitter what genre you wanted to read, and this month you came  up with mystery! Because we read an f/f book last month, this month we’re reading an (ownvoices) m/m one (also because, shamefully, neither of us know any mystery novels with trans or nb mcs, which was our first thought. Next time definitely though).

    Before I let you know what book we’re reading, just a reminder that we are on twitter for this and we have a hashtag too (#readarainbow). And also, watch out for our review of the last month’s read!

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Songbird’s Refrain

    24 August, 2019
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    When a mysterious show arrives in town, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Brighton is both intrigued and unsettled. But none of the acts capture her attention quite like the blue-eyed woman. Locked in a birdcage and covered in feathers, the anguish in her voice sounds just a little too real to be an act—because it isn’t. The show’s owner, a sadistic witch known only as the Mistress, is holding her captive.

    And she’s chosen Elizabeth as her next victim.

    After watching the blue-eyed woman die, Elizabeth is placed under the same curse. She clings to what little hope she can find in the words of a fortune teller and in her own strange dreams. The more she learns, the more she suspects that the Mistress isn’t as invulnerable as she appears. But time is against her, and every feather that sprouts brings her closer to meeting the blue-eyed woman’s fate. Can Elizabeth unlock the secret to flying free, or will the Mistress’s curse kill her and cage its next victim?

    The Songbird’s Refrain

    Jillian Maria

    Published: 3rd September 2019
    Goodreads
    Rep: lesbian mc, bi li

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Sapphic Mystery/Thrillers (I)

    19 August, 2019

    I’m back with the second part of this series (the previous parts can all be found here)! This time, I’m reccing mystery/thriller books (because they are my favourite genre when done well). Good mysteries keep you on your toes the entire time, with plot twists you don’t see coming until they’ve happened (you know when you get a good one, and then you think back to what’s come before and you’re like oh this was coming. That’s just *chef’s kiss*). So with these recs I hope you will find some of that.

    P. S. Some of the books I recced in the previous post may also apply here as mysteries, but I haven’t included them here so as not to duplicate too much.

    P. P. S. Once again, I haven’t read all of these, so as such, I think some don’t have an f/f romance but do have a wlw mc, but I don’t necessarily know which those are.

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    Book Recs: LGBT Retellings (Myths)

    6 August, 2019

    Part two of my retellings rec lists, as promised! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the series: LGBT fairy tales retellings & LGBT retellings of classic books.

    Now, when it comes to mythologies… I actually had a bit of a problem. I wasn’t sure if I should include retellings of The Odyssey, for example. Sure, we have mythology there, but also part three of this series is going to be Classic Texts & wouldn’t it be more of a fit there? I even ran a poll on twitter and y’all were who decided in the end. :>>

    Also obviously my first thought for this theme was The Song of Achilles, because I am gay and love to suffer, but I figured there’s no point in reccing a book we have all read multiple times.

    And hey, a lot 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.)

    See also: LGBT retellings of folklore, fairy tales, classic books & books about historical figures
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    Book Recs: Sapphic Historical Fiction (I)

    30 July, 2019

    Approximately once a month, twitter throws up a certain argument along the lines of there is no f/f, or where is all the f/f, or where is all the hyped f/f. And while I think there is a genuine case to be made for f/f books getting less attention, that doesn’t mean there is none (and also to say there is barely any/none blatantly ignores the authors who are producing f/f and the publishers who are backing it (did you know there are several publishing houses who only publish f/f), which is not cool). Basically, it’s there if you look.

    But this will become too much of a rant unless I shut up now.

    What I’m aiming to do with this series is provide you with a bunch of rec lists so that, next time someone says there’s no f/f, you can point them in this direction. Because yes. There is f/f.

    Quickly, and finally, before I start I want to point you towards Mahana @ Sapphic Library who not only posts a lot of sapphic rec lists, but also has a twitter dedicated to it all.

    So, on with the historical f/f recs! (There is some overlap in some cases with fantasy and mystery, just fyi.)

    P. S. in the interests of full disclosure: I haven’t read all of these. This is less a rec list in the sense that these are ones I’ve read and enjoyed, more these are 20 f/f historical books as proof they do exist.

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  • Book Club,  Literature

    Book Club: August Read

    23 July, 2019

    It’s time to make this official on our blog!! The choice did take us a while, because honestly, we had a lot of good candidates… But guys, we know what book our book club will be reading in August!!

    As per the poll on twitter, which you guys voted in for days, we chose a fantasy book. And as per our preferences & also a belief that a hype our books doesn’t just appear out of this air, it has to be created by readers – we chose to read an F/F book.

    First, though, let me remind you guys how we plan on doing this. We have a twitter account that we encourage you all to follow – Reads Rainbow Book Club. We’ll be using that to chat about the book, adding the hashtag #readarainbow. (Get it? Because it’s gay? Yeah, you get it.) At the end of August, we will post our reviews of the book & tell you what we plan on reading in September.

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    Book Recs: Neurodiverse Characters

    20 July, 2019

    This rec list comes from a request I got on twitter for LGBT books with neurodiverse characters. Obviously, neurodiversity covers an enormous spectrum, so I’m in no way attempting to cover all that (and if you look at the list, you can probably see where there are gaps, i.e. rep that isn’t anxiety, depression, PTSD, because sure those are the most common disorders but there’s a lot more out there).

    What I’m attempting to give you here is a handful of recs (ownvoices where possible, elsewise covered respectfully) to start you off. And, as ever, I would happily take recs from you in return. (Also I have extended the rec list to feature 12 books instead of the usual 10 just so I can broaden the variety here.)

    P.S. I’m only giving the rep for the neurodiverse LGBT character(s) in the book, even if there are more LGBT or neurodiverse characters in all. If that makes sense.

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