We’re switching it up a little with the graphic novel rec posts now. Anna’s taken care of the previous three, so now it’s my turn to rec you a few things that they haven’t read (yet). If you want to take a look at what they put in those posts, you can see them here: one, two, three. And if you’re interested in what I have to add to that, scroll on!
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Book Recs: High Fantasy (III)
With no clue what new rec list to possibly do, I turned back to an old(er) one to refresh. I last did a high fantasy rec list back in March 2021, and before that, April 2019, both of them before a number of books I now consider favourites were even released. So, what better time to do an update than now? And here we are, with 10 high fantasy recs for your delectation and delight!
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.)
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Book Recs: LGBT Witches and Other Magic-Doers (II)
It’s been three years since Charlotte has done the original post, and we decided that’s long enough for me to update her recs a little bit. Actually, it is always interesting to see which books for any given topic she recommends vs. me. There’s a lot of overlap, but our tastes aren’t identical.
Anyway, if you’re craving some gay magic? Enjoy!
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.)
Related: LGBT Witches and Other Magic-Doers (part I) & Get Your Spook On
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Book Recs: LGBT Contemporary or Literary Fiction
Contemporary and/or literary fiction is, I’ll admit, a genre I struggle with. On the whole, I find it bores me so finding books within it that I enjoy is… occasionally a futile-seeming exercise. However. I thought I’d challenge myself for you today and put together a rec list of the genre so, here we are! If you’re as little enamoured by this genre as I am, let me suggest these few exceptions to maybe change your mind.
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Book Recs: LGBT Books That Make You Feel Feral
Specifically, I mean, they make you the personification of this gif:
Because sometimes that’s what you want from a book, right? You want it to make you feel ever so slightly (or maybe not slightly at all) insane. Well I have good news for you! Each of the 10 books here will provide just that. So, enjoy!
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.)
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Book Reviews: Gay Books for the Soul
A while back, I did a post titled lesbian books for the soul. Well, it just so happened that I had 3 books to review (two backlist, one out in May), which all happened to be gay, and so was born this post. These are all books that I enjoyed reading, so I really hope that this post convinces you to pick at least one of them (if not all of them!) up. And feel free to let me know if you do!
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Book Recs: LGBT Books With the Vibe of The Raven Cycle
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!
Related: quietly magical LGBT books & LGBT found family
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Book Recs: Sapphic Science Fiction (II)
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!
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Book of the Month: Mamo
When we made a shortlist of our potential books of the month, Mamo won for two reasons: fewest adds on Goodreads (a travesty), and Anna’s love of it. But, really, this was always going to be our pick, for obvious reasons: gorgeous art, a wonderful story, and a sweet romance. If you’re not excited about this graphic novel, then we can only conclude you hadn’t heard of it before. So take a look at why we think this is the book for you!
And as always, you can, of course, also follow Sas on twitter.
Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.
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Book Releases: Ownvoices Achillean Books of January-June 2022
A list of ownvoices m/m books in the sense that they’re all written by achillean authors. They’re not even all strictly m/m romances, some have little to no romance. But they all have achillean main characters.
Also worth noting is that last year’s post had barely 69 books, but this year it’s over 100! Let’s hope this number keeps growing with each year.
There are no rainbow emojis, since all the authors are achillean. But there are plant emojis for nonbinary authors.
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: ownvoices achillean books of January-June 2021 & of July-December 2021; releases by rep
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Book Recs: Adult LGBT Books with YA Crossover Appeal
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.
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Book of the Month: The Shadow Glass
Another month, another book of the month. This one is one I’m very excited about, an urban fantasy that honestly sounds absolutely wild and I’m so very here for that. Puppets come to life? A quest to save the world from one of your own father’s creations? Tell me more.
You can, of course, find out more by following Josh Winning on twitter. And don’t forget to have a look at why we think this is the book for you!
Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.
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ARC Review: Devotion
Today is the (long awaited, in my view) UK release day of what is undoubtedly one of the best books I read last year. Hannah Kent’s Devotion is a gorgeous historical tale, that spans lives and loves. If you’ve never read one of her works before, this is the perfect place to start. But if you’re somehow not convinced by the blurb alone, you can find my review for it in this post.
And you should also go ahead and follow Hannah on twitter and instagram!
1836, Prussia. Hanne is nearly fifteen and the domestic world of womanhood is quickly closing in on her. A child of nature, she yearns instead for the rush of the river, the wind dancing around her. Hanne finds little comfort in the local girls and friendship doesn’t come easily, until she meets Thea and she finds in her a kindred spirit and finally, acceptance.
Hanne’s family are Old Lutherans, and in her small village hushed worship is done secretly – this is a community under threat. But when they are granted safe passage to Australia, the community rejoices: at last a place they can pray without fear, a permanent home. Freedom.
It’s a promise of freedom that will have devastating consequences for Hanne and Thea, but, on that long and brutal journey, their bond proves too strong for even nature to break . . .
Devotion
Hannah Kent
Rep: lesbian mc, lesbian li
Release: 3rd February 2022 -
Book Recs: Books With Less Than 400 Goodreads Ratings (IV)
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.
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Book Recs: Indie, Small Press & Self Published Books
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 fictionFor 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!
