• All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Shakespeare Retellings

    16 August, 2023

    Waaay back (also known as 19th May, according to the artist formerly known as Twitter), I touted the idea of a Shakespeare retellings rec list which (drum roll please) is now here! In general, it’s a somewhat limited selection of Shakespeare plays that get considered for retellings, so I’ve tried to give as wide a range as I can (within reason, based on what I’ve read and you know, trying to get a wide range of rep in too). So, here are ten retellings you should get your hands on!

    A lot of these 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: What to Read If You Like Wheel of Time

    26 September, 2022

    On a whim, I decided to start a whole new style of rec post on this blog. I’ve done a few of these on my own blog before, so I figured why not transfer the idea over to this one! Here’s how it goes: I pick (or you suggest—feel free to leave any requests in comments!) a popular book or series, think of a bunch of tropes, themes or character archtypes in that book/series, and rec books which also fit those tropes, themes and archetypes. And in this case, they’re all gay!

    The first of these posts is going to be about the big fantasy monster that is Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Fourteen books long, it’s one you would be excused of being intimidated by. If you have read it, however, and are looking for similar(ish) books, then this post is for you! So let’s get going.

    A lot of these 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: Dark Academia

    24 August, 2022

    I have to start off today’s rec list with a little definition because, above all others, dark academia seems to be a genre that could mean absolutely anything. I mean, when I was researching for this list, someone had added Pride and Prejudice as dark academia to their recs. So, before we go anywhere, I’m going to lay out what I consider to be the hallmarks of dark academia (and thus, the criteria by which I’ve selected these recs).

    First and foremost, I think this is a genre that needs to be set in and around academia. I mean, it’s in the name! Thus, these books are set at university and/or other schools (or school-equivalents). Secondly, I think what makes this genre is the themes, that is those of obsession, possessiveness, unhealthy relationships and desire. There’s a certain headiness to the genre, where, while events may seem outlandish, while you’re reading you’re just as absorbed as the characters themselves. Oh, and there might be a little pinch of murder to spice it up.

    So, with luck, I’ve selected 10 books that fit this description. And hey! They are, as ever, all gay.

    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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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron

    9 August, 2022

    A Taste of Gold and Iron is a book we imagine you’ve been anticipating ever since it was announced, because we know we were! We’re a mere 3 weeks out from release now, so, without waffling on any further, let us give you a little taste of what you can expect in this review. (And, as ever, there’s a mix at the end too.)

    And don’t forget, you can follow Alex on twitter too.

    Kadou, the shy prince of Arasht, finds himself at odds with one of the most powerful ambassadors at court—the body-father of the queen’s new child—in an altercation which results in his humiliation.

    To prove his loyalty to the queen, his sister, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. In Arasht, where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers and myth runs side by side with history, counterfeiting is heresy, and the conspiracy they discover could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

    A Taste of Gold and Iron

    Alexandra Rowland

    Goodreads

    Rep: Turkish coded cast & setting, gay mc with depression and anxiety, bi mc, achillean side character, nonbinary side characters
    CWs: violence, panic attacks
    Release: 30th August 2022

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    ARC Review: The Science of Being Angry

    10 May, 2022

    If you’ve followed us on the blog for a while, you probably noticed that we’re fans of Nicole Melleby’s books. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we very much wanted to read her latest as soon as possible. And like always, Nicole did not disappoint! Read our review to learn why you should buy yourself a copy, if you haven’t preordered it before!

    And of course, follow Nicole on twitter.

    Related: How to Become a Planet review, our best books of 2021 and of 2020.

    Eleven-year-old Joey is angry. All the time. And she doesn’t understand why. She has two loving moms, a supportive older half brother, and, as a triplet, she’s never without company. Her life is good. But sometimes she loses her temper and lashes out, like the time she threw a soccer ball—hard—at a boy in gym class and bruised his collarbone. Or when jealousy made her push her (former) best friend (and crush), Layla, a little bit too roughly.

    After a meltdown at Joey’s apartment building leads to her family’s eviction, Joey is desperate to figure out why she’s so mad. A new unit in science class makes her wonder if the reason is genetics. Does she lose control because of something she inherited from the donor her mothers chose?

    The Science of Being Angry

    Nicole Melleby

    Goodreads

    Rep: sapphic mc with anger management issues, sapphic li, lesbian parents
    TW: blood, bullying, panic attacks
    Release: 10th May 2022

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    Book Recs: LGBT Contemporary or Literary Fiction

    17 April, 2022

    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

    24 March, 2022

    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 Recs: LGBT Books With the Vibe of The Raven Cycle

    18 March, 2022

    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: Friends to Lovers

    19 December, 2021

    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!

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    Book Recs: Bi/Pan Adult Fantasy

    13 November, 2021

    The other day, I did part two of this adult fantasy series, with books featuring gay mcs. Today, I’m back for part three: bi/pan mcs. I say bi/pan, because often it’s hard to tell, since this is fantasy and mostly labels are not in use. But these are ten recs for you, in which the mc is definitively attracted to more than one gender.

    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.)

    And if you want to check out the other posts in this series, you can find them below:

    Lesbian | Gay | Trans

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    Book Recs: Get Your Spook On

    20 October, 2021

    It’s October, it’s autumn, it’s spooky season, so what better rec list today than a BUMPER rec list of books to read when you want to feel extra spooky! You can even pick your reads based on the emojis below, depending on what you feel like. It’s a win-win situation, I’m sure.

    And if you want yet more recs, here’s the list I made last year.

    Pick your spooky season emoji of choice!

    🧙🏼‍♀️ • 👻 • 🎃 • 🐺 • 🧛🏼‍♂️ • 🧟

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    Book Recs: Adult Fantasy (II)

    14 October, 2021

    By happy coincidence (or not, you decide), our rec list today comes on the heels of some twitter discourse stemming from an opinion that is—how to put this politely—really fucking stupid. And because of that opinion, in addition to making sure that each of these books is gay, today I’ve challenged* myself to not include a single cis white man!

    *It’s not really a challenge.

    You can also find part one of this list here. And, handily, you can find a massive thread of recs here!

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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The Charm Offensive

    18 August, 2021

    Hopefully, by now, you’re already excited about The Charm Offensive. We most definitely were, the moment we learned about it. If, however, you live under a rock, let us introduce you to one of the loveliest books of the year. (And hey, the comparison to Casey McQuiston’s writing? Totally deserved.)

    Anyway, give Alison Cochrun a follow on twitter, and enjoy!

    In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.

    Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

    Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.

    As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

    The Charm Offensive

    Alison Cochrun

    Goodreads

    Rep: Indian American gay mc with depression, gay mc with generalised anxiety disorder, OCD & a panic disorder, Chinese American bi side character, lesbian side character, Black ace bi side character with anxiety, gay side character, Muslim pan side character, Black bi side character
    CWs: panic attacks, biphobia (from side character)
    Release: 7th September 2021

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    Book Recs: Zodiac Signs as LGBT Books

    8 August, 2021

    This idea is sort of born of this thread (which was a great thread, if I do say so myself, so there’s a little bit of overlap in some signs…but I’ve mostly tried to add new books), but I decided I wanted to turn it into a blog post featuring all LGBT books, instead of solely sapphic ones. And here we are! This post contains thirty six books, one for the sun, moon & rising for each sign. So, if you’re looking for a way to create a little fun TBR, look no further!

    Of course, I couldn’t start this post without having mentioned Anaïs, who is vastly more knowledgeable of astrology than me, and who helped a lot with fitting the right books in.

    Want to skip to your sign?

    Aquarius | Pisces | Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra | Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn
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    In the Intersection: Neurodiversity and Disability in LGBT Lit

    24 June, 2021

    The final post in our intersection series is here! Today we’re looking at books which feature neurodiverse or disability rep. That does, of course, give us a vast array of stories to choose from, and we couldn’t represent every possible facet of it in a single post. As such, perhaps even more than the lists, this is very much a starter pack. And if you don’t see a more popular one on here, that you might have been expecting, that’s just because we wanted to highlight those which aren’t often recced.

    Everything else we’ve featured in this series can be found here: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit.

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