• All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: LGBT Literary Fiction (II)

    15 November, 2022

    The me from a year ago would never even dream of making this rec list. And here we are! But also, before we go into the heavy detail, let me just say that I use a very rough definition of ‘literary fiction’. And by that I mean that in my mind it’s mostly just… character-driven, hard to define stories. That’s it. I’m literally just here for the vibes and to have a good time.

    Anyway, Charlotte also recced some lit fic this year (and she included one of my favourite books of all time – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous), so check out her post, too!

    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: Historical (II)

    25 October, 2022

    Not the post we necessarily planned coming to you today, but a quick one we threw together at almost the last minute (haha blogging amirite?). If you’re a fan of historical fiction, then this is a list for you! Of course, it’s actually part two of the list (part one can be found here), but honestly, I’m a little happier with this one than the last, because I didn’t have to resort to histroms to fill in the gaps (which, let’s be clear, is not a bad thing, but I had a whole separate list for historical romances, as opposed to historical fiction which might or might not include romance). But anyways. I’ll not keep you waiting any longer for it!

    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: Vampires

    19 October, 2022

    The other day, Anna posted books to read with the same vibes as Interview with the Vampire, on which you might have noticed, there were precious few actual vampires. That’s because this list was coming! Ten books featuring vampires—not all of them horror books—for your reading pleasure this spooky season. You can also find some more vampire recs (along with other spooky season stalwarts) in last year’s post!

    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: LGBT Books With the Vibe of Interview With the Vampire

    17 October, 2022

    I am, of course, talking about the 2022 AMC TV series. The masterpiece of modern television. The adaptation that (hopefully) has Anne Rice turning in her grave. If you’re wasting your Sundays on a different show, I don’t know how to help you…

    For those of you who simply want more vampire stories, Charlotte will have a rec list soon has a rec list, don’t worry! But I’m here for vibes, and vibes alone. I’m here for the toxic, unhealthy relationships! (Though I did include a few vampire titles, as well, and because of that this list is actually longer than usually.)

    And if you want more trans stories about vampires (like we all do!), I’ve been told you should keep an eye out for Danny Bryn & Rem Wigmore next year!

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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: LGBT Romances

    24 September, 2022

    When I told Charlotte that I want to make a rec list for LGBT romance books, she told me to only include “actually romantic ones”. If I knew what she meant. And I did! I really did.

    So that’s what you can expect here: 10 romance books with pining turned up to the absolute maximum, and ones where you can almost physically feel the love the characters have for one another. You’ll probably gonna cry, but you can thank me later!

    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: Historical LGBT Romances, New Adult LGBT Romances
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    Book Recs: Sapphic Fantasy (III)

    20 September, 2022

    Running out of ideas for rec posts as I am (which, let me be clear, is a hint for you guys to maybe offer some ideas of what you want to see), I returned to an old stalwart on this blog: sapphic fantasy! Obviously, I’ve already done two parts to this post but I’ve (finally) reached the point where I’m minorly struggling to find 20 books I would highly recommend. Guess that just means I need to go and read some more… But anyway! Check out the 20 I’ve decided to rec this time.

    As ever, all of the previous posts (including those two other fantasy posts) can be found here.

    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: Achillean YA Fantasy

    17 September, 2022

    Today, quite by accident, marks exactly 2 years and 1 month since we posted a sapphic YA fantasy list. Obviously, this means it’s time to post an achillean equivalent. So, after much head scratching (and a few faves sadly left out (for now)), here it is! And, of course, Anna’s sapphic YA fantasy list can be found here should you want to check that out at the same time.

    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: Sapphic Paranormal/Horror Fiction

    8 September, 2022

    By popular demand (also known as two people requested this same topic when I asked for rec list ideas a couple of days ago), today I’m returning to my sapphic book rec posts with a genre I haven’t touched upon at all before. That’s right! One month out from spooky season proper, I’m finally giving you some sapphic paranormal and horror recs! A full 20 of them! (Little disclaimer, there are a few on here I’ve not read, but most of them I have.) So sit yourselves down, and find something to read.

    As ever, all the other sapphic posts I’ve done can be found here.

    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: 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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    Book Recs: 100 LGBT Books to Read Before You Die

    23 June, 2022

    …a personal list.

    When we thought about what we might post in Pride Month ourselves, we had very few ideas (they tend to become quite thin on the ground when you’ve been doing this schtick for…nearly 4 years). The one idea we did have was creating a list of 100 (LGBT) books to read before you die. So, here we are!

    There is a great variety in how we decided which books would go on this list. Some are favourites. Some are classics or nonfiction. Some are ones we simply thought to be important in the grand scheme of LGBT writing. This, in part, is why this is a personal list. It’s not definitive, and there are a number of books that you might think of that aren’t here (chiefly, because we’ve not read them). Really, it’s only a start.

    So strap yourselves in, and have a look to see how many you have read!

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    ARC Review: If You Still Recognise Me

    9 June, 2022

    You may recall a few months back, we revealed the (gorgeous) cover for Cynthia So’s If You Still Recognise Me. Well, today’s finally the day that you can read it! But if, for whatever (foolish) reason, you’re not convinced yet, let us help you out!

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

    Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.

    In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make…

    If You Still Recognise Me

    Cynthia So

    Goodreads

    Rep: British Chinese bi mc, British Chinese lesbian side character, British Indian sapphic side character, biracial Black sapphic side character, Vietnamese nonbinary bi side character, Chinese side characters, Chinese gay side character, gay & sapphic side characters
    CWs: past toxic relationship, homophobia
    Release: 9th June 2022

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    Book Recs: Anna’s Favourite Love Confessions

    26 May, 2022

    A long time ago Charlotte made a rec list of her favourite love confessions in LGBT books, and I decided it’s high time for me to make one as well. Let’s be honest, don’t we all read book just waiting for characters to make a beautiful romantic speech? Give us reasons to happy-cry!

    Also, I just want to be clear that I absolutely agree with all of Charlotte’s choices (the ones from books I’ve read, that is), and especially The Pursuit Of… & Midnighter and Apollo. They would be on my list, as well, but I don’t wanna repeat her.

    Related: Charlotte’s Favourite Love Confessions
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