• All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

    7 May, 2022

    Buckle up folks because Xiran Jay Zhao is back with another book, their middle grade debut, and they’re back with a bang! If Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor wasn’t on your radar before, make sure it’s there now. If you like books in the vein of Percy Jackson, this is one for you.

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

    Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

    The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

    And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

    Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

    Xiran Jay Zhao

    Goodreads

    Rep: Hui Chinese American Muslim gay mc
    Release: 10th May 2022

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  • Book of the Month,  Literature

    Book of the Month: The Loophole

    3 May, 2022

    For May’s book of the month, we picked one we’re both excited for. I mean, who wouldn’t be highly anticipating a book about a boy, the genie who grants him three wishes, and a romp around the world in search of his boyfriend? You know I’m right.

    So have a look at the book below and don’t forget to follow Naz on twitter (and, obviously, preorder)!

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

    Book Recs: High Fantasy (III)

    23 April, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: LGBT Witches and Other Magic-Doers (II)

    20 April, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    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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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    Book Reviews: Gay Books for the Soul

    21 March, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    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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  • All Reviews,  Literature

    ARC Review: The City of Dusk

    14 March, 2022

    Today’s post is a review of a book we know you all must be chomping at the bit for. The City of Dusk is out in just over a week, and you don’t want to miss it. But if, for whatever reason, you’re still on the fence about things, check out our review for why you shouldn’t be!

    And we’re running a giveaway of the book over on twitter, so head on over for a chance to win!

    The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.

    But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.

    Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.

    But their defiance will cost them dearly.

    The City of Dusk

    Tara Sim

    Goodreads

    Rep: lesbian mc, bi mcs
    Release: 22nd March 2022

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Sapphic Science Fiction (II)

    8 March, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Adult LGBT Books with YA Crossover Appeal

    15 February, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Sapphic Fantasy (II)

    9 February, 2022

    About two years back now, maybe nearer three, I started a rec series of posts of sapphic books split by genre. Then, sometime early 2020, I got bored, and stopped. Now, though, I’ve decided to come back to it, partly because I’ve read so much more since then I feel I have more content to rec. Partly because of recent dumbass twitter discourse. So yeah.

    It’s been a while, though. It’s been so long, in fact, I decided I had to expand how many books I included in here, just so none of my favourites would have to miss out! I upped it to 25 and there are still more that I haven’t added, so keep an eye out for a third post sometime soon…haha…

    As ever, all of the previous posts can be found here.

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  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Books With Less Than 400 Goodreads Ratings (IV)

    29 January, 2022

    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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  • All Recommended,  Film & TV Recs,  Film & TV Shows

    Film & TV Recs: Achillean Coming of Age Movies

    26 December, 2021

    Movies about gay teenagers just hit differently, don’t they? Which is why I am here with this list of ten coming of age movies where the main character is achillean. The list is a little bit chaotic, but I think that’s a good thing? It means you will find some more serious movies here, some more romance heavy, some with very little romance at all… A little bit for everyone!

    Related: Sapphic Coming of Age Movies
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