#anita kelly

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: February 2024

Good Christian Girls by Elizabeth Bradshaw (1st) Lacey Heller is sure that nothing interesting could possibly happen at Camp Lavender, because it never does. Her parents have been running this Christian camp for girls ever since she can remember. Little does Lacey know that Jo Delgado is coming to camp this summer—and she’s going to change everything. After the incident, Jo’s aunt sends her to…

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#Anita Kelly #Anthony Nerada #Arden Powell #Edward Underhill #Elizabeth May #Every Little Thing #Flos Magicae #Fox Maidens #Gabe Cole Novoa #Green Dot #Infinity Alchemist #Jenna Miller #Kacen Callender #Lee Winter #Lily Seabrooke #Love and Hot Chicken #MZ #Phil Bildner #Redsight #Ruby Barrett #Shaun David Hutchinson #Skater Boy #The Diablo&039;s Curse #The Friendship Study #The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles #To Cage a God #Vengeance Planning for Amateurs #We Got the Beat

[cosmic-hoboandthehighlander]

Not to get all bookish on my main, but also yes, absolutely let’s talk about books on my main!

I just want to talk about Something Wild & Wonderful for a minute.

This right here is one of my favorite reads of last year. It made me feel things; it was beautiful. I’m so sad that it’s not hyped enough. I never see it mentioned anywhere, but what Anita Kelly has done in this novel is absolutely beautiful. I cannot listen to Wonderwall the same way ever again. The love story, beautiful, the life story - the character growth! - amazing. The autism rep, the queer rep, just…everything! The care put into researching, to making this feel like you too are also hiking the PCT….this book is not talked about enough.

I want people crying over this they way y’all cry over certain overhyped books. I want fanmade stickers, fanart, playlists, fic…recognition on booktube and booktok! More of the world needs to experience this novel. I read this last March and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

If you read one book this year, let it be Something Wild & Wonderful.

#something wild & wonderful #anita kelly #book rec #bookblr #I want to hike the pct now Anita so thank you so much #I’m doing a reread…it’s probably the best thing to get me out of my reading slump

[aurorawest]

2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Is it February of 2024? Yes! Am I still going to post my favorite books that I read in 2023? Also yes!

Ginn Hale's Cadeleonian Series, the second half of which I read in 2023: Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book Two; Master of Restless Shadows, Book One; and Master of Restless Shadows, Book Two

This series begins with Lord of the White Hell and continues with Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, then concludes with Master of Restless Shadows. Each duology follows a different set of characters, but it's a true series so you need to read them in order. It's a toss-up for me whether I preferred Champion of the Scarlet Wolf or Master of Restless Shadows. Both are fantastic duologies. I particularly loved getting Atreau's story in Master because he's sort of an unlikable playboy-esque character in the preceding books...but wait! Turns out there's more to him after all.

After Francesco by Brian Malloy

Who would think a book about living through the AIDS epidemic in NYC in the 80s would be as funny as this book is? It will also tear your heart out and stomp on it. Also takes place partly in Minneapolis (and is by a Minnesotan author).

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Folklorist meets the Green Man and they fall in love. This is the first half of a duology, the second being Drowned Country, which I just finished today so can't included it on my 2023 wrap-up. All the dark and violent whimsy of the mythic past and the most brutal versions of fairy tales, plus a lovely romance.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in (the author has cited Ender's Game as a huge influence). I don't want to say anything more than that, because I feel strongly that you need to go into this book knowing nothing. The twists and turns are so good, the main trio are wonderful, complicated characters, and the world is super cool.

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

In some ways the most heartbreaking of Pulley's novels. Also probably her most dreamy and magical. It's my least favorite of her books, but my least favorite Natasha Pulley book still ended up on my best of 2023 reading list.

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

This book awakened in me a latent love of Soviet queers. You'll see this book filed under sci-fi by booksellers, but it isn't really—it's historical fiction about a very real nuclear disaster in the USSR that was covered up for decades. Like all of Pulley's books, the characters are deeply complicated and flawed. The pleasure is really in reading the way she tells a story and her beautiful use of language, so even if you're not interested in Soviet nuclear disasters, I absolutely recommend you read this. Also, you'll probably be interested in Soviet nuclear disasters when you're done.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley

Haha, you thought The Watchmaker of Filigree Street punched you in the chest with feels? Get ready for the sequel, which will have you Curled Into A Sobbing Ball On The Floor™. Join Thaniel Steepleton, Keita Mori, and their adopted Waifish Victorian Orphan, Six, as they go to Japan, where things are weird, there are ghosts, and Thaniel and Mori still somehow don't understand what they mean to each other.

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

"What if France won the Napoleonic Wars because of time travelers" shouldn't have shattered me the way this book did, but of course it's a Natasha Pulley novel so it absolutely did. Missouri Kite is the most Gay Little Man™. And Joe, poor Joe. The PINING. The YEARNING. When the reveal happens, I had to go back and read prior sections of the book and good god do they hit different. Different and SADDER. This book is my favorite of Natasha Pulley's novels.

Tommy Cabot Was Here and Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian

The first two books in Cat Sebastian's The Cabots series. The books are historical fiction that follow various queer men in the Cabot family. The Cabots are one of those old money, liberal New England families—think Kennedys. Both books are about Sad Gay Men™ finding love in soft, tiptoeing Cat Sebastian fashion. Peter Cabot is a road trip romance and a bit longer, so the characters have some time to breathe.

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

This was probably a Stucky fic at one point, right? I mean. No shade though, truly! This was my favorite romcom that I read in 2023. It was also a comp for Strangers to Husbands, haha. I love the setting—hiking the Pacific Crest Trail—and I love the main characters, Alexei and Ben. Alexei came out to his family recently and got rejected, while Ben is from a big, accepting Portuguese family. Funny, touching, and an excellent love story.

Cattle Stop by Kit Oliver

Looks like a romcom but will stab you in the heart repeatedly. Kit Oliver has a gorgeous way with words and captures the dynamic between two people who have no idea how to talk to each other so well. I'm also a sucker for farm settings.

The Sugared Game and Subtle Blood by KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures)

I've read almost all of KJ Charles's books at this point, but the Will Darling Adventures are my favorites (I read the first book in the series in 2022). I love the combination of romance and action/adventure. I've never met a m/m book set in the interwar period that I haven't loved. Will and Kim are wonderful characters, and sometimes I think about what other adventures they had after book three ended.

Honeytrap by Aster Glenn Gray

An FBI agent and a GRU agent get assigned to work a case together in 1959 and they fall in looooove. There's a road trip, a family dinner, and FEELS. I'm not sure I've ever had a time skip hit me in the gut so hard. Remember how I said I love Soviet queers? Here's another example.

Wranglestone and Timberdark by Darren Charlton

What if the real dystopia isn't the zombie apocalypse, but "normal" life? I don't know if I've ever read a YA series that sucker-punched me as hard as this one. I know I've never read a zombie book that sucker-punched me as hard as this one. I don't think these books have even been published in the US (only in the UK), but if you can get your hands on them, they're worth it. Really beautifully written in a style that evokes the emptiness of the great national parks of the American west.

Honorable mentions:

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

#wranglestone #timberdark #darren charlton #honeytrap #aster glenn gray #kj charles #sugared game #subtle blood #cattle stop #kit oliver #something wild and wonderful #anita kelly #the cabots #cat sebastian #natasha pulley #the bedlam stacks #the half life of valery k #the lost future of pepperharrow #the kingdoms #some desperate glory #emily tesh #silver in the wood #after francesco #brian malloy #ginn hale #champion of the scarlet wolf #master of restless shadows #reading tag

[transbookoftheday]

Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly

After a lifetime of failed relationships, non-binary history professor Sam Bell is committed to a new (non)romantic strategy: Thirst Only. It’s the actual drinking where things get too complicated, where Sam inevitably gets hurt.

Sam is good at being thirsty, though, especially when it's karaoke night at The Moonlight Café, otherwise known as Moonie’s to its largely queer regulars. Moonie’s is fun. Comfortable. Safe. Except for tonight, when one by one, all of Sam’s friends abandon them. Disappointed, they prepare to leave—until their #1 karaoke crush catches their eye...

For Lily Fischer, karaoke at Moonie's is the only time she can step outside of her quiet shell. When there’s a mic in her hand, she’s no longer merely a receptionist harboring big dreams. At Moonie's, Lily can pretend to be someone else: someone bold, who takes what she wants. And tonight, what Lily wants is the way Sam looks at her across the room as she sings her signature opening song, like they see her exactly as she wants to be seen. Like Moonie’s Lily is real.

As the night progresses, both Sam’s and Lily’s personal fears are tested, and the real world outside of Moonie’s looms. But maybe sometimes, the real world should be a little more like karaoke. It's not always about knowing all the right words or having the perfect voice. Maybe all Sam and Lily need is a little courage to pick up the mic, and sing anyway.

#sing anyway #anita kelly #nonbinary #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - October 28th - This Month's Favourite

tied between Tomboy Survival Guide and Wherever is Your Heart this month <3

#tomboy survival guide #ivan coyote #wherever is your heart #anita kelly #justonemorepage #jompbpc #booklr #bookblr #trcc original #portraits #lgbt books

[mccoppinscrapyard]

Read in 2023 (6/?)

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

❝ That each person could choose what brought them closest to belonging, the power in that. Knowing that one day, people might discover even better words for it. That there was only ever freedom in continuing to find new names for who we were, who we could be. ❞

#litedit #book moodboard #love & other disasters #anita kelly #sapphiclitnet #wlwbookshelf #dahlia woodson #london parker #london x dahlia #queer books #lgbt books #romance #romanceedit #book aesthetic #mystuff #my edit #books2023 #read in 2023 #nblw books

[the-final-sentence]

‘Let’s dance.’

Anita Kelly, from How You Get the Girl

#Anita kelly #how you get the girl

[ramblesbiab]

I haven't talked about books in a while, but. I kinda just got thrown around by How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly, a book I picked up with the opinion that it would probably be okay, and now that I've finished it it's easily in my top 5 of all time, so I need to talk about it.

This book has one of the most raw and real depictions of depression, and the difficulties of loving with depression, that I've seen, and that's only one of the many social issues tackled, including various LGBTQIA+ issues, foster care, drug dependency, it's all there and yet it doesn't become overwhelming, it's just - natural. It's life.

Another part of this book which is wild to me is the fact that it, apparently, is the third book in a series I haven't read??? I partially picked up on that early with side characters having surprisingly in-depth love stories, yet somehow, I never felt left out. And strangely enough - despite not having as much time as I could've with the characters from the first two installments of this series, it still managed to do a better job at a trope then a different series I've read.

I adore the Bright Falls series by Ashley Herring Blake, however, I've always been a bit annoyed by the ending of the final book, Iris Kelly Doesn't Date. It's a culmination of all three books, where we remove focus from Kelly to marry the characters from the first book, but it doesn't work for me. That's because it felt like Iris got shafted, and that's especially true for her love interest, whose name I can't even remember offhand. It went too all-in on the previous characters, and Iris suffered for it in her own book.

In contrast, while How You Get the Girl does the same thing on paper, it's done with so much more class. We get so much of the characters before the finale that giving them a bit of space is valid, but we also still maintain a solid focus that feels like they're getting a proper sendoff, on top of the series as a whole. And this is still despite the fact that I haven't even read the rest of the series!

It made me realize that it wasn't a bad trope, just bad execution in the Bright Falls series, as much as I still adore those books. All in all, I'm excited to read more from Anita Kelly now, and I highly recommend How You Get the Girl whether you've read the first books or not.

#books #literature #lesbian #How you get the girl #bright falls #anita kelly #ashley herring blake #literature analysis

[butcharium]

the scene just before these two butches kiss for the first time actually bears a lot of resemblance to the moments before my dearest and i kissed for the first time as well this is almost too much

#hello losing my mind over this book anon i can't thank you enough #butch4butch #wherever is your heart #anita kelly #musings #quotes

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Love & Other Disaster by Anita Kelly

goodreads

Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she's focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.  After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan. As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.

Mod opinion: I haven't heard of this book before, but this sounds like a cute romance.

#love and other disasters #love & other disasters #anita kelly #polls #trans books #trans lit #trans literature #lgbt books #lgbt lit #lgbt literature #romance #contemporary fiction #nonbinary

[whilereadingandwalking]

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly is a fun queer romance novel featuring two contestants in a MasterChief-like reality show. Dahlia is recently divorced, feels everything, and worried that she ruins things. London is privileged but struggles under the pressure of coming out as nonbinary on national television, especially given that their father won't use their pronouns. The two of them find themselves being pulled together by chemistry...but what will happen when one of them is eliminated?

The best part of this book is 100% the food competition and reality show background, which adds so much fun and drama to the story. The story also has a really excellent nonbinary story, great pansexuality rep, and I really identified with Dahlia on a couple of levels, including being a queer woman who (up to the beginning of the novel) has only ever dated a cis man. It takes a minute to get really chugging along, and like in many rom coms, it asks the reader to suspend their disbelief just a little extra. But all around it's a really fun Pride Month read, and a sexy, fun romance, and fans of MasterChief especially will love it!

Content warnings for misgendering, homophobia, classism.

#love & other disasters #anita kelly #bookstagram #romance novels #queer romance #queer books #my book reviews

[lgbtqreads]

Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2024!

Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day! In celebration of this day, here are a whole bunch of books that center queer girls and women in sports! (For even more recs, check out 2022‘s post!) Fiction You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the…

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#Anita Kelly #Basketball #Boxing #Cleat Cute #Curling #Female Athletes #Fire &amp; Ice #Hockey #How You Get the Girl #In the Ring #Jennifer Dugan #Karmen Lee #Kate Cochrane #Kelly Farmer #Love and Sportsball #Meka James #Meryl Wilsner #Playing for Keeps #Rachel Spangler #Racquel Marie #Roller Derby #Running #Sierra Isley #Soccer #Sports Romance #The 7-10 Split #Wrestling #You Don&039;t Have a Shot

[monomatica]

Type Map for Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

Trying something different with a landscape! I fell in love with Ben & Alexei and their chemistry, their cuteness, their differences and of course their romance. The Pacific Crest Trail is its own character in this story and provides a magnificent backdrop. I laughed. I cried. It filled me with sparkles. I absolutely loved it. Follow on Insta: @bookomatica Print Shop: bookomatica.com

#something wild and wonderful #anita kelly #queer romance #type maps #fan art #bookish fan art #book fan art #ben X alexei #pacific crest trail #romance books #five star books #booklr

[mxlumen]

A Running List of Books I’ve Read in 2022

My Most Favorites:

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston (2x)

Love + Other Disasters - Anita Kelly

Red, White + Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston (2x)

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care - Ashley Herring Blake

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

Heartstopper 1 - Alice Oseman

Heartstopper 2 - Alice Oseman

Heartstopper 3 - Alice Oseman

Heartstopper 4 - Alice Oseman

I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston

She Gets the Girl - Racheal Lippencott + Alyson Derrick

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera

Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo

Wherever is Your Heart - Anita Kelly

Aristotle + Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins-Reid

A Scatter of Light - Malinda Lo

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail - Ashley Herring Blake

Yerba Buena - Nina LaCour

I Liked It - A LOT

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

Any Way the Wind Blows - Rainbow Rowell

Malice - Heather Walter

Misrule - Heather Walter

Our Favorite Songs - Anita Kelly

All Our Hidden Gifts - Caroline O’Donoghue

This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar + Max Gladstone

The Extraordinaries - TJ Klune

Flash Fire - TJ Klune

Heat Wave - TJ Klune

Mistakes We’re Made - Meryl Wilsner

I Liked It

Criers War - Nina Varela

Iron Heart - Nina Vareles

Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

She Drives Me Crazy - Kelly Quindlen

Wayward Son - Rainbow Rowell

The Girl in the Sea - Molly Ostertag

Satisfaction Guaranteed - Karelia Stern-Waters

Sing Anyway - Anita Kelly

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

A Line in the Dark - Malinda Lo

Not My Personal Favorite

Queerly Beloved - Susie Dummond

Chefs Kiss - TJ Alexander

I Think I Love You - Auriane Desombre

Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner

When Katie Met Cassidy - Camille Perri

Currently Reading

Hang the Moon - Alexandria Bellefleur

Kiss Her Once For Me - Allison Cochrun

DNF

I’m So Not Over You - Kosoko Jackson

She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan

Current TBR (in my possession)

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven - Juno Dawson

What If It’s Us - Albertalli + Silvera

Beastiary - K-Ming Chang

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab

Outlawed - Anna North

Under The Whispering Door - TJ Klune

Are You My Mother? - Alison Bechdel

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For - Alison Bechdel

Aristotle + Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

The Ones We Burn - Rebecca Mix

last updated 12/6/2022

((always accepting recs!))

#casey mcquiston #one last stop #rwrb #red white and royal blue #snowbaz #tj klune #the house in the cerulean sea #anita kelly #heartstopper #alice oseman #shara wheeler #aristotle and dante discover the universe #books & libraries #the extraordinaries #evelyn hugo

[transbookoftheday]

I Didn't Sign Up for This by Anita Kelly

Sometimes, your girlfriend dumps you in Switzerland.

If you’re lucky, it’ll be right before Christmas.

To be specific, it just might be the day before you were set to go skiing in the Swiss Alps. As a Christmas present from said girlfriend.

And maybe Nicole didn’t expect me to still go skiing in the Swiss Alps without her, but you know what? You only live once. I will never in my life be able to afford a day like this again.

And sure, it’s possible I’ve never touched a pair of skis before, but I’m an adaptable person.

I’ll figure it out.

#i didn't sign up for this #anita kelly #transfem #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - October 24th - Reading Nook

my cosy corner with my rocking chair and my granny blanket. really need a lil table to go next to it though tbh

#anita kelly #justonemorepage #jompbpc #booklr #bookblr #trcc original #portraits #lgbt books #wherever is your heart