#earcs

[theguildedtypewriter]

Is it hot in here? ❤️‍🔥 Steamy indeed! And this is just the tip... of the iceberg. What were you thinking? 😏 me too. If you want sexy, dark, trauma-healing, & snarky AF, Affinity for Pain is for you! 😈⁠ Interested in an eARC? Contact me with that good ol' email button!⁠ ⁠ The blurb- ⁠ Newborn City, once a dead-end, old lady-infested town, is now home to hundreds of supernatural creatures. The Chakal demon, Hope Turner is one such being. Without physical sensation and the dreaded emotions that often go with it, Hope is the ideal human-hunting assassin. Tonight’s plan is like all others- to introduce a bullet to yet another demon-hater’s brain. Fate has other plans. Upon seeing Ciaran, she’s paralyzed by omaeriku, a bond that forces Hope to feel it all: heat, cold, and pain (which she could've happily done without).⁠ ⁠ Ciaran O'Connor escaped his own Gladiator captivity to create a somewhat normal life. Now, someone from his past wants him dead. Aligned with the woman sent to kill him, who may have guest-starred in some saucy dreams, Ciaran must determine who put the target on his back and deal with his attraction to Hope. Worse yet, a sadist biting at their heels wants Ciaran back under his thumb. ⁠ ⁠ As they race to find their attacker before thugs kill them both, old habits rip them apart, allowing Ciaran to be captured by the one person he fears. Filled with demons, a wealthy madman, and torture, Affinity for Pain follows two people as they navigate a violent road lined with monsters and a heaping dose of sex. Hope and Ciaran have seen and felt pain, but they’ll soon see there’s more to life than agony.⁠ ⁠ Affinity for Pain is an urban paranormal romance with sex, assassinations, and explosions. It's the first of the Newborn City Series but does offer its own HFN ending. ⁠ #books #arcs #advancedreadercopies #reviewercopy #romancenovels #adultfantasy #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookstagram #readingcommunity #readerswanted #earcs #arcreaders #paranormalromance #smuttybooks #steamybooks #sexybooks #readnow ⁠ (at The Forgotten Realms) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdG1J_KvXbD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#books #arcs #advancedreadercopies #reviewercopy #romancenovels #adultfantasy #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookstagram #readingcommunity #readerswanted #earcs #arcreaders #paranormalromance #smuttybooks #steamybooks #sexybooks #readnow

[taylorfennersbookishworld]

I Can’t Wait For… Immortality!

I Can’t Wait For… Immortality! #tbr #wednesdaybooks #booktwitter

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. I loved the first book in this series, Anatomy: A Love Story, and was so sad thinking it was a stand-alone… but it’s not! Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz A Love Story, Book 2 eBook,…

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#Book Blog #Can&039;t Wait Wednesday #CWW #eARCs #Historical Fiction #Romance #Waiting on Wednesday #Winter 2023 Reads #WOW #YA

[starplanes]

A (5 star) review of Bury Your Gays, by @drchucktingle!

I read this book in one sitting. I did not plan to read this book in one sitting, but I could not put it down, accepting that my lunch break was now an extended reading break. Bury Your Gays was just that good.

It starts simple. Screenwriter Misha has been told by his exec that the season finale of his show must out, then kill the two leads. He needs to bury his gays because the board has determined it's where the money is. Misha says no. Then starts getting stalked by his (definitely fictional, right?) characters from other shows. Either Misha developed some incredible supernatural powers in that meeting, or something more sinister is at work…

Bury Your Gays illustrates why queer people should be allowed to tell the stories they want to tell, instead of being made to use queerbating, tragic tropes, or fake relentless optimism in the name of corporate Pride. It's a story about the queer struggle to find oneself in a world that makes it so, so hard. There's a lot of love for the queer community poured into this book, and oh does it shines. I especially adored the ace rep - and the concept of ace rep as a plot point. I shall not explain further. However, I am more scared than ever of the corporatization of Pride.

Bury Your Gays also criticizes capitalism's monetization of tragedy and exploitation of workers. It explores what happens when ethics are ignored in the name of an ever-growing profit margin, to the point where the bottom line becomes a near-sentient thing. It leans into the horrors of AI and data-mining by combining the two and going all the way with it. Chuck Tingle has acknowledged all my fears of black box algorithms and also made them ten times worse. Truly a feat! I will be sleeping with my router off!

It's a masterpiece of horror, both visceral and psychological. Since the main character is a horror writer, the story is very genre aware. There's a lot of fun to be had in the tale of "writer being followed by the monsters he wrote," and certainly no small amount of terror. It gets gory here and there, with plenty of suspense in between. Hints are laid out for the reader, enough where I was occasionally able to predict what was coming just a page or two before it landed. My jaw dropped multiple times! The writing is descriptive enough to pull you right in (and gross you out!), and it's paced near-perfectly. There's all these little moments sprinkled in that elevate the whole story, from fun references of other work to subtle clues you'll only catch on a reread.

This book will be living in my head rent-free from now on. It's about so many things and yet has interwoven them all perfectly. Fans of classic horror movies will love this story. Those of us fed up with AI generated trash will love it. Anyone who joined a WGA picket line will love it. Asexuals fed up with lack of representation will love it. People who watched multiple seasons of Supernatural will love it. Is that you? Go pick up Bury Your Gays. Be scared, be sad, be angry. But also validated, loved, and joyful.

TLDR: Read this book when it comes out on July 9!

#chuck tingle #bury your gays #book review #publishes july 9 #I was SO EXCITED when I got approved for an eARC of this book #it was everything I wanted it to be and more

[lair-of-books]

Spoiler Free Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Spoiler Free Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Title: The Dead Romantics Author: Ashley Poston Pub. Date: June 28th 2022 Genre: Contemporary Romance/Paranormal Format: eARC Publisher: Berkley Pages: 368 GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON | LIBROFM ☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮ Characters: 10/10   Atmosphere: 10/10  Writing Style: 10/10  Plot: 8/10  Intrigue: 8/10  Logic/Relationships: 10/10  Enjoyment:…

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#ARCS #Berkley Books #Bibliophile #Blogger #Book Blogger #Book Community #Book Geek #book lover #Book nerd #Book Reccomendations #book review #Bookish Quotes #Books #bookworm #contemporary romance #eARCS #Goodreads #Grief #Netgalley #PARANORMAL ROMANCE #Romance

[limesquares]

and they were coworkers....

#lime art #oc: sigrid #oc: ouroboros #worlds most toxic yuri. #you see sigrid's little hair bow.... her MOUCE EARCE

[leebrontide]

Oh, I've been meaning to say, I'm planning in releasing eARCs of Names in Their Blood in June, and I expect to be very liberal in approving ARC requests. Like "I have read the first book in the series, have a social media account and am willing to tell people if I liked these books" liberal.

SO, since book 1 in that series is FREE to download, you may wish to go grab that and give it a read before the eARCs are available.

You can get Secondhand Origin Stories right here. if you like late YA books that are queer, full of family drama (that is mostly not about queerness), enjoy superhero stories that let things get domestic and interpersonally messy, want scifi that cares deeply about trauma, or are ok with your cyberpunk being more philosophy and theme than aesthetic.

Please check it out!

RBs welcome, you know the drill!

#free books #book recs #book review #eARC #ARC offering #scifi #queer books #queer #queer writers #writeblr #YA books

[tdcloud]

Infaust eARC applications are open! If you've ever wanted to read a book early and help me drum up some attention via reviews, word of mouth, and general frothing, here's your chance! Apps will be open a week and eARCs go out once we hit April!

Apply now!

#indie author #arc #earc application

[audreywritesfantasy]

Do you want to read a cool new book FOR FREE???? Do you like falling in love with characters that are kinda just messes and then screaming about it on social media? Do you like reading books that will hurt you?

THEN GETTING AN ARC OF A SEARING FAITH IS JUST FOR YOU!!!! A Searing Faith is:

epic dark fantasy with a dash of steampunk

the beginning of a found family

a cast full of queer characters

a mystery to be uncovered

a government that’s trying its hardest to pretend everything is just peachy

a dog!!! AND a fox that seems to understand more than it should ???

You can find it on Booksprout and if you don’t have that, you can also get yourself a copy through Bookfunnel !

Of course, pre-orders are also available, so if you want to get your sweet little hands on this new modern masterpiece, follow this link.

#writeblr #bookblr #books #ARC #eARC #booksprout #fantasy books #epic fantasy #queer books #lgbt books #dark fantasy #steampunk #the heart pyre #a searing faith #mine

[bibliophilecats]

Currently reading: Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

#godkiller #hannah kaner #currently reading #tbr #ebook #earc

[pridepages]

eARC Review: Napkins and Other Distractions

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

AMAZON SYNOPSIS:  On paper, they’re a disaster. In the sheets, they’re a perfect match.

Kent Lester is proud of the joyful, thriving learning community he’s created as principal of Lear Elementary School. But seven years after his divorce, he’s ready to focus on his personal life and spread his bisexual wings. Things get off to a rocky start when Kent’s first date is an uptight control freak — although that doesn’t stop them tangling some sheets.

Vincent Manda never seems able to move past the friend zone, and besides, he’s not sure anyone can handle his OCD. But that night with the bearded, older Kent revealed a side of Vincent he’d never experienced before. And he’s equal parts scared of and desperate for a repeat.

When Lear’s test scores take a nosedive, Kent finds himself under the microscope. Forced to implement new software to monitor and collect school data, he’s horrified to discover that Vincent is working on the project. With his last install ending less than ideally, Vincent’s job depends on this one succeeding — and butting heads with the principal won’t help.

Vincent and Kent need to view each other in a new light, but that could change their futures forever.

RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2024

See my full review under the cut!

The lead couple of Napkins and Other Distractions are unlikely romance heroes. They're both solidly middle-aged, separated by a fifteen-year age gap. One is divorced. One is perpetually single, isolated by the severe OCD that most people cannot understand.

But Kent and Vincent are about to discover that sometimes even the 'well-seasoned' could use a little spice!

Wardell is frank about his open-door sex scenes. He wants to be known as a 'spicy' writer, and with each new book he turns up the heat.

These guys are kinky! Even if that's not your personal taste...

...you have to love how open they are to self-discovery.

It's so easy to become set in your ways. As you pass those early, tumultuous years and start to settle into adulthood, you start to think that you've discovered everything there is to learn about yourself. But that sort of thinking sets boundaries--it keeps your world small. Being alive should be about experiencing everything you can: trying new things, meeting new people, and embracing change. Living is all about learning.

Learning how to love is the education in this book. Unlike the other books, the secondary storyline about what's happening in the school is...uncompelling. Part of the problem is that there's no heart in a storyline about data-gathering. There's an attempt to get us to care by injecting the stakes of Kent's job being at risk, but... My prevailing feeling was that this story didn't need to be set in a school the way Teacher of the Year and Mistletoe and Mishigas needed to be to serve their narratives. the more thoughtful lessons aren't set in any classroom--they're in the interactions between Kent and Vincent as they learn how to fit into each other's world.

I really appreciated how much nuance went into each of their arcs. The takeaway wasn't "Vincent needs to get better" or "Kent needs to change." Both of them had to learn how to make space for each other and how to fit together. Kent learns how to make Vincent's world feel safer in little ways like remembering his preference for even numbers and in big ways like sitting together through episodes of intense compulsion. In turn, Vincent learns how to ride out the chaos that comes with loving a messy, klutzy man. Watching them figure out how to communicate, adapt, and do the work of loving--the work that makes you feel more instead of less--is the lesson.

Napkins and Other Distractions is a chili pepper dipped in a sugar glaze--the kind of sexy book that feels accessible to real people not because it's tame, but because it invites the reader to see themselves in it. It's the kind of book that makes you feel good because you leave it believing that you too may contain multitudes. You too may still have adventures ahead.

You too may have a person.

Even if it takes you another decade or two to find them.

#mlm #gay #bisexual #teachers in love #napkins and other distractions #ma wardell #earc review #romance #spicy books #lgbtqia #lgbt reads #queer lit

[theguildedtypewriter]

Doncha just love when they take the reigns and don't hold back? Is it hot in here? ❤️‍🔥 Steamy indeed! And this is just the tip... of the iceberg. What were you thinking? 😏 me too. If you want sexy, dark, trauma-healing, & snarky AF, Affinity for Pain is for you! 😈⁠ Interested in an eARC? Contact me with that good ol' email button!⁠ ⁠ The blurb- ⁠ Newborn City, once a dead-end, old lady-infested town, is now home to hundreds of supernatural creatures. The Chakal demon, Hope Turner is one such being. Without physical sensation and the dreaded emotions that often go with it, Hope is the ideal human-hunting assassin. Tonight’s plan is like all others- to introduce a bullet to yet another demon-hater’s brain. Fate has other plans. Upon seeing Ciaran, she’s paralyzed by omaeriku, a bond that forces Hope to feel it all: heat, cold, and pain (which she could've happily done without).⁠ ⁠ Ciaran O'Connor escaped his own Gladiator captivity to create a somewhat normal life. Now, someone from his past wants him dead. Aligned with the woman sent to kill him, who may have guest-starred in some saucy dreams, Ciaran must determine who put the target on his back and deal with his attraction to Hope. Worse yet, a sadist biting at their heels wants Ciaran back under his thumb. ⁠ ⁠ As they race to find their attacker before thugs kill them both, old habits rip them apart, allowing Ciaran to be captured by the one person he fears. Filled with demons, a wealthy madman, and torture, Affinity for Pain follows two people as they navigate a violent road lined with monsters and a heaping dose of sex. Hope and Ciaran have seen and felt pain, but they’ll soon see there’s more to life than agony.⁠ ⁠ Affinity for Pain is an urban paranormal romance with sex, assassinations, and explosions. It's the first of the Newborn City Series but does offer its own HFN ending. ⁠ #books #arcs #advancedreadercopies #reviewercopy #romancenovels #adultfantasy #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookstagram #readingcommunity #readerswanted #earcs #arcreaders #paranormalromance #smuttybooks #steamybooks #sexybooks #readnow (at The Forgotten Realms) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeG9IRzO2OR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#books #arcs #advancedreadercopies #reviewercopy #romancenovels #adultfantasy #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookstagram #readingcommunity #readerswanted #earcs #arcreaders #paranormalromance #smuttybooks #steamybooks #sexybooks #readnow

[betterbooksandthings]

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows is a gloriously queer rumination on what happens after coming out woven throughout the second book in The Tithenai Chronicles. The fantasy romance series picks up right where book one left off, following Velasin and Caethari as they define their marriage amidst the aftermath of Caethari’s sister’s betrayal. Still, in the midst of his family's mourning period, Caethari is declared heir of his grandmother’s estate and called to the capitol to officially introduce himself and his husband to the monarch. Velasin, still working to find his place in a society where who he loves is not a crime and the other cultural norms are equally difficult to come to grips with. All the while, Velasin and Caethari’s growing attraction and love may be stunted by their inability to discuss much of anything at all as assignation attempts follow them to the capitol. Meadows managed to craft characters who are wonderfully gentle, politically sharp, and blunderingly stupid all at once in the follow-up to a queer fantasy romance series that is impossible to look away from.

I will continue to love the fact that Velasin and Caethari genuinely caring for each other in an arranged marriage always foils the plots of the political agents surrounding them. Sure, they may look like fools who are unable to reasonably discuss lunch without messing something up,—because, let’s be honest, they are—but they deeply care. The dual POV setup means that we see the care behind Caethari’s acts of service and the lovingly feral nature of Velasin’s threats to anyone who hints they might harm his husband. They come from two different cultures, and they have two different realms of expertise and so their relationship will be difficult. That is aside from the fact that people are still trying to kill them.

The fleshed-out political world makes up for the soft magic system. The map of political interests is so well mapped that I honestly didn’t need to know how exactly healing magic worked. Instead, I was heavily vested in the culture that was built from the ground up with complex understandings of gender and sexuality.

The secondary characters in the story continue to capture my entire heart. Obviously, I’m talking about Markel who continues to be a loyal friend and an invaluable ally in this book. However, I am also talking about the other members of the court whose actions were impressively fleshed out considering how many of them there were. I would also like to hand it to Meadows for giving us a grand total of four chapters from a new Ralian character, Asrien’s point of view and somehow managing to create a fully realized, sympathetic person. I can’t say much else without risking spoiling one of the most surprising character arcs of 2023, but count me thoroughly won over.

Anyone who’s read and loved book one will already be frothing for All the Hidden Paths, but I implore you to pre-order this gem of a fantasy romance novel set to release December 5, 2023. Thank you Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an earc for an honest review of this lovely, lovely book.

#All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows #book review #book blog #tor #tor publishing #fantasy romance #queer romance #The Tithenai Chronicles #a strange and stubborn endurance #earc #book recommendations #fantasy books #arranged marriage #marriage of convenience

[stardustandrockets]

What's a trope you find incredibly underrated?

I finished Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban and, no spoilers, but this book was everything! I absolutely love the hijinks Gwen and Beth come up with to get their parents together so they don't have to get married themselves. The parent trapping was ✨️immaculate✨️ and definitely an underrated trope. And getting dual POV made this so much more enjoyable!

Mixing my love of historical romance, queer discovery stories, and badass ladies, this was an absolute joy of a book.

The cast of characters was also great. Aside from the main duo, Albie was a stand-out to me. Same with Meredith. They were both so accepting of Gwen and Beth and probably realized they had a thing for each other before the girls did.

I can't say it enough, but I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait to read the sequel! Highly recommend for fans of authors Evie Dunmore and Manda Collins, as well as Bridgerton and the Parent Trap (obvi).

#don't want you like a best friend #emma r alban #historical romance #victorian romance #adult romance #sapphic romance #parent trap #eARC #advanced reader copy #lgbtq reads #queer book recs #lgbtqia #read queer all year #read with pride #read more sapphic books #stardust book recs #stardustandrockets

[spaceshipkat]

“It’s nothing, really,” Tarquin said. “I set aside a segment of my family stipend for trans youth who can’t yet print into their preferred bodies. My father’s researchers made a great deal of progress seeking to alleviate my discomfort while I waited, and he agreed that making that technology available to all was a valuable use of my, ah, allowance.”

a scifi novel that actually considers trans people holy fucking shit (to explain, “printing” means a new body is literally 3D printed and a person’s mind is planted inside it, so this means a trans kid could have their preferred body “printed” and their mind put right into it)

#this book was already good but that made it even better omg #it’s the blighted stars by megan o’keefe for anyone wondering #not out yet but i have an eARC #also sorry but no reblogs bc this is an ARC not a finished copy #the blighted stars

[asexualbookbird]

what if i go back to netgalley

#bookbird babbles #no no ignore the stacks of unread books in my room #ignore the 15 earcs from 2014 i never read #this is a good idea

[yvesdot]

It’s definitely not halfway through the year and I’m definitely not concerned about it (/s) but anyway @librarycarrd tagged me so here are my Favorite Books So Far. Cheated a bit with Detransition Baby because I’m 2/3s through but hey why deny what’s obviously true. And not for lack of options! It clearly outshone anything else I could’ve put there.

Left to right, top to bottom:

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

Lanternfish Press’s 2019 edition of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, featuring footnotes and an introduction from Carmen Maria Machado

People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn

Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, and Nona the Ninth (ARC) by Tamsyn Muir

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Theft by Finding (the ‘77-’02 diaries of David Sedaris)

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris

Tagging: @lazarusemma @fluoresensitive @butchniqabi @furiousfinnstan @pleuvoire @maslowshierarchyofweeds @transillidan @3by7 @shrumpo @cammysashimi @barrowdowns @ceecil and seriously WHOEVER wants to show me their books I would LOVE to see your books I will NEVER say no to seeing your books please show me your books. No pressure (●´ω｀●)

#txt #bookblr #writeblr #important writing updates #tag games #What accent color do we think that paperback will have? I suppose that lovely peach to match the author name. #And is that color scheme supposed to have something to do with the other two? Blue and orange are complementary naturally. So what's peach?? #Oh I should note the physical ARC (I got an eARC first then the physical) is like... paperback but hardcover cover design. So I don't know! #Anyway what a year for trans Jews who want to be eaten by women am I right. #Oh and David Sedaris who I MET IN PERSON AT A SIGNING (!!!!!!!!) AIEEE!!! #And I taught the Carmilla text... all of these have a great little story. #Well! Yes! Happy happy year. Haven't read as much as usual so far but chugging along now. ^__^