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ofliterarynature · 2 months
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JANUARY 2024 WRAP UP
[loved liked ok DNF (reread) bookclub*]
Mammoths at the Gates • An Impossible Imposter • Greywaren • The Hexologists • Mister Impossible • Reclaiming Two Spirits • (Check, Please: #Hockey)* • Thornhedge • Call Down the Hawk • All the Hidden Paths • All the Beauty in the World • (The Raven King) • (A Strange and Stubborn Endurance) • (Blue Lily, Lily Blue) • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie • The Missing Page • Bird By Bird • Lucky Red • Portrait of a Thief
I suppose I may as well start with the giant pile of Maggie Stiefvater and get that out of the way, lol. According to Goodreads, this was at least my 3rd time through the entire Raven Cycle. Despite that, I had only the vaguest idea of what happened in the last two books, and now having reread them (again), yeah, that tracks! I can hang with book 3 but I have no idea what was really going on in The Raven King, and as a series finale I didn't love it. It felt a lot like the dreamer plotlines drowned out the original Glendower and ley line story that we started with. But, Maggie being Maggie, I love the way she writes so much that I at least still enjoyed the reading experience. And it made an incredibly clear lead-in to the Dreamer Trilogy (which I had not read), it made total sense, I was hopeful! Again, Maggie being Maggie, I had a good time reading them, I liked learning more about the Lynch brothers, I'm always down for some art forgery, but I just didn't really like it and (while I'm glad for Maggie that she was able to write it) I could have lived without it. It completely did not have the vibe or charm of TRC and, criminally, did not include the Gangsey. How!!!!
The Missing Page - liked it! It felt a lot more solid as a mystery than the first book, which I greatly appreciated, though the villagers in the first book were maybe a bit more fun. I'm not feeling particularly inspired to go look up more Cat Sebastian after this, but if she writes another one of these I'd read it.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - I've had this one on my mystery tbr for a while, and for some reason I'd thought it was set in a much earlier time period than the 1950's? lol. Our protagonist is the youngest of 3 sisters growing up in genteel poverty with an absent father, and she has the run of the village, the house, and an incredibly well stocked chemistry lab left by an ancestor. She is both incredibly clever and terribly naive, and absolutely terrifying because of it. Flavia is fascinating as a detective, because she's not written as the protagonist of a middle grade mystery novel - she's a child. This was an interesting read, but I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for in a mystery novel and I don't think I'll continue the series.
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance - reread this in advance of the sequel - it was a bit easier to see some flaws this time around, but had a good time! This *was* my first time listening to it on audio though, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. It had a different person reading for each of the main characters and their voices just didn't pair well for me - not to mention one of them also read Lev AC Rosen's Lavender House and boy does he do some distinctive character voices.
All the Hidden Paths - didn't go quite so well. I think primarily my mental space was not pairing well with the tensions of reading this for the first time, I do think on a reread I might like it better. Somehow the spy/saboteur was my favorite character? He was soo bad at his job, I found it very funny. But overall, I think it was just a little too close to a rehash of the plot from the first book, leaving me to think Meadows might not be the best at writing mysteries. Luckily it does at least score high on my romance scale.
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me - first nonfic of the year! I've been eagerly anticipating my library getting an audio copy ever since I first heard about this last year, it sounded cool, I'm fascinated by art museums and behind-the-scenes! Unfortunately I was not into it, and almost 2 months on I can't remember enough to even try to tell you why. It did pair interestingly with another recent read, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, but I'm still learning how far into memoir territory I can go. Someone stop me from trying the other Met nonfic book I found recently lol.
Thornhedge - wonderful! No notes! I love fairy tales and this was a delight to read.
Check, Please! #Hockey - loved getting to revisit this for book club! I've been meaning to for a few years, because y'all. I've read so much fanfic, and I have no idea what is in the comic, what Ngozi posted as extras, and what is fanon. The comic had less than I was expecting! Still fun, my fellow book-clubber liked it, but my real love was the tweets! I'll definitely try to read Vol 2 this year so I can then browse the larger collection of them compiled in the Chirpbook.
Reclaiming Two Spirits: I saw this one on tumblr and fortunately was able to get access to the audiobook! It's a topic I was very interested in learning more about, and I did! But - this is a research project, more than anything, it could be very repetitive (which, fair. colonizers suck), and it felt distanced from its subject. I feel it's a book that definitely has its place, but it's not objectively a 'good read,' and I'd rather have had something from someone who is indigenous and two-spirit themselves.
The Hexologists - it has its quirks, but this was unapologetically a delight to read and I had a fun time! I'm a sucker for a world with a magic vs industrial revolution, not to mention a married pair of established investigators, and I always appreciate an author who's willing to get a bit silly. If there's ever more books I'd love to read them!
An Impossible Imposter - she is what she is, I had a good time! This one felt like it might have taken some inspo from The Moonstone 👀
Mammoths at the Gate - had a good time with this, as I always do with the Singing Hills books. Stories about stories are like catnip, I should reread them all sometime!
Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott (DNF) - I have only the vaguest memories of reading parts of this for a creative writing class in college, and now that I'm getting more into nonfiction thought why not? Unfortunately the audiobook version I got was read by the author, who absolutely does not have an audiobook voice/cadence. I considered trying again with the version read by someone else, but decided I wasn't actually interested enough to continue.
Lucky Red By Claudia Cravens (DNF) - the host of one of the podcasts I listen to was gushing about this one and I was like, sapphic western? Sign me up! I read about 25% of it, and it all seemed fine, it just wasn't feeling particularly interesting to me. Absolutely give it a shot if you'd like!
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D Li (DNF) - I knew going in this had been getting mixed reviews. I really like the idea of it - I enjoy a heist, am always interested in fine arts/art history drama, and vigilante art repatriation hell yeah! But this felt very much like it was trying to emulate a heist *movie*, and it just wasn’t working for me as a book. If this ever gets adapted I’d love to see it.
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poisindonottouch · 10 months
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Queer reads: Cat Sebastian
Continuing my queer books you should read, for day 23, I bring you Cat Sebastian. 
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Cat Sebastian writes historical romances, set in the 18th century, the 19th century, and the 20th century. I prefer her books set in the 20th century, by far. (I’ve read her other books, and I have a soft spot for The Queer Principals of Kit Webb, but I found the other ones... forgettable. Like, I read them all, and can’t remember the plots. So, uh, not my favorite.)
But these ones. These ones are excellent. 
The three Cabot books take place in the 1958 (I think?), 1960, and 1973 set in the US. They follow a person from the politically famous Cabot family (think the Kennedys), and three queer members who don’t quite fit into the family. Tommy Cabot Was Here and Peter Cabot Gets Lost are novellas that are more about the vibes than the plot, but I love everything about them. Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots is a longer novel, and is also heavy on the vibes, light on the plot. But they’re so sweet, and so soft, and the writing is so good. (also, A+ on the spicy scenes). 
We Could Be So Good takes place in New York in 1959, and shows slice of life in the queer world before Stonewall. The two main characters are Nick and Andy, and they’re idiots for each other. I love them so much. I read this book when it popped up on my kindle at 10 PM the day before it was released (thank you time zones) and stayed up till 3 AM reading it. 
The Page & Sommers books are set in the UK post WWII, and are murder mysteries. Agatha Christie, but make it gay, according to Cat Sebastian’s website. Aside from the murder, it’s also sweet and soft, and James and Leo are also idiots about each other. 
If you haven’t read any Cat Sebastian, or you’ve only read the regency books, check these out. They’re so good. 
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menoasmess · 10 months
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(Yes there is 30 books. Deal with it) (it’s melon’s fault not mine)
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kaleidemaran · 1 year
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“i’m not wearing your scarf”
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kelliealtogether · 1 year
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One of the corners of Leo’s mouth ticked up in a tired smile. “A reading of the will. For God’s sake, James. I half expected to find you all shooting one another. Cabinets of exotic poisons left unlocked. Sharpened daggers mounted above the chimneypiece.”
“Ah. I see. You came for the entertainment potential.”
Leo breathed out a laugh and rolled his head to face James. His tired eyes were still mostly closed and he regarded James through dark eyelashes. “You know why I came.”
James felt his cheeks heat and wondered if he’d ever get used to Leo saying these things. It happened so rarely and never with any warning. A man simply couldn’t build up any kind of natural immunity.
— Cat Sebastian, The Missing Page
These books are going to make me go feral. 🙃
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whisperofthewaves · 2 years
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I read Hither Page and The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian and one thing I have to say is: if there were 50 books in this series I’d read them all immediately.
Classic detective story/murder mystery in afterwar Britain, but make the two protagonists (and some of the secondary characters) queer? fuck yes.
What I need now is for somebody to do a retelling of all of Agatha Christie’s books, but gay.
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casadepalermo · 2 years
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Page & Sommers
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aurorawest · 2 years
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I haven’t done a reading update for a while!
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Good book—reminiscent of A Marvellous Light. Author clearly has a size kink lol.
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This was a conclusion to a trilogy and I really loved it! It was a murder mystery, and I always enjoy lighthearted mysteries set in the ancient world.
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YA space adventure novel. I enjoyed it. This book definitely had the YA problem of like...I don’t really buy that these teenagers could pull all this off, but they are at least written like teens in other respects, and they were likable.
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I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as TJ Klune’s adult fiction, but...I expected to enjoy it more than I did. TJ Klune is very good at writing in a teenage voice which I think was part of the problem. I repeatedly found myself cringing because the main character reminded me so much of myself at 15. It was too well done haha. I’ll probably read the other two though, because it was cute and well written.
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Actually a really interesting dystopian novel about a world where everyone is cloned, and you only live until you’re 30. The plot is about a clone who has just turned 30, and when you turn 30 you basically age 1 year every day, then you go to die. He meets a man at a coffeeshop and of course the scales fall from his eyes and he learns The Truth.
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Man I wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved the romance and the characters, but I kind of hated the writing style? There were way too many pop culture allusions and references, and they were often just awkward.
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I liked this one a lot, despite the extremely contrived set-up, haha (seriously you guys, a divorce involves more than sending in some paperwork). It was a really sweet story and I love romance novels with more mature characters. I also really loved that it featured a queer couple that wanted to live in the suburbs, and the acknowledgement that not all queer people want to be in the city all the time and clubbing, because some of us are introverts and like quiet.
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Oh man, this book was SO YA. Like...the YAest YA that ever YAed. I liked it, and I might pick up the sequel, but like...so YA. It was published in 2013, so clearly part of the Dytopian YA fiction wave. But it had an interesting premise, and I liked the two central characters.
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AHHHHHHHHH omg this book was so good. I loved The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, which is Cat Sebastian’s biggest title, but I actually liked this one more. It’s post WWII and that’s just not a period I read a lot of? It especially doesn’t seem prominent with MLM romances. But I loved that setting. And I LOVED the two main characters, they were so good. It was my favorite romance dynamic, too, haha.
One of the mains has PTSD (never called that as the term didn’t exist). Considering how short this book is, the mental health stuff was really well done. I just really loved it. I ordered the second one in the series and can’t wait to read it.
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Did not get what I expected from this book based on the cover (which is incredibly cheesy). This was a very sweet novella set in a dystopian future (lol yes I just called a dystopian novel “sweet”). The premise is that an algorithm chooses the best genetic match for people to marry. There are two districts in the city, one that gets all these tax breaks, and the Taxable District which is essentially a slum, but they have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to. The main character (who’s one of the well-off people) meets a man from the Taxable District, realizes he’s gay, and then takes control of his life to be with this guy. It was quite lovely.
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Just started reading this, and I love it already. I loved Boyfriend Material but I wasn’t sure if Alexis Hall could do period romance. He can! This book is really funny.
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courageous-pages · 1 year
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He kept regular hours, avoided any human interaction more complicated than afternoon tea, and read for exactly thirty minutes before bed.
Hither, Page, Cat Sebastien
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Queer Reviews: Cat Sebastian, "Hither, Page" (Page & Sommers #1).
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CW: explicit sexual content, mention of PTSD, mild violence, period-typical homophobia
Plot: James Sommers returned from the war with his nerves in tatters. All he wants is to retreat to the quiet village of his childhood and enjoy the boring, predictable life of a country doctor. The last thing in the world he needs is a handsome stranger who seems to be mixed up with the first violent death the village has seen in years. It certainly doesn't help that this stranger is the first person James has wanted to touch since before the war. The war may be over for the rest of the world, but Leo Page is still busy doing the dirty work for one of the more disreputable branches of the intelligence service. When his boss orders him to cover up a murder, Leo isn't expecting to be sent to a sleepy village. After a week of helping old ladies wind balls of yarn and flirting with a handsome doctor, Leo is in danger of forgetting what he really is and why he's there. He's in danger of feeling things he has no business feeling. A person who burns his identity after every job can't set down roots. As he starts to untangle the mess of secrets and lies that lurk behind the lace curtains of even the most peaceful-seeming of villages, Leo realizes that the truths he's about to uncover will affect his future and those of the man he's growing to care about.
8/10 on the Rainbow Scale™ 🌈: do you love cozy murder mysteries? do you love period dramas? Historical romance? If you answered "yes" to any of those question, welcome. Grab your favourite mug of tea and enjoy your stay. Let's start with the setting: a small town in the English countryside, with more secrets than inhabitants. On stage: a sweet handsome doctor trying to forget the horrors of the war. Enter: a dashing spy with a cynical attitude but an heart of gold. Two strangers brought together by a murder most foul. If you haven't already added this book to your TBR list, I don't know what else to tell you. Get well soon, I guess.
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bookbaran · 2 years
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Found out that Hither, Page has an audiobook, but the only place to get it is on audible and it's $20. : /
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ofliterarynature · 4 months
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DECEMBER 2023 WRAP UP
[loved liked ok no thanks (reread) book club*]
Mixed Magics • Chalice • To Shape a Dragon's Breath • The Haunting Season • Hither Page • The Henchmen of Zenda • System Collapse • The Phantom of the Opera • An Unexpected Peril • A Minor Chorus* • The September House • (The Dream Thieves) • The Fragile Threads of Power • The Pinhoe Egg • (Network Effect) • Some Desperate Glory
total: 16 (audiobook: 12 / ebook: 4)
Happy New Year booklr! Here's to actually getting my last monthly wrap-up post of 2023 out in decent time for once.
Some Desperate Glory - I'm getting myself off to a bad start here because I don't actually remember much from the book and I didn't write a review at the time. oops. But I do remember that once things got going I was hooked, and I couldn't wait to pick the audiobook back up. Definitely some content warnings to look out for, but an incredible read. I definitely need to go back and check out the author's other work.
Network Effect - the last book of my Murderbot reread, still great, glad to have finally read this in a text format! Also better suited to be read *after* Fugitive Telemetry, I wish I'd known to read them in chronological order the first time.
The Pinhoe Egg - a nice wrap up to the main Chrestomanci series! Though if anyone can tell me why on eARTH the 'recommended' reading order is like *that*, please explain it to me. I'd forgotten so many things by the time we got back to Cat, if I ever reread I'm going chronologically.
The Fragile Threads of Power - lord help me, I could do a whole rant. A quick summary of my relationship to this series: loved Shades of Magic when it first came out, did not love/was very annoyed by most of it when I reread them in 2023. Also have not really liked any of Schwab's other work. BUT. I was under the impression that this spinoff would have new main characters, and the old ones would be present but not in the center. If I didn't just make this up, it was LIES. The original MC's still dominate probably at least 60% of the book, and you'd think 7 years in-book and more experience on behalf of the writer would mature them, but a) no, and b) so many goddamn flashbacks. And Kel's assasin-sona was so cringe I wanted to cry. I did actually like the new main character which really is the biggest shame of all. If you see me contemplating the next book please stop me.
The Dream Thieves - I don't know that I have much to add yet to my thoughts about TRB in my Nov post, but I've been having a very strange experience where when I'm actively reading these, I'm having an incredibly good time; when I'm not I completely forget I was reading it. lol?
The September House - this is possibly the closest to my ideal horror book that I've ever found??!!? I have a weird relationship with horror, wherein I am not uninterested, but I almost never enjoy the ones I read (I think it has to do with my irl anxiety, idk). But THIS one. It's such an INCREDIBLE blend of like, mundane horrors and dark humor? I loved it. The "you can live with the horrors if you just follow the rules" is very much my vibe, and the way the author chose to have it integrate with the main character's experiences of domestic abuse was very smart. Deeply enjoyed, but probably won't be a favorite.
A Minor Chorus - this month's book club pick! I really really wish I'd liked this, and I'm torn between "thank god it was short," and "oh I wish this was longer." It's about a queer Indigenous doctoral student in Canada who's somewhat lost his way on his dissertation and is instead writing a novel (maybe), inspired by the stories of people in his community. On one hand, the writing was sometimes very beautiful and the different stories were interesting! On the other, my academic-speak abilities are limited, and the narrator did not hold back. He even explicitly states at one point, oh I can't describe my book this way to [character] because he won't understand my academic language. And...yeah. My brain got a little overwhelmed and I skimmed a lot of those parts. The hopeful part of me thinks if that if the book had been longer maybe I would have had time to "get it," but idk.
An Unexpected Peril - Veronica Speedwell is as Veronica Speedwell does. Had a good time with this even though it's proving to not be the most memorable. Mostly I remember intensely panicking over whether or not V had practiced forging the princess's signature, lol.
The Phantom of the Opera - this was a last minute sub for my classics challenge; I've never seen any of the adaptations, but I happened to see the book on tumblr when I was scrambling for a replacement and thought it might be fun. And it was! Quite ridiculous and dramatic, and I had a good time reading it. I was surprised by the outsider POV on the story, but it was good, just a shame that it didn't allow Christine to tell her own story. If anyone has a Christine-centered retelling I should read, let me know! And are there any adaptations I should watch?
System Collapse - new Murderbot! I was so excited for this, I'm irritated that my brain and work schedule didn't want to cooperate and let me read my nice pretty hardcover; I ended up getting the audiobook from the library instead. I had an incredible time, because it's Murderbot, how could I not? But it's also interesting, because Network Effect felt quite cohesive and contained on its own, but this feels very much like an in-between story (almost like Fugitive Telemetry), rather than a continuation of the same thread. I'll be interested to see where Martha takes us from here.
The Henchmen of Zenda - my last KJ Charles of the year! I did mean to get through all of her books, but things slipped by me these last few months so I still have a couple, but managed to fit this standalone in! It's not the only time she's pulled characters from works of classic fiction, and I admit, I'm now very curious and kind of want to read the original Prisoner of Zenda? Definitely this version had an exciting plot that was fun to read, though I don't think it'll be my favorite of her works (yay for a non-traditional relationship structure tho :)
Hither, Page - I don't think I've read Cat Sebastian before, but I've had this one recommended and it sounds right up my ally - historical/cozy myster/spy shenanigans/gay romance! And it was an incredibly pleasant read, would recommend, but I do think it could have been better as both a mystery and a romance.
The Haunting Season - I almost picked this up in October for spooky season, but put if off for Dec since it's meant to be wintery ghost stories - and only just remembered it in time! I almost wish I hadn't. The first two stories were so meh for me that I almost DNF'd it, I just didn't want the fuss of having to find a new audiobook for work the last day before Christmas break. Luckily Natasha Pulley showed up next with a good story (I really ought to read her books) and there was a good run of 4 stories with another 2 meh to round things out. It wasn't a total loss, but I wouldn't really recommend.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath - If you've seen people singing the praises of this book, they're not wrong! It's a very good if sometimes heavy read, and this is definitely the closest I've gotten to liking a boarding school story since Protector of the Small (I got burned out on them very quickly, lol). It does sometimes read like the debut it is, it's not perfect (lots of infodump speeches, lord save me from the technicalities of alchemy/chemistry, and I would have liked to see more done in her relationship with her dragon), but it's also doing some incredible and unique things that really make me want to see more books in this series and whatever else the author writes.
Chalice - I've read Robin Mckinley before and I've found her work ok, but this one has been repeatedly recommended in the HOTE discord server - I figured it would be a good one to wrap up the year with! And surprise surprise, the fealty-coded discord loves a book about... fealty XD and good stewardship, and magic bees, etc. It's incredibly on brand, and I had a lovely time with this fairy-tale of a book.
Mixed Magics - a collection of Chrestomanci short stories; I actually read one of the stories a few months ago due to the recommended reading order (bleh), and thought it would be fairly simple to finish it off before the end of the year, now that I'd finished the rest of the series. All fun, if not equally interesting, and a nice end to the year. Now I just need to find a new Diana Wynne Jones series to try (not on audiobook, alas, my library is all out of those).
(I did almost consider then binging the Hither, Page sequel on new year's eve, just so I wouldn't split the series, but decided against it :D)
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dftea · 7 months
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I am on my second reading of Hither Page and The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian (except I read them backwards this time, slightly by accident) and I really, really need more adorable queer murder books.
Give me the same but different. Also another dozen Page & Sommers books.
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longelk · 10 months
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ARTFIGHT IM DOIN IT
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kaleidemaran · 1 year
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i was going to use a quote from this scene for the caption but i finished this in class and am impatient about posting so now its this
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betterbooksandthings · 10 months
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"Do you want to read something bite-sized and impossible to put down? If so, may I offer you a list of 11 Queer books under 250 pages to solve your plight? It is wonderful to be able to pick a book up and finish it in a sitting or two. These books do just that and they are queer. What more can you ask for?
With Pride month in full swing, many readers opt to celebrate by adding more queer books to their reading lives. However, June is a busy month full of work, travel, Pride celebrations, and summertime ennui. Sometimes you want something small that you can take on a trip, or something short to read in your downtime. In case you have a busy month or need a short book as a break, this list of queer books under 250 pages is here to help you out. Ideally, it will let you accomplish your queer reading goals and still make it to all the events on your calendar."
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