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otterandterrier · 1 year

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Here's a list of sapphic books I've enjoyed for Femslash February and Valentine's Day 🥰🏳️‍🌈

romance

A Little Light Mischief Former scoundrel turned lady's maid falls for her employer's companion. This was my first foray into wlw period romance. Absolutely loved it, it packs a lot of UST, steam and feels into a short novella!

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Feminine Pursuits, #1) Olivia Waite's wlw historical fiction stole my heart. All of her books mention background queer characters too. This one is about a lady astronomer who falls in love with her widowed patron as they break down barriers in science and art. Smart and hot!

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits, #2) The widowed owner of a printing business must call for the help of a beekeeper trapped in a fake marriage. Middle aged women falling in love!! Being gay!! Looking after bees!! Having sex!! Defying expectations!!

The Hellion's Waltz (Feminine Pursuits, #3) A pianist who hates swindlers tries to stop a swindler from swindling. Literally "be gay, do crimes"! Less UST and build-up than the other two, but still hot and sweet and socialist propaganda. There's poly rep too.

The Romance Recipe Restaurant owner hires reality star chef to help revive her restaurant (boss/employee), full of UST and good discussions of bisexuality. It has no less than five sex scenes.

Something to Talk About Celebrity romance with an age gap and boss/employee dynamic, deals with sexual harassment in Hollywood. Veeery slow burn with one smut scene.

The Falling in Love Montage YA, set in Ireland, our heartbroken protagonist doesn't want to fall in love so her new crush proposes a trope-filled summer fling. Plenty of making out but no smut. Very cute for anyone who enjoys the silliness of romcoms!

Perfect Rivalry Medical romance between rival overachievers who love gaming! Neurodivergent and multicultural rep, everybody is queer! Wholesome and hot.

In the Event of Love Second chance love / friends to lovers, Hallmark holiday movie vibes. Even planner heads back to her hometown after a PR disaster and reunites with her ex-turned-into-a-lumberjane childhood friend. Tooth-rottingly sweet and spicy.

For Her Consideration A heartbroken email ghostwriter is asked to meet with the cute celebrity she's writing for. Plus-size and multicultural rep, everybody is queer. It has a lovely found family theme and lots of spice.

Honeymoon for One The protagonist somehow forgets to cancel her honeymoon after calling off her wedding, goes on a solo adventure to Canada anyway and meets a cute ski instructor she does not get along with. Very sweet and with a couple of tender smut scenes.

drama

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo An aging Hollywood star hires a little known reporter to share the true story about her seven husbands - and her one true love. This one broke me.

Yerba Buena Follows the journeys of two girls whose families are impacted by addiction, and until their paths cross in LA. Deals with themes of identity, changes, growing up, grief, and healing with another person. Warnings for drug abuse, death, underage sex.

Milk Fed This one is a complicated story about a woman dealing with the fatphobia, body dysmorphia and eating disorders, and what happens when she falls for the Orthodox Jewish woman who sells her froyo. It's a tough and weird read - there's also homophobia, parental trauma, sexual fantasies, religious issues.

fantasy

Siren Queen A Chinese American girl willing to do anything to become a star in pre-Hays Code Hollywood. Really thoughtful urban fantasy novel about race and queerness and the Hollywood dream.

These Witches Don't Burn A teenage witch must work with her ex to find out who's working to destroy their coven, while trying to date the new cute girl in town. This one is way angstier that it seems!

#bookblr #book recs #books #sapphic books #wlw books #queer books #my posts #pinned post

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caffeinated-bibliophile · 3 months

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24 Books in 2024

Mmkay, this was supposed to go up before I started and soon DNF'd my first book of the year lmao, but whatever.

These aren't books I'm determined to force myself to read or anything, and this list isn't a resolution kind of thing. These are just 24 books I think I want to read in 2024. In no particular order.

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

How to ADHD by by Jessica McCabe

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear by Mosab Abu Toha

The September House by Carissa Orlando

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

Hekate Liminal Rites by Sorita d'Este

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Bunny by Mona Awad

Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zakroff

#more than half of these will come from the library most likely

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lavenderfables · 16 days

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1, 3, 6, 7, 18!

1. Name the best book you've read so far this year.

The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip.

3. Favorite fantasy sub-genre(s). (high fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy etc.)

Cozy fantasy, fantasy horror, historical fantasy, high fantasy

6. Favorite romance novel(s).

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

7. What kind of common romance tropes do you enjoy and what kind do you dislike?

I like: Friends To Lovers, The Archery Trope, Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder, Fish Out Of Water, Found Family, Thick As Thieves, Fake Dating, Bickering Like An Old Couple

I dislike: Miscommunication, Blackmail, Drunken Hookups, Bully Romances, Surprise Pregnancy/Forced Pregnancy, Possessiveness, Dubious Consent

18. Favorite unfinished book series.

I generally don't read a lot of series now days, as I've really come to realize I prefer standalones or duologies. That said, I am reading along with Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick.

Send me a book worm ask

#displayheartcode #replies #long post #ask meme

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booksforthegays · 1 year

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hello!! do you have any wlw book recommendations similar to Tipping the Velvet? both in terms of tone and time period? ♡

Hello! Sorry for the late reply these last two weeks have been very busy for me. I have never read Tipping the Velvet myself but after some research I have come up with a list for you: 1. Feminine Pursuits Series by Olivia White - “The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics“: Follows an french translator who meets up with an astrologer in order to translate a salient astrology text from french. As they work on the book together they find that there may be something between them. - “The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows“: A widow tries to keep her printing business afloat when a colony of bees decides to make it their home. Luckily a very pretty beekeeper comes to assist her. - “The Hellion's Waltz”: A con woman attempts to seduce a nosy piano teacher into assisting her in robbing her next mark. 2. “Proper English” by K.J. Charles: Follows a female marksman who attends a shooting party only to find herself in the middle of a murder and a new romance to boot. 3. “Dates!” By Various Authors: A graphic novel anthology with over 30 stories about queer historical romances. 4. “A Million to One“ by Adiba Jaigirdar: Four woman on the titanic plan an epic heist but secrets, drama, and romance get in their way.

#book recs #ask

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thatmexisaurusrex · 2 years

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Just Some Queer Books I Love

Just some queer books I love:

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Once Upon a Princess by Clare Lydon Harper Bliss

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Powers

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Perfect Rhythm by Jae

The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristen Lambert

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee

Snapdragon by Kat leyh

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Rock and Riot by Chelsey Ferundi

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Colthurst

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

The Night by May Archer

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone

Spell Hacker by M.K. England

This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Court of Lions by Somaiya Doud

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

The Afterward by E.K. Johnston

A Study in Honor by Claire O'Dell

Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

The Disasters by M.K. England

Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

Once & Future by A.R. Capetta

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

A Phoenix Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell

Crier's War by Nina Varela

#book recs #queer books #lgbtqia #just some queer books i love

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godlyheathens · 1 year

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2023 books ☁️

january:

1. arlindo — 5 ⭐️

2. não olhe para mim — 4 ⭐️

3. tiger honor — 4 ⭐️

4. red, white and whole — 5 ⭐️ + ♥️

5. a brush with love — 2,5 ⭐️

6. violet made of thorns — 2,5 ⭐️

7. the dead romantics — 3 ⭐️

8. self-made boys — 4 ⭐️

9. mr. perfect on paper — 3 ⭐️

10. unseelie — 4 ⭐️

11. unfamiliar — 3,5 ⭐️

12. destiny's surrender — 4 ⭐️

13. destiny's captive — 3,5 ⭐️

14. the worst woman in london — 4 ⭐️

15. forbidden — 3 ⭐️

february:

1. taco bout love — 3 ⭐️

2. the fraud squad — 2,5 ⭐️

3. highly suspicious and unfairly cute — 4,5 ⭐️

4. songs of vice — 3 ⭐️

5. for her consideration — 3,5 ⭐️

6. to catch an heiress — 2 ⭐️

7. better than fiction — 3,5 ⭐️

8. a thousand hearbeats — 1,5 ⭐️

9. hard feelings — 2 ⭐️

10. exes and o's — 3,5 ⭐️

11. wait for it — 4 ⭐️

12. the border keeper — 3 ⭐️

13. breathless — 2,5 ⭐️

14. mooncakes — 4 ⭐️

15. tempest — 3,5

16. wild rain — 3,5 ⭐️

17. roda gigante — 3,5 ⭐️

march:

1. full exposure — 2,5 ⭐️

2. bitter medicine — 3,5 ⭐️

3. the bodyguard — 4 ⭐️

4. the lost apothecary — 3,5 ⭐️

5. the midnight lie — 3,5 ⭐️

6. i love you so mochi — 3,5

7. how to win a breakup — 4,5 ⭐️

8. never kiss your roommate — 2,5 ⭐️

9. the care and feeding of waspish widows — 3 ⭐️

10. to catch a raven — 3,5 ⭐️

11. perfect on paper — 4 ⭐️

12. a closed and commom orbit — 4 ⭐️

13. la différence invisible — 4 ⭐️

april:

1. azedo — 2,5 ⭐️

2. something spectacular — 3 ⭐️

3. to sir, with love — 3 ⭐️

4. dracula — 3 ⭐️

5. the gossip games — 2,5 ⭐️

6. flowerheart — 3 ⭐️

7. a prayer from the crown‐shy — 4 ⭐️

8. assassin's apprentice — 4 ⭐️

9. the fine print — 2 ⭐️

10. take a hint, dani brown — 3 ⭐️

11. stars collide — 4 ⭐️

12. untethered sky — 4 ⭐️

13. dreams bigger than heartbreak — 4 ⭐️

14. happy place — 3 ⭐️

15. promises stronger than darkness — 4 ⭐️

16. heartless prince — 4 ⭐️

may:

1. playing for keeps — 3,5 ⭐️

2. breakup, makeup — 4 ⭐️

3. the problem with perfect — 3 ⭐️

4. nick & charlie — 3,5 ⭐️

5. you dont have a shot — 4 ⭐️

6. chlorine — 3 ⭐️

7. yellowface — 4 ⭐️

8. her good side — 3,5 ⭐️

9. garotas (im)perfeitas — 3,5 ⭐️

10. jana goes wild — 3 ⭐️

11. single dads club — 3 ⭐️

12. livre pra recomeçar — 3 ⭐️

13. one to watch — 3 ⭐️

14. the matchmaker — 4 ⭐️

15. chasing pacquiao — 2 ⭐️

16. jasmine and jake rock the boat — 4 ⭐️

17. the last tale of the flower bride — 2,5 ⭐️

18. delicates — 4 ⭐️

june

1.heartstaker — 3,5 ⭐️

2. todas as nossas meias-noites — 2,5 ⭐️

3. até o último floco de neve — 4 ⭐️

4. the love theorem — 2,5 ⭐️

5. o auto da maga josefa — 3,5 ⭐️

6. finders keepers — 2,5 ⭐️

7. the songs you've never heard — 3 ⭐️

8. legends and lattes — 4 ⭐️

9. no cooldown for love — 2,5 ⭐️

10. pageboy — 5 ⭐️

11. querida penelope — 4 ⭐️

12. playing for keeps — 3 ⭐️

13. you've been served — 3 ⭐️

14. timekeeper — 3,5 ⭐️

15. payback's a witch — 4 ⭐️

16. the girls ive been — 4 ⭐️

17. o nome dela é sophia — 3 ⭐️

18. como se fosse fanfic — 2,5 ⭐️

19. late to the party — 4 ⭐️

20. lose you to find me — 3 ⭐️

21. riley weaver needs a date to the gaybutante ball — 3 ⭐️

22. just as you are — 3,5 ⭐️

23. venom & vow — 3 ⭐️

24. chef's kiss — 3,5 ⭐️

july

northanger abbey — 4 ⭐️

kismat connection — 3 ⭐️

the only purple house in town — 2,5 ⭐️

os padrinhos — 3 ⭐️

mariposa vermelha — 4,5 ⭐️

scandalized — 1 ⭐️

love at first site — 4 ⭐️

princess princess — 4 ⭐️

chef's choice — 4 ⭐️

the invisible library — 2 ⭐️

the ex talk — 3,5 ⭐️

bear with me now — 2 ⭐️

lights — 4,5 ⭐️

boas maneiras — 3 ⭐️

confetti realms — 2 ⭐️

agust

a hollywood ending — 3 ⭐️

role playing — 4 ⭐️

to have and to heist — 3,5 ⭐️

curves for day — 2,5 ⭐️

this winter — 4 ⭐️

a master of djinn — 4,5 ⭐️

café majestic — 3,5 ⭐️

sign of the slayer — 3,5 ⭐️

brynn and sebastian hate each other — 2 ⭐️

cuckoos three — 4 ⭐️

september

the unmaking of them — 3,5 ⭐️

the second chance hotel — 3,5 ⭐️

sister of the bride — 4 ⭐️

her radiant curse — 4 ⭐️

witch king — 3 ⭐️

hell followed with us — 4 ⭐️

others were emeralds — 4 ⭐️

little thieves — 4 ⭐️

the spirit bares its teeth — 4,5 ⭐️

some kind of blunderful — 3 ⭐️

lies and other love languages — 2 ⭐️

glitch — 3,5 ⭐️

the sun and the star — 4 ⭐️

cleat cute — 4 ⭐️

of dreams and destiny — 3 ⭐️

the borrow a boyfriend club — 4 ⭐️

they hate each other — 4 ⭐️

forged by blood — 2 ⭐️

percy jackson and the chalice of the gods — 4 ⭐️

operação paddock — 4 ⭐️

#mirella says #text #2023 books #books 2023 #booklr #bookblr #booktumblr #january #somente para organizar 😘😘

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teddy-stonehill · 4 months

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Top 5 books read in 2023

I'm gonna claim I was tagged by @thevagueambition lol

Somehow 2023 was actually the year I started reading books again, so it was actually a little bit difficult for me to narrow it down to 5 favorites, but I did my best. In no particular order:

Ammonite by Niccola Griffith

Ammonite has the feeling of a true classic golden-era sci-fi novel, and has an almost cliche high-concept sci-fi premise: What if a mysterious disease wiped out all the men on a planet, and the women who were left somehow evolved to survive as a species without them?

But the way Niccola Griffith approaches the concept is far from cliche. She takes an anthropological approach to it, rather than a bio-essentialist one. Often, writers will use single-sex societies as a sort of excuse to explore and highlight the specific things that they think make women fundamentally different from men or vice versa, and it ends up being a roundabout way of enforcing our societies naturalized ideas about the gender binary. Niccola Griffith doesn't do that. Instead, she takes the opportunity of a single-sex society to ask other questions, like, "How might a society organize itself if sex was not a viable category to define people and assign them roles by? How would the notion of 'family' change if the whole process of pregnancy and childbirth was fundamentally different? What other sorts of differences between people emerge, if sex difference is removed?" and so on.

And more than that, it's just an incredibly well-written book that also very thoughtfully explores themes of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. It has compelling characters and one of the sweetest, most tender lesbian romances I've ever read.

When I recommended the book to my parents I described it as a Robin McKinley style fantasy book (thinking particularly of Dragonhaven) meets and Ursula K. Le Guin style sci-fi novel. So if that means anything to you, that might tell you a lot about what's going on here. I highly recommend it!

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

I actually read the entirety of Olivia Waite's Feminine Pursuits trilogy this year, and while they were all enjoyable enough, The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows was by far my favorite. It's standalone enough that I would actually recommend reading just that and skipping the rest of the trilogy, unless you're very into historical lesbian romance (as I am) and out of stuff to read.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows is a romance about a printer and a beekeeper, both of them on the older side for romance-novel protagonists (which I appreciate). Agatha, the printer, even has a grown adult son. The book takes a really grounded and thoughtful approach to the historical elements, and the romance blossoms really naturally out of their growing friendship.

If you end up looking it up, don't let the goofy cover fool you (although I actually really like the goofy cover lol). This is a very sweet and down-to-earth novel in a way that I found pleasantly surprising in the genre.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

This is also a book that took me by surprise. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it when I started it, but what it ended up being was a novel I would compare to a season of a really good ensemble sci-fi TV series.

The plot structure was oddly episodic for a novel, which is part of what enhances the "season of a TV show" feeling, but somehow I found that I didn't really mind that. The characters, worldbuilding, and themes were all strong enough to keep me engaged throughout. I especially appreciated the focus on the labor which would be required to make advanced technological civilizations function in this kind of a setting.

And if any of that sounds appealing to you, you'll definitely like this book.

Every single book ever written by KJ Charles

Okay, this is a slight exaggeration, because I haven't quite managed to read every book ever written by KJ Charles just yet, and some of the more fantastical ones of hers don't really interest me that much. But in a year where I read a lot of gay historical romance fiction, KJ Charles stood out as, consistently and by a wide margin, my absolute favorite author currently working in the genre.

In particular I want to shout out Proper English, Think of England, Band Sinister, The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen as my absolute favorites of hers. Yes, I know including 5 favorite books nested within my list of 5 favorite books is cheating. I don't care.

The Tombs of Atuan by Urusula K. Le Guin

It honestly is shocking and shameful that I had somehow never read the entirety of the Earthsea books before this year, and I'm sure none of you need me to tell you that Ursula Le Guin is a good writer, but damn... Ursula Le Guin is a good writer.

The Tombs of Atuan in particular was SO extremely up my alley in every single way that I actually at times felt genuinely jealous that I wasn't the one who had written it. I only hope I can one day write something at least half-as-good, because holy shit.

Honorable mention to The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

I haven't actually finished this book, partially because it's SO far up my alley that reading it is such an intense experience that I've had to be careful about when I'm actually feeling up to reading it. It's a fairly dark book, and difficult to read at times, but it's also beautiful and compelling and again, just so grounded and well-researched in its historical setting it's incredible.

If you like slow historical burn tragedies about women trying to survive in difficult circumstances... you gotta read this. You just gotta.

I won't tag anyone, but if you want to share your favorite books of 2023, make a post and say that I tagged you! I'm genuinely interested in hearing about what people are reading, because I'm running out of stuff to read and I want to know what's out there. :)

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chocochipbiscuit · 1 year

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Femslash February Recs: ORIGINAL WORK!

I love Femslash February and am usually all up in fanfics (as witnessed by my bookmarked F/F fics…) but! I’ve actually been on a binge reading original sapphic work lately, and want to yell about my favorites!

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri:

“A captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.”

There are so many great characters, and I love how full and complex they feel; everyone has their own motives, whether it’s conquest or survival, and Priya and Malini’s goals are not always in alignment (and oh BOY that complicated web of trust and loyalty really gets put to the test in the second book) but their relationship is utterly the backbone of the book, navigating the boundaries whether the daughter of conquerors can ever ‘just’ be sweethearts with a temple child whose mere survival spits in the empire’s eye.

Also, if you read: please yell about Bhumika with me!!!!

This is the first of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Two books are out already (The Jasmine Throne and The Oleander Sword) and I love them both!

Content warnings for in-world homophobia and sexism, mostly shown through the attitudes of the empire towards the people they’ve conquered.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir:

“The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.”

Deranged lesbian necromancers….IN SPACE!!!! I fully admit that I didn’t read this for the longest time because I was convinced that it wouldn’t live up to the hype, but I absolutely devoured it!!! Also the first of The Locked Tomb series, which has three books (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth) which are available for your frenzied consumption!

Feminine Pursuits by Olivia Waite: Historical F/F romance!!! I’m listing the series title instead of individual books, but each book absolutely stands on its own and is well worth reading! Do you like age gap romance with two passionate women scarred by lovers past? Then check out A Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics! (Also, astronomy!!!) Or are two middle-aged women, one a widow and the other in a lavender marriage, more your speed? Then try The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows! (Also, bees!!!!) Or maybe you’d prefer a rivals to lovers romance that culminates in a heist? Then oh boy but The Hellion’s Waltz is there for you! (Also, music!!!)

These books are set in the 1800s and there is period-typical sexism and homophobia (particularly in The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows), including some frank discussions that the women involved may not be able to marry or have more ‘conventional’ families, but these are all romance novels. That means happy endings!

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan:

“Mrs. Bertrice Martin—a widow, some seventy-three years young—has kept her youthful-ish appearance with the most powerful of home remedies: daily doses of spite, regular baths in man-tears, and refusing to give so much as a single damn about her Terrible Nephew.

Then proper, correct Miss Violetta Beauchamps, a sprightly young thing of nine and sixty, crashes into her life. The Terrible Nephew is living in her rooming house, and Violetta wants him gone.

Mrs. Martin isn’t about to start giving damns, not even for someone as intriguing as Miss Violetta. But she hatches another plan—to make her nephew sorry, to make Miss Violetta smile, and to have the finest adventure of all time.

If she makes Terrible Men angry and wins the hand of a lovely lady in the process? Those are just added bonuses.

Author’s Note: Sometimes I write villains who are subtle and nuanced. This is not one of those times. The Terrible Nephew is terrible, and terrible things happen to him because he deserves them. Sometime villains really are bad and wrong, and sometimes, we want them to suffer a lot of consequences."

Another historical F/F romance, and an utter romp! The nephew is indeed Terrible and much of the reason he’s able to be Terrible is because of the institutionalized sexism and social hierarchy of the period. However, he does get harassed and punished in entertaining ways! And Violetta and Bertrice are delights.

#choco's premium original content #femslash february #I keep meaning to do fanfic recs too...#but frankly! I'm busy reading!#fic recs #original work

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glompcat · 1 year

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2022 was a big year. After a very very very long span of time where depression meant I only had the attention span for works starring established familiar characters and universes, I finally was able to return to reading entirely original fiction this year. This really started last year after my cat died, when I discovered that romance novels were the ideal way to distract myself and get through my pain - which is why there are so many of them in the mix this year. I’m firmly a fan of the genre now.

I don’t normally list what I read in a single year, but I am so excited that by mid year last year I was in a good enough place in my recovery journey that I could hop into brand new worlds and meet new complex characters all over again.

So here are the Fiction Books I read in 2022 in no particular order. I am sure I forgot a bunch? IDK. I wrote a few short thoughts about each next to them. Please feel free to ask if you are interested in more detailed thoughts on any of them. I’m planning to write more about the ones I listened to as audiobooks while hiking over on my hiking blog later!:

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (fantasy) - This was without question the best fantasy novel I read all year

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (science fiction) - This was the best science fiction novel I read all year. I REALLY REALLY REALLY loved this book.

The Luminous Dead (horror/science fiction) - This was the best horror novel I read all year

Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey (romance) - You’ve Got Mail lesbian edition. The author sure loves New York City, but in a way where it really felt strange as a New Yorker reading it?

No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey (romance) - Serviceable. Fake Dating, Only One Bed, roadtrip where you know the obvious conclusion before you get there because the wrong assumption the character made was so super obvious. There is a moment in this book I am still very annoyed by in a “this doesn’t read as true for a queer person who lives in NYC” type way

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Oliva Waite (historical romance) - This was a really good historical romance. Waite clearly cares a lot about the historical period she writes about and does a great job of establishing her leads as full people with strong interests and lives outside of their relationship.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Oliva Waite (historical romance) - The difference between the cover and the actual book for this one is WILD. The cover looks horrible, but the actual book is great. An older and now widowed side character from Celestial Mechanics gets it on with a chubby beekeeper lady around her age. Lots of exploration of the politics of that time. Really loved this one.

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian (historical romance) - I am not going to lie, I don’t remember too too much about this one, but I remember really liking it?

The Seep by Chana Porter (science fiction) - Really interesting exploration of an alien invasion where everything about what it means to be human suddenly changes, from the perspective of a woman who had fought to be her true self before the invasion and finds herself unable to keep adjusting to the shifts in everything the more and more everything changes.

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper (paranormal romance) - two witches team up to get revenge on their mutual ex boyfriend and surprise surprise they fall in love with each other in the process. It was a good enough book that I seriously considered reading the next book in the series even though it was a het romance and I don’t do those.

Faux Pas by Lily Seabrooke (romance) - It took me a bit to get into this one, but once I did I was here for it! Basically a very gentrification focused property developer inherits a beloved restaurant in a small town she’s never heard of, which turns out to be almost exclusively populated by queer people. Everyone in town knows what she does for a living, so they are set on running her out of town and making her miserable, except for this hot mean butch who lives in the woods and seems to hate the whole town. She used to be a chef in the restaurant and promised the former owner she’d make sure it stayed in his family, so she is set on convincing our protagonist to move to the town and take over the restaurant rather than sell it. She has a tortured past which is the key to why she is a prickly asshole to everyone, there are many scenes of her sexily teaching the protag how to cook, and to top it all off there is a fake dating aspect to it all.

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (romance) - It’s a new season of Masterchef errrr a totally original reality TV show that isn’t Masterchef, really, and the show is featuring reality cooking TV’s first ever nonbinary contestant. To hype up drama and ratings the producers made sure one of the other contestants is a TERF, so things really are not going great. However what the producers did not plan for was for another contestant - a recent divorcee - to fall head over heels for her fellow contestant (the NB one, not the TERF, obs). The main thrust of the book is them flirting during various challenges and being absurdly cute together. NGL reading this over the summer and then seeing a cooking show during the fall with a NB contestant really made this book feel extra strange. Obviously The Big Brunch was nothing like Masterchef with regards to drama and how the whole reality TV aspect of things is handled, but it was wild reading about how torturous being on TV would HAVE to be for a NB person in the book and then seeing in reality a person being treated with nothing but dignity and respect.

D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins (romance) - LOVED LOVED LOVED this book, oh WOW. It made me cry!!!!! So so so so so good. The plot is a reality TV dating show decides to do a season focused exclusively on queer relationships. The premise of the show is two total strangers have to convince their entire family that they are getting married in a super short period of time, involve their family in the wedding planning, and if they can make it to the wedding alter without anyone figuring out that it’s fake they get the choice of either taking a massive cash prize or actually going through with the wedding. The book follows two contestants - D’Vaughn and Kris. Kris is a budding influencer who wants to be on reality TV for the massive boost in followers it would give her, and D’Vaughn is not out to her family and wants to do the show because she wants cameras trained on them when she finally tells them that she’s gay. I love both of them so fucking much it isn’t funny.

The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett (romance) - A restaurant owner fell in love with her head chef before she hired her, back when she was a reality TV contestant on a cooking show. Problem is the chef is straight, and the owner doesn’t want to make their work relationship weird so she’s doing her best to get over her crush and move on, but it’s hard. The chef on the other hand has just figured out she is bi and is struggling with how to let the world know since there is an opportunity to do a new cooking show AND she is kinda sorta crushing on her boss and that doesn’t feel very professional - especially since she very publicly used to be engaged to the producer of the reality TV show she was on and doesn’t want to have a rep for dating her bosses all the time.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (fantasy) - One of the two series I read this year about a fifteen year old trans girl with new powers, powers she uses to alter her appearance to look how she ideally desires (in this book that happens at the end, in the other it happens at the start of the book). She is not the first trans person in that universe to have powers but she is the most powerful powered person in that world so everyone has to pay attention to her and treats her like she is the first. One member of the powered community becomes her mentor who she moves in with, and the mentor takes on the role of being her mom. That mentor has her body stolen by a biofamily member (in the other series the mentor character got better! In this particular book’s case it was how the book ended, and the next book in the series isn’t out yet so I guess we will see when the next book comes out?) while another member of the powered community - who leads the big government sanctioned powered person org our protag is supposed to be part of - is a TERF (and other members of the powered community explicitly call her a TERF) who becomes obsessed with the teen and gatekeeps so hard the TERF villain destroys her life and reputation and loses everything. (I LOVE both of these series)

Dreadnought by April Daniels (superhero) - This is the second series to follow the pattern described above. In Juno Dawson’s series it is witches in England, in April Daniel’s series it is superheroes in America. Very interesting exploration of coming out. Danny knew she was a girl before the book started, but she had not told anyone yet. The book starts with her gaining superpowers, and with them her appearance changes to match her most idealized self image. So suddenly this 15 year old girl has to explain to everyone she knows how and why she well... looks like herself, while trying to do the whole secret identity thing. Also she is the most powerful superhero in the world, so her abusive dad can no longer physically harm her, but alas her parents are the worst and find all sorts of ways to still terrorize her.

Sovereign by April Daniels (superhero) - Love that Danny is allowed to be messy and not just a perfect unproblematic figure. One thing I am super interested in when the second book in Dawson’s series comes out is if it, like this one, will have a plot where the cis girl our protag was friends with in the first book becomes her girlfriend in the second book. Based on certain comments in the first one I think it will.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (science fiction) - NGL I mainly read this series so I could understand all the memes on my dash.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (science fiction)

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (science fiction)

Wilder Girls by Rory Power (horror) - SUCH A GOOD HORROR NOVEL OMG. I really loved this one, the writing style especially.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood (science fiction) - It took me a bit to get into this series. As in I only TRULY got into it during the sequel? I think part of the problem for me was how the book often danced over really interesting things I wanted explored more - such as the protagonist’s teen years as a mercenary, which are kind of mentioned in passing even as they are happening and then cited constantly after as the reason she is so kick ass with swords

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood (science fiction) - I really enjoyed this book, and it really made up for my struggle with the first book. It was the payoff that justified all the build up for me, and was just a fun ride overall.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (science fiction) - This is may be the most interesting examination of empire I read in 2022 (that may is because I am in the middle of Baru Cormorant and who knows how I will feel by the end of that series) I love this book. It is kind of wild to try to summarize. I remember reccing it to my dad this fall and simply saying “there is a space station where they implant the memories of dead people into people in their 20s as part of how they ensure important maintenance work is done right with a tiny population. There is this massive space empire that wants to devour them, and they really do not want that - even though that empire has been going HARD at absorbing them through cultural means. The station is losing a significant chunk of its population to people immigrating to the empire because the books and plays and poetry they keep sending to the station is all so damn cool, and this is a major crisis on the station. The ambassador to the empire - tasked with making sure the empire does not take them over - just died. He hasn’t been home for 15 years, so his last recorded mental imprint is super out of date. It’s uploaded to a 21 year old who wanted to be poet, and she is sent to the capitol of the empire as the new ambassador, where everything promptly goes very very very wrong.” What gets me is that description is basically just chapter one, and also that it convinced him to read it. ANYWAY this book is wild and fun and amazing all around

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (science fiction) - HOLY WOW did this just keep getting better. Also wow but the whole concept of the two characters who had endless UST in the first book finally doing it with a running commentary from the bitchy dead bi guy in our protag’s head was SO MUCH as was the endless panic about if he was present in her technique or if it was just her in bed. Oh and of course it has one of the damn coolest alien species I’ve encountered in ages. I loved how alien they are and how that alienness tied so perfectly into all of the themes of the book????

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley (science fiction) - It feels like the author of this book set out to make everyone and everything in this world as unlikeable as possible?

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldtree (fantasy) - You know the way that a drink from Dunkin’ Donuts is perfectly fine? Yeah, this was that. Like there is nothing wrong with it and it got the job done? This is going to be the first one I review on my hiking blog so even if I wind up being unable to follow through with all the others on this list I did while hiking, you’ll most likely see more about it there.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (science fiction fantasy) - Exact same analogy but about the donuts at Dunkin’ this time. I really do get what the author was going for, and was very emotionally moved by this book - I cried during the end of it - but it left so many questions unanswered and really did not seem to want to explore any kind of worldbuilding? The aliens were running from a war because parallel to refugees on Earth. The music instructor had a deal with the devil because that is a classic music thing. Neither of these concepts really got explored, and I kept waiting all book for them to be properly fleshed out.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan (horror) - Worst book I read all year. Literally just ~mental illness is scary~

Saltblood by T.C. Parker (horror) - THE HORROR OF SURVEILLANCE CULTURE, YES

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (science fiction) - SUCH GOOD WORLDBUILDING OMG. Also ngl LOOOOOVED that we have this weird scifi book about humans trying to survive on a super alien planet and how that impacted their cultures and society and religions on that planet…. AND THERE ARE STILL JEWS THERE. Like it was amazing and wild how everything is so different, and one of the supporting characters is literally Jewish.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) (horror) - I had been holding onto this book and hoping to read it since before the depression got so bad I could not read stuff outside of fandom related content. Was super happy to finally get through it, as always McGuire is a master of horror, love everything I’ve ever read that she’s put out under the Mira Grant pen name.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (science fiction) - Probably the weakest of the books in this series for me, which isn’t really knocking it too too much. I really enjoy the worldbuilding of this series, it is such a detailed fleshed out universe, which is so much fun to get lost in.

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (science fiction) - AHHHH I loved this book, I loved both of the stories being told and how they related to each other, it was so much fun. A young human clone slave taking agency over her life with the help of an AI system, growing up to help a different AI system in a humanoid chassis figure out how to exist in human form? Yes please!

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (science fiction) - I swear with this series there really was - for me - a feeling of each book being better than the last. I particularly loved the whole idea of an alien anthropologist coming to document life on the Human colony ships.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (science fiction) - My favorite of the series, probably because it is the only one absent of human characters, just alien species and cultures and exploration of the interplay between them.

Sailing With Her Wolf by Ariel Marie (paranormal romance) - I bought this book and the following by the same author together, because I wanted to see what paranormal f/f romance offerings were like, her name was the first to come up in my search and I was not sure if I would like a werewolf novel or a vampire one more. Sadly I discovered this author is not for me personally as her books tend to mostly be sex scenes with very little build up or character work between them.

Deadly Kiss by Ariel Marie (paranormal romance) - I had already bought it so I figured why not give it a try even though I didn’t like the author’s other book I got. Besides, that one was slim and this one was longer, so I went in hoping it would have more substance than the other did. I was wrong and am full of regret.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (fantasy) - In many ways this is my current read, so my thoughts are not yet really formed since I am in the middle of this series. The basic through line is a horrible eugenicist empire is taking over the world. Baru was a child when they came to her home, and after she does exceptionally well on their standardized test which determines your life placement she finds herself put in a position of power. What the empire does not know is that she plans to do everything she can to gain enough power within the empire to destroy it and set her home free. But to get that power she first has to do horrible horrible things.

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (fantasy) - I finished this book on December 31st, and am currently reading the third book in the series (The Tyrant Baru Cormorant).

#2022 reflection

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