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pvrrhadve · 2 years

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I trust ur taste in books, so can you recommend some? 🥺🥺🥺

yes absolutely!! this turned out obnoxiously long so i'm putting it under a read more

at this point you definitely all know about 2 of my favourite series, the queen's thief and the locked tomb

on the jellicoe road, also by melina marchetta. my fav ya contemporary, about a girl at a boarding school in the australian bush trying to figure out where she comes from, where she belongs and how to heal. marchetta's writing style can be a little difficult to get into for some people but she really really does it for me.

while tqt is my #1 favorite series, my 2nd favourite is melina marchetta's lumatere chronicles which is both kinda dark and full to the brim with love and hope and healing. some of my fav characters ever are in these books and the ending is so warm and radiant it straight up made me weep. some tw's that i go into here

the darkest part of the forest by holly black. ya fantasy. she wrote this specifically for girls who absolutely would've bargained years of their life away to the faerie king to become a monster-hunting knight when they were 11. black's magnum opus.

the girl who drank the moon by kelly barnhill. mg fantasy about a little girl who is accidentally given magical powers by a friendly bog witch. reads like a ghibli movie.

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone. a lyrical and devastatingly beautiful epistolary sci-fi wlw love story about 2 enemy time travellers.

abhorsen/old kingdom trilogy by garth nix. a ya fantasy classic about grief, duty, dead things and primordial cats and dogs. definitely holds up.

tess of the road by rachel hartman. ya fantasy. one of the best books i've read this year, had me completely emotionally invested by chapter 2. tess is SUCH a good character and her arc is so beautifully done. a companion novel/future series to hartman's seraphina duology but imo you don't need to read them first to enjoy this (you can ofc, but while the 1st (seraphina) is a really good scholarly fantasy about identity and also dragons, the 2nd (shadowscale) sadly didn't do much for me). tw for sexual assault (recounted as a memory, not graphic) and religious abuse.

the colours of madeleine by jaclyn moriarty. young ya/older mg contemporary portal fantasy. i picked these up on a whim a couple years ago and didn't expect much from them but was very pleasantly surprised by how fun and original they are. i reread them this summer and they're just as good the 2nd time around.

in other lands by sarah rees brennan. ya portal fantasy deconstruction. it's borderline satire and one of the funniest books i've ever read but it's also very sincere and intelligent in how it deals with its main character and his struggles.

middlegame by seanan mcguire. fantasy/sci-fi. honestly could not explain the plot of this book to you or why it's so good but there's psychically linked alchemically engineered twins who have various and sundry powers and i loved it.

sunshine by robin mckinley. paranormal urban fantasy. another book that i cant really explain but love anyway. i mean it's in the very general neighbourhood of "vampire romance" but like... weirder and frankly whatever you're expecting it to be it's probably not that.

keturah and lord death by martine leavitt. fairytale-like and haunting. every hades and persephone retelling wants what this book has.

the scorpio races by maggie stiefvater. her iconic standalone horsegirl fantasy <3 deeply atmospheric and about how being stuck on an unspecified celtic island in an unspecified but vaguely modern time could understandably be enough to drive you to fuck around with the local carnivorous water horses.

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer. honestly if i could make everyone read just one book off this list it would be this one.

lab girl by hope jahren. beautifully written memoir about life, love and botany. one of my fav nonfiction books.

#also it's almost entirely fantasy lmfao i HAVE been branching out last couple years but ugh.... her hold on me #asks #anon #books

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thereadingchallengechallenge · 3 years

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Review: Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan Rating: 5/5

"Act cool. Just act cool and don't let on that you think she's gorgeous."

Leila Azadi likes girls. Especially the new girl, Saskia, who is worldly and wild and willing to kiss her. But when they kiss in the middle of the school play in front of everyone they know - including Leila's conservative Iranian parents - she isn't sure Saskia's the right girl for her. Crushes should be exciting and endearing, not frightening and flippant. But will Saskia take 'no' for an answer or will breaking up be harder than getting together?

I said this in one of my update comments but I'll repeat it here: this book should be on every LGBT+ recommendations list on the internet. It's fun, it's diverse, it's queer, it's realistic, it's sweet. It's everything I want out of a YA romance and then some. And it made me cry! Because Leila's experience with being in the closet felt so similar to my situation and I just wish I'd read this book sooner.

Leila is an absolute firecracker. She's hilarious, and not just in that charming YA girl way - she's silly and embarrassing and unsure of herself and I just loved it. I loved her relationships with her parents and her older sister, Nahal. I loved her friendships with Greg and Tess and the theatre crew and her English teacher, Ms Taylor. And I loved seeing her reconnect with her childhood friend, Lisa (whom I also love dearly).

It was hard reading about Leila's relationship with Saskia, the way they clashed against one another. But it also felt like an important kind of relationship to portray. I've read a lot of wlw romances but I don't recall reading one that dealt so carefully with what happens when a girl gets nasty. I also thoroughly appreciated that Farizan shows Leila getting help after what goes down at the dance. Between that and Lisa's talk about her therapist, the positivity about taking care of your mental health was wonderful to see. Modern YA take note, please!

A sweet, exciting little YA romance that deserves to be up there with Love, Simon and Annie on My Mind in the LGBT+ canon as far as I'm concerned. An excellent pick for anyone looking for backlog books or quick reads.

Warnings: lesbophobia, outing, sexual harassment, bullying, some racism.

#tell me again how a crush should feel #sara farizan #booklr #bookblr #ya booklr #lgbt books #wlw reads #authors of colour #lesbian #bisexual #trcc original #5 star reads #reviews

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spacelesbiann · 2 years

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“What are 9-12 books I want to read this year???”

A very good question posed to me by my love @coelura in what happens to be a year I am determined to get my reading muscles working again 🧡💛

I would love to see @relationboats, @chrysanthemumsies, @dantteri, @neonastronaut, and anyone else’s reading list! I live off seeing what other people want to do and coping them sdhdgfgsh

Explanations for each below the cut.....

Piranesi - I finished Anthony Doerr’s latest book and he recommended this in the author’s note so that, combined with what everyone has been saying about it, the women’s literature award it won... I’m excited

Honey Girl - Accidental wlw marriage???? I’ve been eyeing this up since last year but I didn’t have the energy so here’s hoping 2022 (also makes me think of a quote “honey boy” which iykyk)

Matrix - this one I picked up because it was recommended by the staff at my local bookshop! It’s also wlw and yes, maybe there’s a bit of a classics theme going on

Once There Were Wolves - The concept of this is just... ugh chefs kiss, proper escapist fantasy

The Rose Code - I have no problem admitting Kate Quinn is one of my favourite authors. I named my first plant after a character in one of her books. Bletchley Park also fascinates me and the wlw potential in the netflix show that i hope and trust Kate will bring to this book... Yeah, I can’t wait to read

Kurangaituku - This one can be read from the front or from the back and I know that’s going to make me ask google which way is the ‘best’ way to read it, but it’s also such a fun concept! It’s a reimagining of a Māori story about a bird-woman who captures a man

Auē - This one I’ve been wanting to read since it came out. It’s apparently a crime novel (which I only found out when looking it up for this), set in NZ, and part of the description is: “he has a friend and his friend has a dog, and the three of them together might just be strong enough to turn back the tide of sorrow. As long as there’s aroha to give and stories to tell and a good supply of plasters.”

The Kiss Quotient - recommended to me by my best friend who asked to Facetime me so she could tell me all about how the people reviewing it on Goodreads were wrong. Also I’m excited to read a fun frilly romance since I keep getting seduced by ‘hard’ books shdgdffda

To The Lighthouse - first of all: I never stop thinking about Septimus in Mrs Dalloway. Secondly: how can I say I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper and never have read the most famous book with a lighthouse in it??

#i have already finished three books this year!!!#each of which i recommend to different degrees #the book of form and everything was nice / it was fun / it was beautifully written #but idk if i am going to think about it again / much / at all in the future #under the whispering door is oNE OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITES EVERYONE SHOULD READ ALSO I IMAGINED HUGO AS LEWIS HAMILTON SO LIKE... GO READ #and cloud cuckoo land was a solid 4 star book / just what i wanted off the back of all the light we cannot see #and those are my 2022 recs thus far #i'm about a chapter into crying in h mart and i would have put it on this list if tumblr allowed 12 images #also i would have included any of ocean vuong's collection #tim te maro and the subterranean heartsick blues #and red white and royal blue because once again: fun fluffy romance

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nudne · 4 years

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i saw your tags about asking you for book recs and i wanted to ask: what books with wlw romance do you recommend? all genres are great, i just need some good stories with gay girls in them 💕 love u!

finally my time to shine! also i do want to say that most of these are written by women of colour, and you should look these authors up and pick up their other books! a good deal of them are also lesbian or bisexual 😌

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron. YA Cinderella retelling with a Black lesbian main character! It's 200 years after Cinderella's death, and her story is being used by the tyrannical king to basically force women to attend a ball where they are 'chosen' as wives, in a parody of Cinderella's story. Our MC Sophia has had enough!

You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson. YA with a Black main character! Liz wants to leave her small town but in order to do that she needs to win prom queen to get a scholarship. But maybe her competitor for prom queen is kinda cute...? 🤔

The Falling In Love Montage by Ciara Smyth. Two girls go on a summer of montage-worthy dates and plan to break it off cleanly at the end of the summer- no broken hearts, no mess. Except maybe they develop feelings...? 👀

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus. I just made a post about this so I'll just paste what I said about it here! This tells the stort of a Trinidadian girl, Audre, sent to live in Minneapolis after her mum catches her having sex with a girl. There she meets Mabel, who is questioning her own sexuality and the two become friends and maybe more? A super sweet YA Black girl romance!

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera. Juliet, a self-described Puerto-Rican baby dyke from the Bronx, just came out to her family, and is leaving for the summer to be an intern in Portland to this hippy white woman. What follows is an exploration of Juliet's own identity, of intersectional feminism, LGBT issues, race and the need for spaces exclusively for women of colour. Just an excellent book.

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi. I haven't read this YET (it's waiting on my shelf) but I've heard so many incredible things. It's written by a French-Iranian woman and translated into English (I think we should all be reading more translated fiction). I don't think I can do the description justice, so please please look it up. It's not a romance per say, but I do think it's an incredibly important stort and the MC is bisexual afaik.

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan. 17 year old Rukhsana tries her best to love up to her parents expectations, but when they catch her with a girl, she is sent to Bangladesh to 'straighten her out'. Only through reading her grandmother's old diaries is she able to gain some perspective. Now she realises has to fight for her love, but can she do that without losing everyone she loves?

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert. Another book on my TBR that I've heard great things about. Suzette comes home to LA from her boarding school, and doesn't want to go back. All her family and friends are in LA, and her stepbrother has just been diagnosed with Bipolar and needs her support. But Suzette finds herself falling for the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel's disorder spirals out of control, Suzette has to confront her past mistakes and help Lionel before he does something to hurt himself.

Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Now, I wasn't sure if I should recommend this but ykw? I will, cause it's an AMAZING series. It's a space opera with sword fighting and necromantic lesbians and a locked house murder mystery... in space. And with lesbians. There's 2 books out of 3 out now and while there's no romance (hopefully YET) it's just an incredibly well thought out and hilarious book. The narration is *chef's kiss*

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I just finished this book this week and Y'all 😤 This book tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, a Cuban-American and an Old Hollywood star known for her beauty and scandal after scandal. Now in her late 70s, she is giving one last interview to an unknown journalist, Monique Grant, who she doesn't seem to be connected to... But as we learn about Evelyn's life, we find out that maybe things weren't as they seemed? And we learn what really ties her to Monique. The fact that I'm recommending it here may be a bit of a spoiler 😂 Evelyn is bisexual, and she ACTUALLY SAYS THE WORD.

Honorary mention to N.K. Jemisin's The Broken Earth trilogy and The City We Became (this is the first book in her new series). Jemisin is just... a master at what she does. Both of these series are sci-fi / urban fantasy, with excellent modern social commentary. Her character work is phenomenal and they're all incredibly diverse (she has bisexual and lesbian main characters in both series, plus characters of different races and orientations that are always thoughtfully and respectfully crafted). READ HER.

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tuiyla · 3 years

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A Definitive History of Bubbline

With “Obsidian” coming out in two days, it really is time for a definitive history of Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship. And by that I mean the tumultuous road that led us to “Obsidian” from a production and fandom point of view. For a list of Bubbline episodes, check out my Bubbline Guide (and part two) - which I need to update, I know I know. For this post, I wanted to highlight how far this pairing has come and what Bubbline means to queer representation in children’s cartoons.

This is less of an analysis and more of an overview with links to more information on specific incidents to keep it (relatively) brief. I say it’s a definitive history but it isn’t an exhaustive one, so do check out the links included to learn more about how we got here. I realize not everyone cares about these kinds of things but I think it’s important to know how hard Adventure Time’s creators had to fight. Bubbline is a pioneer ship in many ways but it doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves.

Initial Concepts

As is the case with much of Adventure Time, the initial concept of who the characters of Bonnibel and Marceline were going to be is very different than what we ended up getting. @gunterfan1992 explores this and other production tidbits in depth in his book so I do recommend checking that out. The short version is that these two were created to be opposites and with a Betty and Veronica type dynamic in mind where they would both be love interest to the protagonist, Finn.

This didn’t quite end up being the case but remnants of this concept are seen in “Go With Me” (March, 2011), the episode with the first on-screen Bubbline interaction. As Marcy helps - and sabotages - Finn in asking Bonnie out, she also becomes a potential love interest for him but she shuts him down immediately. So while Finn’s crush on PB continues, the notion that Marceline would be part of a love triangle is dismissed. Instead, this first Bonnie and Marcy interaction established that the two already know each other and there’s some bitterness in that past.

“What Was Missing” and the Mathematical Controversy

A potential preexisting relationship between the two was further explored in “What Was Missing” (September 2011) just a season later. The episode was written and storyboarded by Rebecca Sugar and eventual showrunner Adam Muto. Sugar was responsible for much of the character depth added to Marceline and later even played, quite aptly, her mother in the Stakes miniseries. It was Sugar who wrote the now beyond iconic “I’m Just Your Problem” based on personal experiences and suggested that Marcy and Bonnie be queer characters with a complicated romantic past.

“What Was Missing” was hugely important in how it hinted at a complex relationship through character interactions, Marceline’s song, and the last scene twist with PB’s shirt. The AT crew were supportive of the idea and sneaked in plenty of queer subtext, but this is where I have to point out that 2011 was a very different time and it’s thanks, in part, to Bubbline that things have changed. Autostraddle’s article from back when covers what is now known as the Mathematical controversy. Audiences picked up on the subtext and Cartoon Network was not having it. The popularity of the ship soared but the execs were not taking to queer implications kindly.

Great Bubbline Drought

So, the ship has sailed but controversy looms over it. “What Was Missing” s subtle by today’s standards but it was enough to keep Marceline and Bubblegum apart for two years on-screen. Each character went through wonderful development in the meantime, as did the show itself, but there’s a certain sense of bitterness to what came to be known as the Great Bubbline Drought. CN got so afraid of the potential backlash that they waited two years to have a new episode featuring the pair, “Sky Witch” (July 2013), by which point Sugar had left AT to work on her own show, Steven Universe. I’m happy that Sugar got to create her own show and push for even more queer representation, but it’s also sad that she never got to write more for the ship she pioneered.

“Sky Witch” still happened, though, and featured even more subtext, from PB’s side this time around. The shirt returned and there was hope as Marcy and Bonnie were seen hanging out together more often (”Red Starved” and “Princess Day”). Another controversy threatened to emerge in August 2014 when Olivia Olson, Marceline’s voice actress said that creator Pendleton Ward had confirmed a pre-show Bubbline romance. It was a messy ordeal with deleted tweets and questions about whether the two could get together again in the series. Fortunately, though, things changed in the three years between 2011 to 2014 and another Bubbline drought didn’t follow.

The Season That Changed Everything

It took another two years after “Sky Witch” but the ball was finally, inevitably, relentlessly rolling. “Varmints” premiered in November 2015 and three episodes later, the Stakes miniseries kicked off. What season 7 meant wasn’t just breadcrumbs and (not so) subtle songs anymore: suddenly, there were too many Bubbline moments to count. “Varmints” served as a follow-up to “What Was Missing” and a final reconciliation, and though Stakes was primarily about Marcy, it also developed her relationship with Bonnie. Afterwards, it became clear that Bubbline was heading somewhere.

It’s worth noting that the cultural context also changed between when “Sky Witch” and “Varmints” aired. In December 2014, The Legend of Korra ended with Korra and Asami beginning their romantic relationship, and Rebecca Sugar was making Steven Universe more and more explicitly queer by the day. Adventure Time started the ball rolling but now it wasn’t alone as a popular Western cable cartoon with queer characters. However, Bubbline was still very much subtext at this point, just with significantly more hope of becoming more.

Late Series Entanglement

But at what point does subtext become plain text? Bubbline fans sure did have fun with that question between Stakes and the finale. Bonnie and Marcy became near inseparable, with most of their major appearances involving one another from this point on. These included the meet the adoptive dad date “Broke His Crown” (March 2016), the Elements miniseries (April 2017) and the nigh on obnoxiously on the nose “Marcy & Hunson” (December 2017). In fact, all but two of Marceline’s major appearances from season 7 on included Bonnie - the exceptions being “Everything Stays” as part of Stakes, and “Ketchup”, which really wasn’t any less gay.

Bubbline moments really did become too many to count, with the vast majority of them having romantic implications. And with queer representation becoming more and more prominent in Western animation, canon Bubbline romance seemed like a question of when rather than if. I’d like to point out here how this was often frustrating, though. After the very rocky start, this relationship was thriving and was really basically confirmed, but that last little push to make it undeniably a part of queer history was still needed.

“Come on!” - The End and Beyond

The almost three years that passed between Stakes and “Come Along With Me” (September 2018) were much more tolerable than the Drought; after all, there was plenty of Bubbline content in the later seasons. The big question as the finale came was whether Adventure Time would fizzle out on its early pioneer of a wlw ship or follow through, once and for all. Almost four years after LoK ended and just before season 1 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power dropped, Marcy and Bonnie had an emotional moment, kissed on screen, and ended the series together.

The intricacies of why a kiss was needed as a signifier of romance is a discussion for another day. But wouldn’t it have been strange after almost a decade of build-up for them not to seal the deal with a kiss? And to think it almost didn’t happen, as by that point it was so obvious they were together. Again, I direct your attention towards Paul Thomas’s book, he explains how it was storyboard artist Hanna K. Nyström’s call to add this final detail. Because, come on! Sometimes, you need to be as clear as possible, and that’s the case with queer representation in animation.

Since the finale, the comics have been continuing the Bubbline train - which are not technically canon but one can have fun regardless. In any case, the existence of Marcy and Bonnie’s relationship, of their queer identities, is not something that can reasonably be denied. It was a long road, and, make no mistake, an arduous one, but this is the story of a win. A win for storytelling and a win for wlw relationships.

We’ll Build Our Own Forever

So, there you have it, a Bubbline timeline of sorts. In March of 2011 we had the first on-screen interaction and now, in November of 2020, we’re getting a 45-minute-long special with the two of them as the central characters. They’re canonically in love, with King Princess covers of Bubbline songs and more. I tried to contain myself, for once, and not write too much. I think it’s important that people have a general idea of just how monumental all of this is and how, even just 9 years ago, “Obsidian” would have been totally inconceivable.

Some of this might have come as a surprise to you. It’s certainly not been easy to get to where we are now with Bubbline and it’s yet to be seen how open “Obsidian” will be about the relationship. I’ve been talking about Bubbline for years and attempted to chronicle their relationship many times so I’m happy I’ve finally done it from this perspective as well.

Adventure Time: Distant Lands “Obsidian” is streaming on Nov 19 on HBO Max. If you can, stream it so we can show that there’s popular demand for stories like that of an angry vampire and a despotic piece of gum.

#Adventure Time #bubbline #obsidian #marceline abadeer #adventure time distant lands #at #pb #my thoughts #definitive history of bubbline #there you have it folks #princess bubblegum

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solanospetra · 3 years

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if you ordered the jtv seasons how would you rate them because every-time I try to it’s a hot mess but based on your posts you seem to also have the exact same thoughts I have

Thank you for the opportunity to spiral. A little delayed because my laptop has been at work and I didn’t want to type this up on mobile. Explanation under the cut.

FYI: I haven’t watched JTV since it ended so a lot of this is probably rage based but when I do eventually get around to rewatching I don’t think this will change

1. S1 - Iconic when it premiered, no one was doing it like them, has the perfect mix of family, romance, crime, and Jane/Rafael were still good

2. S2 - Good because Luisa, Petra, Jetra, Petra & Raf but the triangle sucked both Jane’s and Xo’s, I also don’t like Michael’s rewrite

3. 4B - Only deserves rights because of Jetra & Petramos (we’re ignoring the whole gaslighting thing because why tf did Jennie think that was a good idea)

4. S3B - Hate Chuck, hate the time jump, hate the Ro/Xo storyline, hate Rafael getting back together with Petra, hate Jane getting feelings for Raf again, the OT3 saves this season and so does Jane’s grief storyline

5. 3A - I hate the first episode of the season felt like such a retcon, hate Anezka, hate Rafael in part of this for the gaslighting, didn’t care for Michael’s recovery or career struggles but I liked how Jane and Rafael were learning to navigate around each other and I like the peaceful place Michael and Rafael eventually settled in. I liked Darcy/Ro & Bruce/Xo but too bad it doesn’t last.

5. 4A - Raf’s an asshole but this still beats the hatred I have for S5.

6. S5 - 10/10 do not recommend I can’t think of one thing that makes this season worth watching

1. Season One

It might be nostalgia or maybe it’s just that good but my favorite season is S1. You have the best of the Villanueva's, Xo/Ro, you have the perfect mix of romance and crime, and sue me but season one Jane/Raf will always be part of what makes me love this season so much. Yes, Petra maybe isn’t the best in this season but you’re seeing glimpses of the fact that she’s not a horrible person, her mom just sucks. I find it hard to like Michael at all in the series but part of the reason this is my favorite season and not S2 is because I think in S2 we start to see the love triangle weaken a lot of characters with Michael getting a rewrite and Rafael getting lost in the story.

2. Season Two

Already mentioned it a little above. I think that the writing favored Michael a lot this season, we’re supposed to forget that he spent most of S1 being a creep. Rafael starts getting done dirty from here on out IMO he’s literally in love with Jane until S3 and for what, it doesn’t do anything. I know a lot of people don’t like him in this season but when he calls Michael a roach, iconic. There is still a lot to love about the Villanueva’s, Rogelio. I like Jane’s arc in this, the going back to school, motherhood, trying to balance Michael and Rafael, that brief moment where everything lines up for her. This is one of Petra’s best seasons, in my opinion, she makes mistakes (like inseminating herself) but we really get to see her begin to value herself (turning down Rafael) and also watch her begin to overcome her issues with motherhood. Also, her storyline with Rafael is one of my favorites, yes they’re begrudging coparents but you get glimpses as to why they fell in love with each other in the first place. JETRA, and Luisa’s storyline is good up until the finale. Mostly everything is good until the finale that’s when I start to hate the paralysis storyline, Rose being Susanna, Michael getting shot, etc.

3. Season 3

I know I split it up above but this season is shaky at best. They had the foundations for a messy but loveable family but they kill Michael, throw Rafael/Petra/Jane back into a triangle, they also rush Xo/Ro for no reason only to kind of run out of storylines and give Xo cancer and make Ro a dad to a baby we barely see. Of course, we all know Michael was killed for no reason so. I think I only really like Petra’s arc this season.

4. Season 4 -

4A was difficult but it honestly began to pick back up and solidify in 4B with Jane/Rafael being a little more believable, Petra’s storyline, and also I liked Alba’s storyline with Jorge (even if I hate him later.) Adam was fun even if he was temporary and it kind of looked like we were getting somewhere until they bring Michael back and reveal Petra gaslit JR which completely soured everything for me once they failed to fix it in S5. Also, Jane’s book storyline wasn’t my favorite. Neither was Xo’s cancer storyline.

5. Season 5 -

Absolute garbage, Michael coming back does nothing but make Rafael look like an asshole, weaken Jane who is reduced to begging for someone who frankly is no longer worth it. Xiomara is kind of lost this season and I’m still sad everyone’s dream came true but hers. I dislike River and the amount of time she took away from storylines like Petra’s, the Petramos storyline is nice but I don’t think they ever talked about the disturbing fact that Petra gaslit her, I would have liked an explanation but we never get it and JR’s exit and return are underwhelming and while I LOVE LOVE LOVE that after years of beginning for wlw Petra, this is what we end up with. There were some bright spots in Jetra but S5 is such a disappointment, if they were going to bring Michael back they should have to committed to more than just shoving into the background so they could get to their shitty musical number.

#jtv #jane the virgin #it's essentially is linear for me #S2 & S1 are interchangeable depending on my mood #and yes splitting the seasons is necessary in my opinion because sometimes I like S4 more than S3 #but that's probably because it was gayer #let me know if our thoughts matched up again!#anonymous #answered

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moonshinesapphic · 4 years

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Books and Graphic Novels to curb the She-Ra s5 hangover (Pt.1/?)

So, I've been wallowing in the She-Ra feels for the past few days. Mostly reading fanfics, swimming in Tumblr and rewatching s5 (as most of us are). And, because I'm a big reader, I started thinking about books I've read that remind me of spop. I came up with a handful of books/graphic novels that I’ve already read and made this lil list for my fellow She-Ra loving readers out there. As I read more I will most likely add to this list. (Especially with #prideathon coming up next month!!!) So keep an eye out for part 2...

1) Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

Okay! So I read this graphic novel semi-recently and freaking loved it! Plot-wise it doesn’t have a whole lot of similarities (except for childhood BFFs... these one are long lost and in need of a reunion though, not at each others throats) to She-Ra. But the art style and queer themes/characters are very She-Ra. Not to mention it’s all about sapphic space knights fighting the patriarchal galactic empire; what more could you want! Literally all of the characters in this book are queer women... and most of them are badass knights or sexy spies and it’s GREAT! I need more people to read this book!!! Also this GN was written by a queer woman! I honestly think the only con to Cosmoknights is that it’s quite new so only Vol. 1 is out right now.

Synopsis: “Pan's life used to be very small. Work in her dad's body shop, sneak out with her friend Tara to go dancing, and watch the skies for freighter ships. It didn't even matter that Tara was a princess... until one day it very much did matter, and Pan had to say goodbye forever. Years later, when a charismatic pair of off-world gladiators show up on her doorstep, she finds that life may not be as small as she thought. On the run and off the galactic grid, Pan discovers the astonishing secrets of her neo-medieval world... and the intoxicating possibility of burning it all down.”

2) Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Cliff Chiang (Illustrator), Matthew Wilson (Colorist), Jared K. Fletcher (Lettering)

Paper Girls is hard to explain but it’s essentially about a group of papergirls in the 1980s who get caught up in a inter-dimensional, time-space tear in the fabric of the universe that lands them and others in different points in time and they must work together to get home. I seriously loved this GN series. The girl gang/girl power aspect and many of the characters and relationship dynamic reminds me of She-Ra. Once again it’s not exactly the same plot but the chaotic sci-fi elements are there. There are cool space monsters, complicated bag guys, gay aliens, and snarky ladies who will smack you over the head with their hockey stick. Its also queer as hell and features a prominent wlw relationship (a relationship that has some delicious catradora vibes if you ask me...)! It’s also a completed series so it’s ready for you to totally binge in this quarantine time!

Synopsis: “Paper Girls follows the story of four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls (Erin, MacKenzie, KJ, and Tiffany) set in Stony Stream, a fictional suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.. While out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween, the town is struck by an invasion from a mysterious force from the future. The girls become unwillingly caught up in the conflict between two warring factions of time travelers.”

3) This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This is a the book on this list that I’ve read the most recently and it completely blew me away. The prose is stunning and the story is so complex in the most beautiful ways and ties in so wonderfully at the end. Its about two woman on the opposite sides of a time war who are rivals and then fall in love with each other as they send letters back and fourth. If you have already read all the fanfics and are in need of some catradora vibes this is the book for you. It does the enemies to lover trope so so well and I was really impressed by how much emotion El-Mohtar and Gladstone put into their story. Honestly Blue and Red’s romance had me crying at the end (not from sadness!) it was just so moving and heartwarming. Not to mention the world/setting with which this book takes place in is so unique and honestly like nothing I’ve ever read before.

Synopsis: “ Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. . Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.”

4) Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Okay so this book is the wildcard of the bunch. I was originally going to make this a three book long list but as I was thinking back on the books that I’ve read and Skyward popped into my head. It’s a YA Sci-fi book that’s basically Top Gun but in space and with a headstrong and noble teen girl as the protagonist plus a sentient spaceship. I was wracking my brain for why this book made me think of She-Ra because it’s not queer (as far as I know... I’ve yet to read book two), it’s not really the same hero’s journey type plot and nor are any of the relationships similar to those in She-Ra. But then it hit me. Like She-Ra, this book does a really good job a depicting kids and teenagers as soldiers. All of the characters in this book are made into pilots at a young age to fight an unknown foe. Sanderson does a really good job at showing the repercussions of this, as well as the real life risks to being a soldier in a war. This book also has some Fright Zone vibes with the setting and, the more I think about it, the lead character, Spin, shares a lot of qualities with both Catra and Adora. Qualities which make for a fantastic MC who I think, if universes collided, would be a great addition to the Princess Alliance. (Side bar: this book also has some AWESOME action sequences that literally kept me on the edge of my seat.)

Synopsis: “ Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.”

BONUS: (aka the honorable/obvious mentions) Lumberjanes and Nimona both by Noelle Stevenson!

Noelle Stevenson is the creator of spop and also a graphic novelist and artist herself (as many of you may know)! I’ve read and loved both of these graphic novels and you can totally see the essence of Noelle’s storytelling that you see in She-Ra appear in these GNs as well. I highly recommend for a reread if you’ve already read them but also if you’re a She-Ra fan and have never picked up any of Noelle’s other works yet this is a great time to do it! They’re also both really queer regrading both themes and characters, which is no surprise cause it’s our Queen Noelle, you guys!

Lumberjanes Synopsis: “At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.”

Nimona Synopsis: “Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.”

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nancywheelxr · 4 years

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Ooooo congrats w/ your followers!!! Could you recommend me your top favorite fics?

Thank you so much! Since you didn’t specify any fandoms or pairings, I picked my faves ever of different fandoms, and holy shit, anon, you don’t understand the trip to memory lane this was.

Also yes, there’s a Twilight fic here, but I’m sucker for wlw disasters Rosalie and Bella.

hit me baby one more time by theappleppielifestyle

Richie reaches up a shaking hand and puts it on Eddie’s stomach.

“Uhhh,” Eddie says. “Is this a bit? Is this a really inopportune bit? ‘Cause I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Richie, but this is kind of an important moment-”

“What the fuck,” Richie says, not for the first or last time, and lurches forwards to hug him.

(Or, Richie gets stuck in a time loop.)

Heat of the Chase by argentoswan

Newt returns to New York to visit, but when he is drawn into Tina and Mr. Graves' new investigation, he finds himself immersed in a case that challenges his knowledge of magical creatures-- and what he thought he knew about Mr. Graves, the lead investigator who doesn't want the consulting magizoologist anywhere near his job.

"It seems there’s not a species in the world that doesn’t love you, Mr. Scamander.”in your lungs (you make dying sound less fun) by iwillwalk500miles

Bella loves her mother, her mother is getting married.

Obviously the most logical thing to do is move in with a father she barely knows, in a town she hates, in a place she will never be happy--

It's the absolute best course of action.

(The friends she makes in Forks tell her otherwise.)

---

Oh.

Rosalie Hale is staring.

Their eyes meet, and it's like the entire universe has halted, the world as stopped spinning, the sands of time have stopped falling-- It's like that moment in your life where you see something that you just know you'll be good at, or a person you know you'll never be able to take your eyes off of, someone or something you'll always notice-- Except it's worse somehow, so much worse because just looking at this girl makes Bella feel amazing, like some sort of creep who got off just looking at a beautiful girl--

Rosalie Hale is staring.

Oh.

Let Me Romance With You by CaptainLeBubbles

News just in: Aziraphale and Crowley are getting married! Finally!Unfortunately, what should be a pleasant and joyous time for them is about to be turned into a second attempt at Armageddon, as Gabriel and Beelzebub are foisted onto them as wedding planners against their and everyone's wishes.

Too bad Anathema burned that book. It would have been nice to see this coming.Jason Todd: The Not-So-Outlaw by GoAwayOlivia

Jason Todd isn't what Batman made him, he isn't what the Joker made him, he isn't what the League of Assassins made him, and he isn't what the Lazarus Pit made him. He's his own person and he's taking himself back, one home renovation at a time. Also he might just make friends with the people who are supposed to be his brothers while he's at it.

World Ain't Ready by idiopathicsmile

Enjolras presses his lips together. He already looks pained, and Grantaire hasn't even opened his mouth yet. That's got to be a record, even for them.

"I need a favor," he says at last.

"With what?" says Grantaire. "Ooh, are you forming a cult? Can I join? I'd be awesome at cults, I just know it." He ticks off his qualifications on his fingers. "I love chanting, I look great in robes—"

(High school AU. Grantaire the disaffected stoner is pulled into a cause bigger than himself. Or: in which there are pretend boyfriends for great justice.)

#fbwtft #les miserables #batman #good omens #twilight #fanfic rec #fic rec #it #reddie #gramander #enjoltaire #innefable husbands #rosalie x bella

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latter-day-saint-nick · 4 years

Text

Here‘s a list of all the books with queer protagonists I’ve read this year. While I do actively seek those out, there are several books on here that I didn’t know had queer themes when I picked them up from the library and then I was pleasantly surprised by lesbians. I‘ll avoid spoilers except when discussing trigger warnings.

Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell

Neo, a South African teenager, is obsessed with music of any kind. Her love of music brings her together with the singer of a local band and they have a passionate relationship that they must keep secret. The descriptions of Neo‘s life and her tendency to hear music in everything are beautiful and dynamic. The author included a list of the songs Neo is listening to throughout the book, so I was introduced to a lot of cool music from South Africa and other places. TW: Corrective rape and Bury Your Gays. This is a book by a queer (albeit white British, rather than black South African) author writing about a very real problem that exists within our communities, so it feels different to when a cishet author kills off a queer character just for shock value. I still can‘t help feeling that he could have made the same point without having the character die – just have her be injured. Still, I loved pretty much everything else about the book, so it gets a tentative recommendation from me.

The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb

25-year-old opera student Kathleen tries to cope with the constant pain in her feet, nightmares about having her tongue cut out, and desperate yearning for the sea. With the help of her girlfriend Harry she delves into her family history to uncover the secret of a curse spanning generations of women. What’s nice about this book is that Kathleen and Harry’s relationship is accepted by all their family and friends without question, so if you want to read a nice wlw fantasy story with no homophobia, this one’s for you. TW: Some discussion of suicide, but nothing too graphic.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

A teenage lesbian is sent to conversion therapy by her religious aunt. This is basically a coming-of-age story as the title character comes to terms with her identity and the death of her parents. It’s considered an important work of LGBT YA literature, so I really wanted to like it more than I did. Most of the first half of the novel deals with Cameron’s everyday life in her small town in Montana, which was, to be honest, rather boring to me. The pace of the story picks up a bit once she gets sent to conversion therapy, but even then it’s slower and less eventful than I would have liked. But since it is a popular book, that’s probably just me. I did like that the two best friends she makes at the therapy camp are a disabled girl and an indigenous boy, two types of people that are not often represented in queer fiction, so that’s something. TW: Conversion therapy and self-harm.

Proud by Juno Dawson

This is a collection of poems and stories about queerness aimed at a YA audience, and each one is a pure delight! These stories detail moments of joy and pride that make you feel happy and hopeful about being queer. They include a high school retelling of Pride and Prejudice with lesbians, a nonbinary kid and his D&D group on a quest to disrupt the gender binary at their school, a magical phoenix leading a Chinese girl to find love, and gay penguins. All stories, poems and illustrations are by queer writers and artists. Seriously, I cannot recommend this collection enough!

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

An Irish magical realist story about three girls who perform a spell to find things that they have lost. The spell appears to have wider consequences than they expected, bringing to light things that should have stayed lost. This book has three narrators, two of whom are wlw. It treads a nice line between fantasy and reality, and has some pretty good plot twists. Also, there’s a crossword at the end, which is awesome. More books should come with crosswords.

Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

A space opera trilogy set in the distant future about the embodiment of a ship’s AI who seeks revenge against the ruler of a colonialist empire who destroyed her ship and killed her beloved captain. This is not beginner’s sci-fi, as it is very complex and intricate, but if you’re fine with a bit of a heavier read, you’ll be rewarded with some very interesting concepts. What makes this series queer is that the Raadch empire has no concept of gender and uses female pronouns for everyone. This makes every romantic relationship queer by default, whether we are aware of the characters’ sexes or not. I found it particularly enjoyable when Breq, the protagonist, tried to communicate in different languages that have gendered pronouns, which she had to navigate carefully in order not to offend people. She tries to look for outward clues of gender, such as hairstyles, chest size, facial hair or Adam’s apples, but even then often gets it wrong, because these things are not always consistent. That is just a great depiction of how arbitrary ideas of binary sexual characteristics tend to be. Also, I guess technically Breq is aroace, but since she’s not human, I’m not sure if she can be considered the best representation, though she is a very likeable character that I enjoyed following.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

These books are a lot of fun! They’re historical adventure stories with a bit of fantasy thrown in, featuring disaster bisexual Henry Montague, his snarky aroace sister Felicity and his best friend Percy whom he is secretly in love with. In the first book, the three teenagers are sent on a tour of Europe for various reasons, but they quickly abandon the planned route when they get embroiled in a plot involving theft and alchemy. The second book details Felicity’s further attempts to become a doctor, which leads her to reunite with an old friend and chase a tale of fantastical creatures.

The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

Technically I read this one late last year, but whatever. I just wanted to put it on the list to have an excuse to talk about it. It’s about two Jewish siblings with magic powers who are recruited during World War II to take part in a secret project to fight the Nazis. Both siblings turn out to be queer: the brother is gay and demisexual, while the sister is bisexual, and they each have a love interest. This book is an independent prequel to The Girl with the Red Balloon, which takes place in East Berlin during the time of the Wall, and is just as good, albeit not as gay.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

This book tends to be classified as fantasy, because it takes place in an alternate, Latin-American-inspired world, with a distinct history, culture and religion, but there’s no magic at all, so I’m not sure it counts. But I digress. The country of Medio is built on classism and acute xenophobia. But by hiding her status as an illegal immigrant, Daniela, a girl from a poor background, manages to rise to the top of her class at her elite finishing school and become the first wife of one of the most powerful young men in the country. But her new comfortable status is threatened when she is pressured to join a group of rebels who fight for equality. At the same time, she also finds herself falling for her husband’s second wife. Obviously, this book’s political message is very topical, but beyond that, it’s just a very good story, with a well fleshed-out fictional world and great characters. This is the first in a series, with the sequel, We Unleash the Merciless Storm, coming out in February.

All Out: The No Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell

A very nice collection of short stories about various queer teenagers in different historical settings, from a medieval monastery to an American suburb on New Year’s Eve in 1999. Most of the stories are realist, but there are a few ghosts and witches to be found in-between. What I found particularly notable about this book is that it featured several asexual characters, which you don’t often see in collections like this. I definitely recommend it.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

This is a thoughtful, heart-warming life story about a woman growing up during the civil war in Nigeria. After Ijeoma, a Christian Igbo girl, is sent away from home, she finds her first love in Amina, a Muslim Hausa. Even after they are found out and separated, Ijeoma doesn’t quite understand what’s so shameful about their love. Still, as she grows older, she attempts to fit into a heteronormative society while also connecting with the things and people that make her happy. TW: Homophobic violence, including an attack on a gay nightclub. The novel makes up for this by having a remarkably happy ending.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

A young man in Victorian London finds a mysterious watch on his pillow, with no idea how it got there. This sets into motion a strange series of events, which leads him to a lonely Japanese watchmaker, to whom he finds himself increasingly drawn. This is an unusual novel that treads the line between historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi. Most of the characters are morally grey and have complex motivations, but are still likable. I just really enjoy stories that take place in this time period, particularly when they are this thoughtfully written and don’t just take the prejudices of the past for granted.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

A YA book about a transgender teenager, written by a transgender author. After her mother decides that she is not safe in her hometown anymore, high school senior Amanda moves in with her dad in a town where nobody knows her and she can try to go stealth. But even as she is making friends and experiencing romance for the first time, she constantly worries about what will happen if her secret comes out. It’s a fairly standard story about being transgender, really, but as it comes from a trans author, it feels a lot more personal and less voyeuristic than these stories tend to be when coming from a cisgender perspective. Amanda is a sympathetic and compelling character. TW: This book deals with a number of upsetting themes, including transphobic violence, being forcibly outed and suicide. There is a flashback to Amanda’s pre-transition suicide attempt, which I found particularly triggering. I also wish she could have come out on her own terms, instead of being outed in front of the whole school by someone she thought she could trust. It is still a pretty good book, but it can be very upsetting at times.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

A loose retelling of Macbeth that takes place in a boarding school in Virginia and involves two queer couples. The supernatural elements of the play are amplified in a wonderfully creepy way, and the characters are complex and realistic, so you understand their motivations, even when they do bad things. TW: Out of the five queer characters in the novel, three die, two of them by suicide.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and EG Keller

A charming picture book about the Vice President’s pet bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny and wants to hop around at his side for the rest of his life. This book was written as a screw you to Mike Pence, but even so it is a genuinely nice kid’s book that deals with homosexuality and marriage equality in a way that is appropriate for young children. The illustrations are incredibly cute as well.

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

A very strange, surreal tale about four people (most of whom are queer in some way) exploring a magical city that you can enter in your dreams by sleeping with someone who has been there before. I wanted to like this one more than I did, because I really love Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland books for children. But while some of the dreamlike imagery is cool and pretty, I found a lot of it weirdly uncomfortable, along with the frequent sex scenes.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

15-year-old Julia is home for the summer at her parents’ ancestral mansion in Scotland and gets involved with a plot about theft, disappearance and possibly murder. She also has her first crushes – on a man working at her parents’ estate and a young Traveller girl, respectively. This is a prequel to Code Name Verity, which has the same protagonist, though her bisexuality isn’t really alluded to in that, which is why I’ve kept it off the list, even though it is an excellent book. The Pearl Thief is pretty good as well, though it is a bit strange to read after you’ve already read Verity and know that this carefree teenage character is going to grow up to be a spy in World War II and be tortured in a Nazi prison. Do read both books, though. They are great.

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson

A young scientist falls in love with the wife of the man she’s having an affair with. There’s speculation about quantum mechanics and interconnectedness, all wrapped in very poetic language. To be perfectly honest, I really didn’t get it, so I have no idea what any of it means. But at least the main character is bisexual and polyamorous (and possibly genderfluid – I’m not sure).

Queer Africa by Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin

A collection of short stories by queer African writers, discussing themes like love, sex, marriage, family and homophobia. The attitudes towards queerness in these different countries varies. In many of them, homosexuality is illegal, even though same-sex relationships used to be respected before the interference of Western colonialism. In any case, these stories are an interesting and oftentimes beautiful examination of queerness from a non-Western point of view, some joyous and some tragic. TW: The second to last story is about incest.

#books #LGBTQIA

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pigmenting · 5 years

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Books I Read in January

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman (Fantasy) ★★★ Witches. Magic. A curse on love. I wanted to like this more than I did. I just found it hard to connect with the characters and the story tried to cover too much time. As this was a prequel to Practical Magic (a book I’ve never read), I think I had a hard time with it more because I wasn’t familiar with the characters going in to it. Either way, it was just okay to me.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (Fantasy/Horror) ★★★★ Monsters. Girls. An island with a heartbeat. I went into this expecting a very different story than the one I got and that’s probably why I loved it so much. It was unexpected, unsettling and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I suggest not reading too much about it. Also the characters (almost entirely female) were a lot of fun and very well written. I’m excited to read more from Claire Legrand in the future.

Falling Kingdom by Morgan Rhodes (Fantasy/YA) ★★★.5 Sorcery. Revolution. A murder that sparks a war. I have this rated as 3 stars on Goodreads but, I would round this up to 3.5 stars. It’s a solid YA fantasy. I went into it wanting and expecting what you normally get in fantasy novels and I definitely got it. It had magic, politics, a war between realms and compelling enough characters. I had only heard lukewarm things about this novel going in so I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. The storyline and the characters and the political background was a lot more complex than I was expecting. I’m excited to read further into the series.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewel (Thriller) ★★ A missing daughter. An obsessive tutor. A new love. I heard so many good things about this book and I just could not find myself loving it. I accidentally read the synopsis and I knew to expect a key part in the storyline from the very first page and I think that ruined a bit of the experience for me. On top of that, I just didn’t care for the characters. There was no one I was rooting for or had a lot of sympathy for. I’m realizing as much as I enjoy reading thrillers for the experience of rushing through them, I’m never left quite satisfied with the ending.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Sci-fi) ★★★★ Space. A dangerous mission. A crew of misfits. I have so much love for the characters in this book. This book really isn’t a story of their dangerous space mission (although that does happen). It’s more about the characters and how they respond and develop through the journey. It’s hard to even really pinpoint characters that are better than the others because they play so well off each other and this book is a lot about the relationships between them all. The crew as a whole is a character and it feels like one big family. That said, I have a particular fondness for Kizzy.

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (YA/Contemporary) ★★★★ Hollywood. Set design. A story within a story. The setting in this book is so great. Nina LaCour does a great job of not only capturing a really fun Hollywood setting but also the sets of the different movies Emi works on. My favourite part was Emi’s relationship with set design and how far into the characters she gets to make every detail right. It made me look around at my own space and wonder what the objects and furniture I’ve chosen say about me. It also includes good representation for a wlw romance which was cute.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (YA/Contemporary) ★★★★★ Distance. Grief. A mysterious past. I adored this book. It was short and emotional and I read it almost entirely in one sitting. Again, this is a story about character development. It’s a story about facing the things we run away from. It’s a story about family and the people we make family. It’s a story about trauma and dealing with trauma. It’s a story about mental illness. As I was reading it, I couldn’t help but think that as much as I loved it now, I probably would’ve loved it even more when I was younger. Or maybe I needed to read it more when I was younger. Either way, if I could recommend only one book in this list, it would be this one.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (Thriller/Mystery) ★★★★ Twins. A dark haired woman. An uneasy feeling. I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and I’m really glad I was able to read it. A novel inspired by dark fairytales, this leaves you with an uneasy feeling the whole way through. It’s another one I would recommend not reading the back of and going in blind to if you enjoy mystery/thrillers. It gets released at the end of April.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Romance) ★★.5 An econometrician. An escort. An education. I don’t read romance. At all. But I had heard so much about this one that I gave it a try. It was okay. I didn’t love it by any means. What I did like was the representation of Asperger's in it. It was part of the main character’s identity but not her entire identity. My issues are more with the romance part. It didn’t feel romantic or sexy to me. I was more interested in the individual character development than the two main characters coming together. But again, I’m really not a romance fan.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Contemporary) ★★★★ A musician. A fallen man. A fire. This is another book that everyone seems to be reading. And again, another book completely about character development. It’s interesting that I read this and We Are Okay in the same month as they are similar in a lot of ways (and if you enjoyed one, you would likely enjoy the other). What I will say is that my opinion changed a lot on this book. At the beginning, I didn’t particularly like Eleanor as a character or understand why it was a book everyone was recommending. If you go into it, be prepared for a slow start. But while the plot never drastically picks up, Eleanor’s behaviour definitely changes and becomes more and more compelling. There’s a backstory to Eleanor that only gets hinted at until the end. As you read more and more, you begin to understand why she is the way she is, and perhaps see a bit of yourself in some of the ways she acts or the thoughts she carries with her. It’s a story about forgiveness. A story about letting go. A story about rebirth.

If you would like to follow my reading, you can follow me on Goodreads or Instagram (@livingkelsey) where I post what I’m currently reading, snippets and reviews (mostly in my stories).

#kelsey's bookclub #monthly reading #january #books #book reviews

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petersthree · 5 years

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What books of episodes do you recommend? And which ones are the best for free diamonds?

It’s Choices, not Episodes (I very much do not recommend Episodes lolol)!

And as for books, it really depends on what genre but my list is (sorry I put this all under a read more because it was way too long I tried putting it under a read more but it doesn’t work asdfjkl i’m so sorry followers):

Personal Favorites:

Perfect Match: it has an excellent twist that yeah sure, fandom saw coming, but was fantastic nonetheless. I love the squad in this book, and we were given the opportunity to be polyamorous in this book! The plot was great and it was such a tragedy that there was only two books 90000/10 I would have played 500 books of this game even if book 498 was my MC raising like 5 dogs with her polycule

Desire and Decorum: we’re still waiting for the third (and I believe final?) book in this series and honestly, I thought this was going to be a book that I diamond-mined. However, it hit me on the head with its fantastic LIs (seriously, I think they are all legitimately fantastic, and all so ride-or-die) Also, if your MC is of a different ethnicity, it is sometimes remarked on and they include a lesbian LI and a black LI and I don’t want to give anything away but the book does take into account the historical aspect/societal consequences of you two being together and gives an option that I appreciated!

Any of the original three Choices books, just because:

The Freshman series: okay. I have more than a touch of nostalgia because this was back when Choices only had 3 books and The Freshman was one of them, and the first book I ever played. It admittedly got a little tiring near the end but I was super attached to most of the gang, and Zig Ortega remains THE best LI I’ve ever had in a book

Most Wanted: honestly this wasn’t my favorite of the books but fandom loves it and it was enjoyable, you got to choose sometimes which MC you wanted to play as, and like everyone else I am still waiting for book two

The Crown and the Flame: also two MCs and a great amount of LIs! Also the decisions you make very much matter, and it centered moreso on war, the decisions Kenna had to make, and the weight of those choices more than actual romance. Characters were fleshed out and I think it’s honestly an iconic book that deserves all the references that it gets in other books

Nightbound: if they give me the chance to be poly it’ll probably beat Perfect Match as my favorite book. Could stand to give more time to female LIs (as with most books tbh) but it’s only 11 chapters in rn and I love it and love every LI and my MC is just....even dumber than most MCs but I’ve leaned into it and I love my dumbass

You don’t need to play Bloodbound but it is fun to play Bloodbound as well because book 2 of Bloodbound has crossovers with Nightbound and idk it’s just more fun and Bloodbound is also a fun time :)

A Courtesan of Rome: AMAZIIIIING book idc that it was a standalone like you can’t do much after freaking killing Caesar lmao. But wonderfully written, a great MC, and a plot with no real fillers and choices that mattered in terms of your LIs. It was phenomenal

Diamond Mine These Babies:

Passport to Romance: it’s a shame that a book this bad had such great LIs. I honestly couldn’t tell you what happened in this book, and it was so poorly received that they made it a standalone book lmao

Ride or Die: Admittedly it did pick up after a while but I still wouldn’t say I enjoyed it. But like, it was a book? And I’m gonna play the second one?

Home for the Holidays: it’s basically a Hallmark movie in PlayChoices form. Fun little filler, you have a wlw character but at what cost, I guess you could play as a guy and have mlm romance with the two guy LIs bc they’re pretty heavily featured but like....there really was no plot

America’s Most Eligible: I’m not going to lie, I like this book. It’s mindless, shallow, and most of the characters are fake af but like....I enjoy it? That being said, I’ve only spent diamonds on it (1) time to get two gay characters together but like, you really don’t have to lmao I got through most of it without the diamonds

Big Sky Country: not great if you have a non-white MC (esp if they’re black) in the beginning but like. Idk. Yeehaw.

Across the Void: I actually very much liked this book, but it’s a standalone and it was only after its hiatus that it actually hit its stride, but that being said, it’s probably not worth it to use any diamonds unless you’re a dumbass like me who got attached to the characters and paid to keep them alive lmao

Everything else is like, pretty good as well and you can choose to use diamonds on them or not, and they range from fluff to pretty good lol but yeah! Those are my picks for the best to the worst

#janie gets asks #Anon

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