The Binding of Bloom Mountain is a cozy Appalachian Folk Horror set in an alternative Shenandoah Valley. The story follows Celeste Foster as the powers that be beckon her to a small town where the magic of a cursed mountain needs tended to.
I've decided that I'm going to post about the entries to the Queer Book Directory over here, and the way I'm going to decide which book gets posted is entirely up to the directory itself! Since the list is randomized each time the page is refreshed, I will pick whatever the first book shown is.
This time, the fates chose BoBM! This was one of my personal favorite books this year and I'm super excited to have it up on the directory!
SUMMARY
When Celeste Foster loses her job with the US Forestry Service, she finds solace in drinking herself stupid every night. But when she sees an ad that says “ADVENTURERS WANTED” and “compensation upon completion”, she pulls herself together to head for the town of Milton.
In the mountains of Northwest Virginia, she enters a portal to an alternate Shenandoah Valley. Here monsters and gods live alongside humans, and every family has magic in their blood. But a curse festers on the slopes of Bloom Mountain. A decade has passed with no one to bind the magic, and soon the curse will destroy Milton.
Armed with a recording, a bag of ritual items, and fresh scones from the cute barista that housed her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The Binding tests her endurance, sanity, and ability to adapt to this new world. If she can survive the horrors on the mountain, there might be more than just money waiting for her at the end.
The Binding of Bloom Mountain is an adult portal fantasy set in Northwest Virginia. There is light f/f romance, a cozy fantasy setting, and horror sections. See authors website for content information.
CONTENT WARNINGS
body horror, the death of children, horrific imagery, animal death, alcohol use, swearing, witchcraft, family secrets, mental, emotional and physical abuse, manipulation, drowning, death.
The QBD decided that we're gonna talk about Hell Followed With Us today!
Hell Followed With Us is a YA post-apocalyptic religious horror novel following 16 year old trans boy Benji as he escapes the cult that raised him. It's got really gross (/pos) body horror and features Christian Fundamentalism as the oppressive force.
I've been conflicted on this book since I read it. On the one hand, I despised the love interests and some other characters. On the other hand, I could not put the book down. I devoured it. It was so engaging and well written, and I really loved the interspersed bible verses and newspaper snippets.
Either way, it's definitely A Book and if you like YA horror and gross nasty body mutilation, you'll love this book!
SUMMARY
Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.
But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.
Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms… until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.
CONTENT WARNINGS
body horror, transphobia, religious extremism
REPRESENTATION
trans characters, neo pronouns, autism and other neurodivergencies, religious diversity, race diversity
Another day, another book entry! Today the Queer Book Directory spit out First Creation by Mars Adler!
First Creation is a high spice horror novella following the Angel of Truth, Amitiel, as he runs from his fellow angels with the fallen angel Stolas. It's a lovely novella that I would argue is cozy horror, if you find cannibalism and the eroticization of The Horrors as cozy.
There's also the peach scene. I will never be able to look at peaches the same way.
SUMMARY
Amitiel, an angel of God, and Stolas, a fallen angel-turned-spy, should be enemies. However, after they uncover a shocking secret that drives them to desert, they go on the run together in modern-day America. Both are injured, and it’s only by chance that they stumble upon a long-abandoned church.
Ensconced in the alluring, stifling church with a forgotten cemetery and too many peach trees, they finally have time to heal. They also have time to think and plan, which is as much a blessing as it is a curse.
Amitiel must come to terms with his strange hunger and forbidden desires, while Stolas plans their next move. They both grapple with the knowledge of where their food rations came from, and that something is very wrong in the heart of Heaven itself. God has vanished, and if he isn’t giving the orders, who is condoning the atrocities the angels commit in the name of winning?
FIRST CREATION is an erotic horror novella. It is a love letter to fallen angels, rediscovering religion in a way that works for you, queer rage, and hunger of all kinds. It deals with some very heavy themes and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. For a full list of content warnings please check the author’s website.
CONTENT WARNINGS
death, murder, blood and graphic gore, graphic cannibalism, war, food rationing and mentions of hunger and starvation, manipulation (mentioned, off page), blood drinking (erotic), explicit sexual content
When I tell you I'm so excited to read this series…
The QBD gave me All Yesterday's Papers by S.S. Genesee today! It's a Dark Romance/Historical Fiction novel following Kenneth, a darling nurse, and Maurice, a serial killer, as they navigate their love for each other and what that means to a serial killer.
I haven't read this book yet (it was on my list to finish before the end of the year but uuuuhhhhh college) but I know it's going to be great! The historical midwest setting is something that I love and I can't wait for this story to rip my heart to shreds!
SUMMARY
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1974
Another body is found. Another one of Maurice’s victims. But as the law draws near, everything starts to change…
Kenneth thinks things are finally looking up in his life. He has a wonderful partner in Maurice, and a future that looks bright… or so it seems. As more murders occur, and the police learn more about the Western Michigan Serial Killer, Kenneth’s world begins to crack. Maybe his perfect lover isn’t as perfect as he thought.
Maurice spirals further and further out of control, losing sight of who he is—is he an immoral, murderous artist, or a sweet, caring boyfriend? How long can he hide the truth from Kenneth before it all comes crashing down, ending his life as he knows it?
Would Kenneth still love him if he knew?
[All Yesterday’s Papers is Book Two of the All Tomorrow’s Photos duology. It is not a standalone, and must be read after Book One. This duology is a dark MM romance story not intended for a young audience. Contains graphic depictions of violence(blood and gore), and explicit sexual content. Full list of content warnings can be found on the author’s website.]
CONTENT WARNINGS
Explicit language, graphic depictions of violence and death (blood and gore), body horror, consensual explicit sexual content, medical play, needles (blood drawing), blood play, biting and scratching, alcohol use, psychedelic drug use (LSD), period-typical homophobia, mentions of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, suicide ideation, self harm
Oh this is a fun entry to talk about. Today the QBD gave me November Breaks, a novel by Winter Simpson.
This book is one that interests me greatly just based on the small amounts I have already read, and what interests me the most is the way it's distributed!
This book is fully written and fully available for free on tumblr (REVISED 1/25/2024, THE BOOK HAS MOVED OFF TUMBLR AND IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON WINTER'S WEBSITE). You can read it chapter by chapter on the November Breaks tumblr page, or they provide a link to a pdf copy you can download and put on an e-reader!
I can't wait to dive head first into Winter's works!!!
SUMMARY
Noah kills for money. Brett hides a life of crime behind a successful career. Officially, they both protect people from people like themselves. Unofficially, everything is falling apart. Until they meet. And it all gets worse.
The QBD gave me The Fall That Saved Us by Tamara Jerée today!!
This book is one of my highly anticipated reads of 2024! It follows Cassiel as she leaves the family tradition of demon-hunting, escaped abuse, and learns to live with it while falling in love with the very thing that her family hunted.
It's a beautiful sapphic fantasy jam packed with POC characters and I am just so excited to read it!
SUMMARY
Cassiel has given up the family tradition of demon hunting, leaving behind her sacred angelic duty and fated sword. What she can’t leave behind are the scars. To cope, she spends her days immersed in work, pouring all her attention into New Haven Books, her small bookstore and anchor in the new world she’s carved for herself.
But the past hasn’t let go of Cassiel yet. When a succubus named Avitue arrives to claim her angel-touched soul, Cassiel’s old hunter instincts flare, forcing her to choose between old knowledge and her truth. What should be a fatal seduction becomes a bargain neither woman expects. As they grow closer, Avitue is surprised to find her own pain reflected in Cassiel, a nephilim deemed fallen by her own family’s standards.
By choosing trust, they reveal the lies that bind them. Falling for each other begins a path towards healing. But exorcising the effects of trauma is harder than naming it, and to explore the unfettered possibility Avitue represents, Cassiel must find a way to reclaim and redefine her angelic heritage.
CONTENT WARNINGS
themes of trauma and shame. Scars and brief ideation of self harm, eating disorder, family abuse/trauma.
Sorry for missing a post yesterday, but I've been very focused on work and writing. To make up for that I've brought Hymn of Memory!!
This book is very high on my TBR because I am a sucker for sad and sweet stories, and boy does this book have a sad yet sweet story! It's a journey through lost memories in a coming-of-age or end-of-summer style with love and hope mixed in!
And just LOOK AT THAT COVER! The art is beautiful!!
SUMMARY
As the Divine of Blackburn, Morgan sends its departed souls into the afterlife. It’s a sacred job spanning generations of Divines before him, but there’s a problem: the process invites the dead’s memories inside and those memories quickly erode and erase his own. Before long, he fears he will completely lose who he is and no one seems to care.
Then Fin, a familiar face from town, sneaks into Morgan’s room to beg for a resending of his grandmother and Morgan quickly agrees, knowing it means an opportunity to escape.
As escape quickly turns into a road trip with Fin to replace the memories he’s lost, Morgan has to confront what it means if he never returns. Without him to send souls, they die completely, leaving a void in the world where nothing will live or grow. Returning, however, means he will lose himself.
And so, Morgan must decide if never returning and living his life as himself—not the Divine—is worth more than the souls he’s leaving behind.
CONTENT WARNINGS
crushing loneliness, struggling with identity and memory loss, religious abuse, mentions of suicide, slight suicidal ideation, and death
the QBD gave me: The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher!!
I'm actually currently reading this book right now and I really like it! It's also the first queer Palestinian book I've gotten up on the QBD, which you will be able to find using the brand new Palestinian sorter in the filters!! I can't wait to get more up, I've just been a bit under the weather and haven't had the chance yet!
The Skin and Its Girl is a striking tale of identity told through the eyes of a Palestinian-American as she decides whether she should follow her heart and perpetuate her family's cycle of exile, or whether she shouldn't. As she decides, she comes across her aunt's journal and learns about what it took for her family to get where they are.
I can't wait to finish this book and I hope y'all give it a try too!
SUMMARY
In a Pacific Northwest hospital far from the Rummani family’s ancestral home in Palestine, the heart of a stillborn baby begins to beat and her skin turns vibrantly, permanently cobalt blue. On the same day, the Rummanis’ centuries-old soap factory in Nablus is destroyed in an air strike. The family matriarch and keeper of their lore, Aunt Nuha, believes that the blue girl embodies their sacred history, harkening back to a time when the Rummanis were among the wealthiest soap-makers and their blue soap was a symbol of a legendary love.
Decades later, Betty returns to Aunt Nuha’s gravestone, faced with a difficult decision: Should she stay in the only country she’s ever known, or should she follow her heart and the woman she loves, perpetuating her family’s cycle of exile? Betty finds her answer in partially translated notebooks that reveal her aunt’s complex life and struggle with her own sexuality, which Nuha hid to help the family immigrate to the United States. But, as Betty soon discovers, her aunt hid much more than that.
The Skin and Its Girl is a searing, poetic tale about desire and identity, and a provocative exploration of how we let stories divide, unite, and define us—and wield even the power to restore a broken family. Sarah Cypher is that rare debut novelist who writes with the mastery and flair of a seasoned storyteller.
Today the QBD spit a very special book back at me; Devout: An Anthology of Angels!!
This anthology is chock full with amazing writers and even more amazing stories! It was one of the first ARC reads I ever did, and I'm very happy to say that I loved it!
This anthology has a little bit of everything:
making the trans body holy
horror
the mundane
romance
and most of all it has Angels! So many angels!!!
I genuinely hope that y'all get a chance to pick this one up, it's amazing and you will not be disappointed
SUMMARY
Featuring work by Freydís Moon, Dorian Yosef Weber, Angela Sun, Ian Haramaki, Tyler Battaglia, Daniel Marie James, Morgan Dante, Cas Trudeau, Aurélio Loren, Rae Novotny, Rafael Nicolás & Emily Hoffman.
A collection of stories, poetry, and art dedicated to the angelic.
Here you will find the strange, the creepy, the funky, slightly silly, pieces with feeling. An experience buried deep inside, it might be from another dimension. Something questionable that makes you wonder if your first impression of the world is accurate enough to trust.
Or maybe something human — too human.
How about a feeling between a feeling? Longing, yearning. Conflict between moral and love. World between worlds.
Above all — angelic.
Are we what angels make of us, or are angels what we make of them?
This anthology is for mature audiences due to themes and explicit content. Our genres include, but are not limited to: Contemporary Fantasy Romance, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fantasy Romance, Mythological, Gothic Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror Drama
CONTENT WARNINGS
each short story has it’s TW’s listed beneath the title, but major ones are body horror and sex
REPRESENTATION
Various, depending on the story, but mostly M/M, trans (incl. non-binary)
TW: ABUSE (FAMILIAL, ON PAGE), DEATH (MURDER), GUILT, GRIEF, MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS (FADE TO BLACK), VIOLENCE
I always feel like I don't know where to start with these. 9 times outta 10 I'm writing reviews right off the end of the book and this one... I have tears in my eyes. This is a 6 star book for me. Firmly. My heart hurts
I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review. Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for the ARC.
Infinity Alchemist releases in just a few weeks on Feb. 6th I believe, and I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen.
Once again calling back to any book that makes me physically feel something get an automatic five star, but this book did more than that. This book wrapped my heart in tendrils of alchemical magic and refuses to let go.
Let's start with the characters: Ash, Ramsay, Callum, and Marlowe. Ash is our POV character and in a trans POC man. He is an asshole who has a rough life, growing up in the slums with a mother who passed away not too long ago. He wants to prove himself worthy of his absent father, and will stop at nothing to do so.
Ramsay is a prodigy, the genderfluid child of known and executed terrorists hell-bent on atoning for their sins. She uses he/she pronouns, though leans more towards she/her throughout the book. She is also such an uptight prick... until she's not. I genuinely love how prickly and rude she is and how much that shows to me as an autistic mask. I just love her so much.
Callum is a black man and the youngest son of the Kendrick house, more or less the police state in book. He is kind and caring despite the heavy hand of his father and all he wants to do is heal. He wants to heal and help others, like the good man he is.
These three, oh these three. They hold my heart.
Marlowe is my obligatory redhead (listen I have to point them out when they are given to me!). She is an orphan of House Lune and becomes so integral to the story in ways I never thought possible.
Without given away too many spoilers, I want to tell yous: there is so much diversity in this cast. So much! It's beautiful!! And, AND, we get not one, but two (2) separate Rivals-to-Lovers ARCs that don't end in a love triangle, but a polycule! We also get best friends to lovers to bitter exes to lovers once again!!
As far as the worldbuilding goes, I have to say that Kacen is a master at weaving these mystical and fantastical realms together in a way that not only make sense, but feel real. I felt like I was in the higher realms with the characters, like I knew exactly what each house was and why they were there.
I have aphantasia, which means that I cannot imagine what anything ever looks like. And yet, the beautiful world descriptions put me there. They called back to things that I do know and do have experience with and built off of it. I very genuinely could see myself in the world, and that is saying a lot.
I don't think I can talk too much more about this book without bringing myself to tears again, so let's pivot to some of my favorite quotes to make y'all understand the gravity of this book:
The world became a white blur. The snow turned red. It fell to the ground, drops spreading like blots of ink. The blood dripped from Amelia's cheeks. Her smile faded as the screams began.
That's what privileged assholes like you always say.
[redacted] paused, but only for a moment. He opened the [redacted]. There was an explosion of light.
It was too late. [redacted] was already there.
It wasn't death he'd feared, he realized, but the change—the transformation that forced him to release.
This light held the vibration of energy that the physical body would translate as love.
They all created the same infinite light. They were eternal.
It was an interesting place to be caught, stuck between grief and gladness that they were gone.
Okay, I think that's all I can put without spoilers.
One thing I forgot to mention: this book is genuinely funny. Maybe it's because of the autistic mask I mentioned earlier, but the interactions between Ramsay and Ash at any given point past like 20% of the book are genuinely funny. I love Ramsay's sense of humor.
Anyways, that's all for this book! I am going to curl up in a ball and cry while I purchase a physical copy to annotate and put on my recommendations shelf. This is a story that I will be thinking about years down the line, I just know it. Ash is a part of my soul now, and I can't wait to see what he does next.
today the QBD gave me OUROBOROS by Jake Vanguard! This is another erotic horror short story that is very high on my TBR once I am caught up with my ARC reads and my beta reads!!
I will say, I was first in line to buy this short story as soon as it was announced, it is everything I look for in a story! It's graphic, dark, gritty, and it is heavily based on Greek Mythology. A complete win in my books!!
And just look at the cover!! It's so compelling, I need to know more!! I genuinely cannot wait to read this omg I need more time in the day frfr
SUMMARY
Underworld || Family Secrets || Dubcon
Hades x In The Hands Of An Angry G-d
Equinox, the princeling of the Underworld, finds out their father has kept the existence of their brother, their twin, a secret all their life.
Desperate to find out the truth, they embark on a journey through the Underworld, to find their brother on the Overworld. They're aided by their partner - Letum, Death incarnate.
Pulled into the realm of Chaos, Equinox agrees to a trade granting them strength - in exchange for satisfying Chaos' curiosity.
Will they find their brother? Or will their journey be an infinite undertaking?
Please check CWs before purchasing. This 7,000 word short story has many dark themes and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18.
CONTENT WARNINGS
dubious consent, discussion of consensual non-consent, manipulation, cannibalism, non-consensual biting, blood consumption, murder, patricide, physical violence, unbalanced power dynamics (princeling x ageless entity), graphic sexual content, stomach bulging, nb person using cunt/clit to describe their genitals, nb person described as having a cock
my first post over here on this blog, but not the first addition to the Queer Book Directory! I've been posting highlights of the books on the QBD over on Instagram, and I figured I should bring them over here as well.
Today, the QBD gave my Eyetooth! The most recent release from mars adler. It's a funky little erotic horror novelette focusing on a t4t pairing and the fucky shit they do to each other!
Adam is a trans art student who frequents an underground, illegal plasma donation center to pay for college expenses. His doctor, the too-pretty, androgynous Dr. Mede, offers him the deal of a lifetime: experimental surgery to help his failing heart for twenty-five grand, no strings attached.
It sounds too good to be true, but Adam is desperate to make ends meet and to get a shot at living a normal life.
He gets a lot more than he signed up for, though. As the aftereffects of the surgery send him into a spiral of lust, taboo urges, and surreal magic, Dr. Mede is nowhere to be found, and Adam falls into a cycle of obsession.
Will Adam survive his metamorphosis?
Please check CWs before purchasing. This 17,000 word novelette has many dark themes and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18.
CONTENT WARNINGS
dubious consent, medical kink, vivisection, wound fingering, discussion of consensual non-consent, medical malpractice, previous medical trauma, non-consensual body modifications during surgery, discussion of chronic health issues, manipulation, cannibalism, raw animal meat consumption, murder, physical violence, reanimation and necromancy, unbalanced power dynamics (doctor x patient relationship, 10+ year age gap), graphic sexual content, trans man using cunt/cock/clit to describe his genitals, nb person described as having a cock.
