#hl day

[polycraftory]

Some absolutely gorgeous special editions of books with great Achillean rep! We have so many @rainbowcrate books to read and so little time, but one of Meghan's favs from this set is Far From Neverland by River Hale and one of Gabe's favs is Exposed by H.L. Day. We actually already owned a copy of The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard, so Gabe and Meghan are being stupidly gay and domestic and reading it at the same time!

Do you have any queer books you are trying to finish before pride month is technically over? (We are Always Gay so it's not, like, Time Sensitive but you know I love an arbitrary deadline 😉)

[polycraftory]

Okay so we got a little lost in the sauce and we haven't done a book haul in weeks. So! Here are all the books we got (outside of AnimeNYC) from 8/20/24-9/9/24. Technically we actually got all of Hell's Paradise and most of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation on sale second hand which was exciting but that would have, like, doubled the number of books we had here so they were omitted.

We were so excited about The Husky & His White Cat Shizun (2ha) Volume 6 that both Gabe and I ate the entire volume immediately. You can find reviews for it on our Storygraphs and we'll probably make a spoiler free pitch for the whole series soon. Meatbun is our fav. Next up on my TBR is Exposed by H.L. Day since I originally subscribed to the Rainbow After Dark box from @rainbowcrate because of it.

Some other ones I'm particularly excited about are the danmei that I bought directly from Via Lactea: To Rule In A Turbulent World, Salad Days, & The Missing Piece. I'm going to be making a video comparing the quality of the ones shipped directly by Via Lactea versus what you can get from a third party like TikTok Shop soon.

Stay tuned for more soon! We are trying to un-loss ourselves from the sauce and get back into our cosplay crafting and book review posting so wish us luck.

[polycraftory]

September 2024 Reading Wrapped

I don't know what happened this last month, but all three of us went absolutely feral and read so many books each?? We are going to try to narrow down a few favs each but it's a challenge this month.

You can find all our Storygraphs with reviews for these in our pinned post or by looking up the usernames on the graphics!

It was so hard to pick a favorite since I had so many 5 star reads last month, but when all else fails I'll fall back on good polyamory rep. Championship by Alethea Faust, book 4 of Sex Wizards, continues to be an excellent kinky time! Also I read the first SPECTR collection by Jordan L. Hawk, and it's exactly what I hoped it would be: a polyamorous triad involving a normal guy, the vampiric demon eating storm elemental that is possessing him, and the exorcist who is trying to help. Think Venom mixed with monster of the week paranormal investigation. I am so ready for more!

Nic's favorite book was Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. It's a horrific look into just how bad AI could get in the film industry paired with a compelling horror plot line. Their favorite manga was definitely Therapy Game Restart by Meguru Hinohara: a cute and spicy contemporary BL romance with adults having adult problems.

Gabe's top picks are hard because they read so many books, but the Assistant to the Villain series by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (an office drama in a fantasy villain's lair) and Exposed by H. L. Day (a post-apocalyptic romance featuring a guy on the run and his stalker) probably edge out the others (and were some of my favs as well). They insist on also giving honorable mentions to Junker Seven by Olive J. Kelley (a space romance about the queer liberation movement) and Song of Carcosa by Josh Reynolds (straight up an Arkham Horror spinoff about Venice and the King in Yellow).

[polycraftory]

Exposed by H.L. Day

Reviewed by Gabe❤️

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

This edition is from the Thawing the Ice Rainbow After Dark book box from @rainbowcrate. As always, you can find more of Gabe's reviews @ wordswritinstarlight on Storygraph. You can find Meghan's very long (also 5 star!) review @ edgybutfemme on Storygraph as well. Find all our links from our website: Polycraftory.com

I expected to have a good time reading this book, but honestly I was surprised by how genuinely excellent it was. X is my favorite flavor of fucked up, and Tate is smart, which is frankly rare in plots revolving heavily around an escort mission. I spent this whole book braced for Tate to storm off and almost die or something stupid in that style, and instead he consistently makes what I would say is the smartest decisions available to him, even when the situation sucks.

Also, this is a really well executed dystopia. The DTP is somewhere between American police and Stormtroopers, and their willingness to kill just to make a point is driven home with onscreen actions rather than just hearing a report of it. This book really speaks to the part of me that is often frustrated with how dystopian media usually falls into either "we're going to kill the Big Bad and everything is fine now" or "this is how it's going to be forever and there's nothing to be done about it". It perfectly nails a middle ground between the two.

Recommended for anyone whose favorite action movie is Fury Road, or for anyone who likes the romcom Mr. Right.

Content Warnings & Spoilers Under The Cut!

Content Warnings From The Book

Graphic violence

Stalking

Knife play (consensual)

Breath play (consensual)

Mentions of domestic abuse

Police violence

Gun violence

Murder

Death

Alcohol abuse

Sex work

Explicit sexual content

Death of a parent

Ending Spoilers

X and Tate actually get to leave! I love that, even after everything, X has hope for something better, and that Tate decides he'd rather die trying to find a place to be happy than live a miserable life forever.

[stubbornvulpixquotes]

"I'm a very brave man."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm a very brave idiot."

-HL Day, The Reluctant Companion

[atumbleamongthepages]

HRM - Not So Silent Night, by @HLDAY100

HRM – Not So Silent Night, by @HLDAY100

One grumpy patient. One unconventional nurse. Twenty-two reindeer later. Things aren’t great for Xander Cole. It’s Christmas, he’s fractured his pelvis on a skiing trip he never wanted to go on, and his on/off boyfriend is most definitely off. No wonder he’s not exactly full of festive cheer. Ferris Night isn’t having much luck either. His plan to take a break from work before starting a new job…

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[atumbleamongthepages]

HRM - Christmas Romances by @HLDAY100

HRM – Christmas Romances by @HLDAY100

Opposites might attract. But does that include age? Christmas comes early for Aiden Malone in the form of a seductive, blue-eyed stranger down on his knees. But a shocking revelation about his new “friend” has him running for the hills and cursing his stupidity before the night is out. Tom’s not prepared to give up that easily. He may be rich where Aiden’s poor. Innocent in a way that Aiden…

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