#iris foxglove

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Queer Book Character Tournament Round 1

Sabre de Valois- The Traitor's Mercy

Luca Piere- Swordcrossed

Jack Zimmermann- Check, Please!

Baru Cormorant- The Masquerade series

Voting ended onSep 28, 2025

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Sabre de Valois- The Traitor's Mercy by Iris Foxglove

Luca Piere- Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

Jack Zimmermann- Check, Please! By Ngozi Ukazu

Baru Cormorant- The Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson

[poisindonottouch]

Queer Books!

The last couple years, I've posted about queer books I've read and authors who write queer stories, and this year, I'm at it again!

Here are the books I posted about in 2023, and here's all the books I posted about last year!

Jay Hogan

Parker St. John

Riley Hart

Sidney Bell

Jesse H Reign

Onley James

Iris Foxglove

Morgan Brice

Eliot Grayson

Charlie Adhara

Anna Zabo

August Jones

Riley Nash

Roan Parrish

Cat Sebastian

Tal Bauer

Cait Nary

Eden Finely and Saxon James

EM Lindsey

LA Witt

Sarina Bowen

Kit Oliver

Ari Baran

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Preliminary Round

Choose a book:

Shadowfall by Iris Foxglove

The Alliance Trilogy (Sneak, Liar, Traitor) by E. Jade Lomax

Voting ended onFeb 8, 2025

Book summaries below:

Shadowfall by Iris Foxglove (Immortals Descending #2)

It is said the demon in the well will give you your heart's desire…for a price.

When Declan's prince and best friend, Arwyn, goes seeking the demon for himself, he surprises Declan by leaping into the demon’s well. But when Declan pulls him out, it isn't Arwyn he rescued, but a demon wearing his skin. No one believes Declan that Arwyn's soul has been corrupted by the shadow in the well, and with Arwyn taking up arms against the king's fleet by becoming a pirate, all that matters is stopping him.

When Arwyn offers him a terrible bargain, Declan agrees, hoping it will finally give him the truth about what happened to his prince…and a chance to find the man he'd loved since childhood.

But Arwyn isn’t a demon. He’s a god, and he is very, very good at knowing what people really want. He is convinced that for Declan, it isn't the prince who went into the water that has captivated him…but the shadow that came out of it.

Romance, fantasy, secondary world, adult

The Alliance Trilogy (Sneak, Liar, Traitor) by E. Jade Lomax

A century ago, the general chosen to lead the armies of the Nerian Alliance against their shared enemies deposed the allied kings he served.

With loyal soldiers behind him, the general conquered their three kingdoms in the name of unity and strength.

Now, the vast swathe of land that was the Alliance is known simply as Neria. The old borders and the old ways are forgotten— by most.

This is the story of a princess called Sasha and a rebel named Andrea, neither of whom are as righteous as they think they are.

It is the story of Will, an ambitious amateur spy, and Gabrielle, the equally ambitious youngest princess, who are not as smart as they think they are.

This is Gregory’s story, about a shy young mountain lad who is not as useless as he thinks, who is not as harmless as he thinks.

They all have a long way to go.

Fantasy, epic fantasy, secondary world, series, young adult

[irisfoxglove]

Our first series is available (also on KU)! It's a dark fantasy M/M romance series set in a world with bio-imperative D/s dynamics, politics, intrigue, magic, a demon fox who eats books, and so much found family. Mind the content warnings, of course!

[o-p-a-l-blog1]

hi-res

some Rough and Rowdy Boys............... lefty boy Onika belonging to me and righty boy Iris belonging to @teamnova!

Buff Beefy Babes

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Queer Book Character Tournament Round 1

Laurent de Rue- The Traitor's Mercy

Magnus Bane- The Mortal Instruments series

Marella Redek- Keeper of the Lost Cities

Henry Silver- Silver in the Wood

Voting ended onSep 28, 2025

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Laurent de Rue- The Traitor's Mercy by Iris Foxglove

Magnus Bane- The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Marella Redek- Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Henry Silver- Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1C

Choose a book:

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

The Traitor's Mercy by Iris Foxglove (Starian Cycle #1)

Voting ended onMar 1, 2025

Book summaries below:

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

Mystery, thriller, academia, adult

The Traitor's Mercy by Iris Foxglove (Starian Cycle #1)

In the court of Staria, mercy is rarely a blessing…

Sabre de Valois is the last of his line. Saved from the gallows while his family hangs for treason, Sabre is given the chance to pay off their debt and clear his family name. To do so, he must serve as a courtesan in the pleasure district, but the only House willing to take him in and risk the disfavor of the king is the House of Onyx, which caters to the darker desires of the Starian noble elite. There, he finds his masochism is an asset, the courtesans are kinder than the nobles of the Starian court, and that he cannot help but be inexorably drawn to the owner of the House of Onyx, Laurent de Rue.

Lord Laurent de Rue knows that love is dangerous. Abandoned in the pleasure district with no memory of his past, Laurent clawed his way to notoriety and earned his title through cunning and skill. He has seen love ruin the lives and ambitions of those he passed on his way to the top, and he has no intention of letting himself fall prey to the same mistakes. Yet he can’t stop himself from growing closer to Sabre de Valois, who loves so earnestly and so completely that even Laurent’s steel will is starting to break.

But Sabre has secrets of his own, and when the machinations of the court threaten to put Sabre in danger, Laurent will have to decide whether he will risk it all for love, or let Sabre de Valois slip through his fingers.

Romance, fantasy, dark fantasy, BDSM alt reality, secondary world, adult

[poisindonottouch]

Queer Reads: Iris Foxglove

For recommendation #17, we have Iris Foxglove. 

Iris Foxglove is the shared pen name of Avon Gale and Fae Loxley. While I miss all the excellent hockey content from Avon Gale (see my post from last year on the hockey stuff), I enjoy this fantasy stuff too. 

Foxglove writes mostly MM, with a bit of MMF and genderfluid characters thrown in for good measure. Their books are very fantasy with magic, gods walking the earth, shape shifters, and a bit of monsterfucking. 

The series in the graphic focuses on the characters from the isle of Lukos, a slightly mythical land cut off from the rest of society. It’s home to a society of outcasts who band together to survive the harsh winters and the unforgiving sea. In book 1, Victor is a kind of oblivious scholar who gets dropped on the island in a dick move from his ex, and is basically left to die. Luckily, hunk Sava is there to keep him warm and cozy throughout the winter. As the series goes on, the world expands, and you learn more about the Lukoi and their lore. 

There’s lots of Foxglove I haven’t read, but it’s sitting nicely on my TBR pile, and I know when I get to it, it’ll be good. 

Remember folks, read queer books.