#loveozya

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

someone please give this poor kid an autism diagnosis before he goes round the bend 🙈

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Spider And Her Demons

YA Australian urban fantasy/horror

about a Malaysian-Chinese girl who’s half spider-demon, just trying to keep her head down and survive high school

when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl at school, they strike up a strange friendship and she starts to learn more about herself and the supernatural world

aroacespec/sapphic ish

[auslgbtqya]

Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner

(2025)

From the Publisher:

A rollercoaster of a medieval romp and a sapphic love story, set in a world of dragons, witches and excellent snacks from NYT bestselling duo, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Perfect for fans of Gwen and Art are Not in Love, Twin Crowns and My Lady Jane.

'More fun than cheesecake on a stick!' Jodi Meadows, co-author of My Lady Jane

A blacksmith's daughter with a secret. A lady with a plan. We're in for one unforgettable knight ...

Gwen has spent the past several years manning the blacksmith's in place of her father, an open secret in the village in which she lives. A much more covert secret, however, is that she knows not only how to craft but also how to wield a sword, and an incognito stunt at the local jousting tournament manages to catch the eye of the wily Lady Isobelle.

Isobelle has secret dreams too, but she's been promised in marriage to the winner of the whole stupid tournament, which means an end to any freedom or choices for her. Desperate to avoid this fate, when she connects the newcomer knight to the female smithy she saw earlier that day, she begins to hatch a scheme ...

Petty knights. Backstabbing noblemen. A prison breakout. Cheesecake on a stick. One particularly large and angry dragon.

Will our ladies survive the night? And can our knight save the day?

'Sparkles with wit and charm ... Kaufman and Spooner will leave you breathless.' C. S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Rise

'Will inspire readers to take up their swords to fight dragons and the patriarchy.' - F. T. Lukens, New York Times bestselling author of So This Is Ever After

Goodreads

[booktineus]

Convincing you to read Tenderly, I am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone with AITA reddit posts by the characters 🦢🥀

Thank you @penguinbooksaus for the Netgalley copy!

Tenderly, I am Devoured is told in dual timelines, with chapters exploring Lark’s past with Alastair and events leading to he expulsion, and the current timeline as she tries to save her family from their debt. It’s a story about learning who you are again while recovering from toxic, abusive relationships (content warnings for coercive control and physical abuse in childhood) and discovering what love and family truly looks like.

This book also has a creepy cult lurking around the edges, an ancient swan god, desperate and/or terrible people, big family secrets, and a poly romance.

If you loved A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, I think you should try this gothic fantasy YA standalone. For a lot of reasons, including the general vibes of the setting and the idolisation of an artist in Lark’s academic studies.

Have you read Tenderly, I am Devoured?

[layaart]

Zhi from The Spider & Her Demons by sydney khoo!

[niamhs-reading-adventures]

Currently reading: Wandering Wild by Lynette Noni

Noni is an insta-buy author for me, but this isn't her usual YA fantasy so I'm mostly excited and a little bit cautious about starting this book.

[lizard-reads-the-world]

YA Books from 🇦🇺 Australia (mostly indigenous)

Continuing the country lists for the YA World Challenge! Firstly, there is no way I can list all the YA books from Australia - there's too many! For that reason, I'm sticking to indigenous books only for the individual books list.

If you want to find more Aussie authors, look for the #LoveOZYA tag, google some lists, browse some goodreads lists, and follow @thereadingchallengechallenge. Also check out the following anthologies to find your new favorite Aussie author:

Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology Underdog: #LoveOzYA Short Stories Meet Me at the Intersection

Indigenous YA The Things She's Seen, Amebelin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (alt. Catching Teller Crow) 💚🦋 The Boy From the Mish, Gary Lonesborough (alt. Ready When You Are) 💚🌈 The Upwelling, Lystra Rose 💚🦋 Tracks of the Missing, Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler 💚🦋 Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch 💚 Ghost Bird, Lisa Fuller 💚🦋 Songs That Sound Like Blood, Jared Thomas 💚🌈 Calypso Summer, Jared Thomas 💚 Sweet Guy, Jared Thomas 💚 My Spare Heart, Jared Thomas 💚 The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, Amebelin Kwaymullina (series) 💚🦋 Secrets from the Dust, George Hamilton ⌛ My Father's Shadow, Jannali Jones 💚 Too Flash, Melissa Lucashenko 💚 Killing Darcy, Melissa Lucashenko 💚 Grace Beside Me, Sue McPherson 💚 Brontide, Sue McPherson 💚 Wraith, Shane Smithers & Alex Smithers 💚🦋 Fog a Dox, Bruce Pascoe 💚 Njunjul The Sun, Meme McDonald Shauna's Great Expectations, Kathleen Loughnan

Middle Grade Bindi, Kirli Saunders 💚 Sister Heart, Sally Morgan 💚 Black Cockatoo, Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler 💚 Ubby's Underdogs, Brenton E. McKenna (GN) 💚 Wombat, mudlark and other stories, Helen Milroy 💚 Wylah the Koorie Warrior, Jordan Gould, Richard Pritchard

Memoir & Nonfiction Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, Various Authors 💚 Remembered By Heart: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing, Various Authors 💚 Blakwork, Alison Whittaker 💚 Jandamarra & the Bunuba Resistance: A True Australian Hero, Howard Pedersen⌛

Coming of Age Becoming Kirrali Lewis, Jane Harrison 💚⌛

💚 First Nations Author (based on author's bios, may be missing data) 🛩️ Immigrant or diaspora 🏖️ non-native characters in or about the country (ex. vacation/adventure) ⌛ Historical 🦋 Fantasy or Paranormal 🌈 LGBT

If you know of more titles I could add, just leave a comment! (I hope my sources weren't too outdated)

[theomnilegent]

This month, I'm participating in Booklr Reads Australian, hosted by the lovely @thereadingchallengechallenge!

I have some pretty high goals for this month but my hope is to read my way through this stack. I've already started with Ellie Marney's The Killing Code and I'm loving it so far!

The books pictured here are also all sapphic in one way or another, to stick with my own goal of reading primarily sapphic stories this year.

Happy reading everyone!