#winter's orbit

[c-leadraw]

Winter's Orbit by @avoliot

[lakecountylibrary]

It's Pride Month, which means it's time for my annual post of the 5 best books with queer rep I read since the last time I made this post!

These books weren't necessarily published in the last year; they're just what I happened to pick up and enjoy. I hope you like them too!

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (bi, gay rep)

I avoided reading this one for ages because, I mean, look at the title. I thought it would break my heart. It did. This is a world much like ours, except the DeathCast service means everyone knows if they are going to die today. The intersecting narrative structure is done very well.

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (bi rep)

Two young spacefarers from feuding nations back on Earth are tasked with a rescue mission. I recommend this one for fans of Project Hail Mary. Do yourself a favor and go in unspoiled. It'll be fun.

What Moves the Dead by @tkingfisher (nonbinary rep)

Content warnings for animal death and some gore. A retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. It's creepy and atmospheric and an altogether enjoyable read.

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell (bi, gay rep)

The Iskat Empire is on the brink of disaster and hastily marries one of its minor princes to a count from a vassal planet - a count whose last husband suffered an extremely untimely death far too recently. This one's sci-fi with interesting world-building and two very likable leads.

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett (lesbian rep)

Oh, I'm sorry, did you think you were getting away without a fantasy entry on this year's list? Shorefall is book 2 in the Foundryside trilogy (start with Foundryside). Our main characters - a thief, a very upstanding captain of the guard, and some scientists - are fighting a capitalist meat-grinder fueled by a magic system that works a little like programming. It's high stakes with a lot of tension and great world-building.

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And that's the list! Happy Pride and happy reading!

Looking for more? Here's our LGBTQ Reads tag. Enjoy!

See more of Robin's recs

[waters-and-the-wilde]

god Everina Maxwell's books are like such a good time for Me Specifically i just got Ocean's Echo and I am once again having a blast at the Gay Nobility Intrigue In Space. put that feckless ADHD party-boy in a situation. fuck yeah he's disappointing his strict relatives we got Oscar Wilde and PG Wodehouse nodding sagely over my shoulder. give him a stalwart autistic boyfriend who looks like a stickler for the rules who is supposed to Manage him but is actually good at Loophole. I am Always A Slut for sci-fi telepathy bullshit. tell me more about corruption in the Space Military

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Queer Book Character Tournament 2025 Round 1

Merlin Saint-Jacques- The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

Jainan nav Adessari- Winter's Orbit

Tam Becket- Yield Under Great Persuasion

Gideon Drake- Atlas Six

Voting ended onMay 6, 2025

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Merlin Saint-Jacques- The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Jainan nav Adessari- Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Tam Becket- Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland

Gideon Drake- Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

[virgil-upinthestars]

reading winter's orbit by everina maxwell, this is my favorite moment so far

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2025: September Wrap-Up.

Hello world, I read twelve (12) books in this, my NaNo Prep Reading Month!! And there was much rejoicing :) I also hosted a housewarming party, which means I also did a lot of last minute tiny house projects and SO MUCH CLEANING.

Most of these books I dissected for romance/horror genre reasons, or they were at least Adjacent Enough To Romance And Horror to count as Vibe Gathering Material. Exceptions were the poetry collection and DCC (derogatory).

Photos with reviews linked:

BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL ★★★★ Did I save this for the fall because Spooky Season and also toxic power dynamics in romantic relationships? MAYBE SO. More like ADDIE LARUE than SHADES; same POV/timeline mastery going on as with VICIOUS. Not an especially original take on vampires, but they are lesbians, Harold. Good, but slow.

STARTLEMENT ★★★★★ I won a Goodreads giveaway! Very hyped to finally read some Ada Limon. I cut BONES and GRACE and REFUSING with a few poems at a time. Super approachable collection, still punched me directly in the feelings a bunch of times. I flagged so many lines.

PALADIN'S GRACE ★★★★ Delightful! Funny! Just enough fucked up and weird to keep me going! This was where my Romance Genre Quest started, and I had a great time.

REFUSING COMPULSORY SEXUALITY ★★★★ I called this NaNo prep even though it's got an ace focus, not an aro one. An important perspective with a lot of interesting points, highly recommend.

THE TWISTED ONES ★★★ Not as good as HOLLOW PLACES, but Kingfisher's protags always suck me in and keep me reading. This one was for the Horror Beats, which I don't think Kingfisher hit as cleanly as she did the Romance Beats (a neat author analysis to do, though).

WHITE LINE FEVER ★★★½ Haunted road trip through trauma hell! Deeply fucked up, very legible deployment of the horror beats. I'll continue keeping an eye out for more of Jones' work, I like this guy.

SHARK HEART ★★★ Weird little book that I didn't realize was Booktok :( It reads like Booktok :( could've been weirder and had more substance, but it went REALLY quick with the use of massive white space. Newlywed husband has Turns Into A Literal Shark Disease; newlywed wife copes.

WINTER'S ORBIT ★★★★ Cute! Fluffy!! My kind of fucked up power dynamics! Love both leads, love the supporting characters, had a lot of fun with this one.

A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON ★★★ More romance fodder! Helpful for the beats, but didn't need to be quite so long.

ICARUS ★★★★ Icarus retelling but make it contemporary and art theft and queer. Surreal and dreamy. I'm very fond of Ancrum's style but it's not for everyone.

HOW TO DANCE ★★★ Saw the author on a panel last year, and he was a delight! The book was helpful for mapping romance plot beats, but I'm 1.) super aro and 2.) not sure how it holds up compared to the General Contemporary Romance Genre. MMC is a singer and a math teacher who has cerebral palsy; FMC is a dancer and works at a bar.

DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL ★½ Read as part of a negotiation with a coworker (I wanted her to read Murderbot)(she won, in this scenario). I wrote a *checks notes* 2k review for this. Mostly garbage, gets an extra half a star for having Great Fucked Up Potential. Goddamnit, Carl.

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. (Example: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½, which is really only applicable for me at ★★★ and up). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[marsskaterboii]

Things Jainan said, thought or did which made me physically ill:

- not noticing the constant nausea had passed until it came back

- scrutinising Kiem for his emotional cues and worrying that he couldn't tell when Kiem's annoyed or frustrated - even though Kiem never feels those things

- related to above; waiting for Kiem to blow up because Taam would have in the same situation

- realising that he was not able to think at all for the past few years (which he spends with Taam)

- asking Kiem's permission to speak with his sister

- glorying in the feeling of space when he sits in his and Kiem's shared living room with his clan's flag on the wall and documents out

- cutting Kiem off when he criticises Taam but apologising about everything he perceived as a mistake about himself

- not working in his field of research anymore and repeating that he isnt an expert anymore and doesnt know enough even though he is still incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about it

- not knowing what he likes in bed because he was never asked and it was never about him (even though Taam apparently only occassionally enjoying the sex)

- shocked not about Taam hitting him, but about hitting him in public

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

October 04, 2025 - Faceless