Thistle & Nightshade

A bookstore for weirdos and others Find Us Places

[thistle-nightshade]

"...to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted. In courtyard tales, women are the adulterous wives whose treachery begins a husband's descent into murderous madness or the long-suffering mothers who give birth to proper heroes. Biographers polish away the jagged edges of capable, ruthless queens so they may be remembered as saints, and geographers warn believing men away from such and such a place with scandalous tales of lewd local females who cavort in the sea and ravish foreign interlopers. Women are the forgotten spouses and unnamed daughers. Wet nurses and handmaidens; thieves and harlots. Witches. A titilating anexdote to tell your friends back home or a warning." The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

[thistle-nightshade]

"To be a woman is to watch yourself not just through your own eyes, but the eyes of others."

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

[thistle-nightshade]

Book Spotlight: Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo For fans of The Night Circus, this sweeping historical fantasy set in a lush, Puerto Rico-inspired world, uses magical realism to combine Caribbean carnaval culture and the mythology of the Taíno--the Indigenous people of the region--in a gripping exploration of community, reclamation, and healing in defiance of a violent past. When night descends, el Carnaval de Bestias rises. #bookspotlight #newreleases #beastsofcarnaval #rosaliarodrigo

[thistle-nightshade]

[beccaintheclouds]

The problem with working in a bookstore is that I'm an addict (a reader) surrounded by drugs (books) and unable to consume (read) them.

[thedaddycomplex]

B&N Employee: If you like Cults Like Us, you should check out Cultish.

Me: Oh, cool. Thanks for the rec.

B&N Employee: Understanding cults is a really popular topic right now.

Me: In this political climate? I can’t imagine why.

Both: *LOLOLOLOLOLO… sigh*

[thistle-nightshade]

[sararaasch]

had a headcanon (is it a headcanon if it’s my actual book) that i think you’d appreciate tumblr:

hex’s lil brothers (who are nine remember) have grown up mostly in america, so they’re mighty familiar with american holiday spins. in particular, the newer trend of doing leprechaun traps.

so when the gang all gets together in halloween (i have plans, dear publishing gods, let me execute these plans!!), the triplets would be absolutely committed to concocting a leprechaun trap. for loch.

and loch would get like weirdly into it, giving them tips every time their previous ones fail, until they ultimately get him and he’s just so proud

meanwhile coal can’t get the triplets to stop hating him for “stealing” their brother and he tries to be cool but just falls flat over and over and why? won’t the kids?? like him??? but they like LOCHLANN PATRICK???

anyway this is my tuesday brain dump

[voodooya]

Ah yes, the soothing sounds of my heart being ripped out with brutal efficiency

[rainbowcrate]

🌈 What's COMING OUT (pun intended) this April? Which books are you excited for? Which books are you adding to your TBR? Any other queer releases you know of?

Check out our fully linked version on our website! We will also update these posts if we find more releases for April!

🌈 What's COMING OUT (pun intended) this April? Which books are you excited for? Which books are you adding to your TBR? Any other queer rele

Note: Some dates may have changed. We haven’t read all of these books, so please check reviews for more details on queer identities represented and The StoryGraph for content warnings!

ID: A post of fifteen slides. Background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow for each slide. Slide 1 has a white square which reads "167 queer books coming out this April!". The 167 is in matching horizontal rainbow stripes and April is in purple text. Text between the number and month are all caps black font. Slide 2-14 features a white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in white over a purple rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Slide 15 features the same setup with 11 book covers and 1 pale purple rectangle. End ID.

1

Holy Terrors (Little Thieves Book 3) by Margaret Owens

The Payack Girls by Alex Travis

Covenant Volume 3 by Lysandra Vuong

The Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2025 edited by Beau Adler

Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging by Rachel Phan

The Ephemera Collector by Stacy Nathaniel Jackson

A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan Book 2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Reluctant Witch (A Course in Magic Book 2) by Melissa Marr

Run Away with Me by Brian Selznick

Sweet Obsession (Dark Olympus Book 8) by Katee Robert

Where Shadows Meet (Where Shadows Meet Book 1) by Patrice Caldwell

A/S/L by Jeanne Thornton

Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov

Worthy of the Event: An Essay by Vivian Blaxell

Realistic Fiction by Anton Solomonik

Super Gay Poems: LGBTQIA+ Poetry after Stonewall by Stephanie Burt

Renegade Girls by Nora Neus, Illustrated by Julie Robine

Freakslaw by Jane Flett

Messy Perfect by Tanya Boteju

Unsex Me Here by Aurora Mattia

Glitter in the Dark by Olesya Lyuzna

The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff

Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore

Blackblood by Kree Sullivan

King’s Legacy (Tennessee Russo Book 2) by L.C. Rosen

Hiraeth (The Tempest Series Book 5) by T.D. Cloud & Ambi Sun (illustrator)

Pink Zombie Rose: Major Arcana, Volume 1 by Dia VanGunten, Beppi

The Break of Dawn by Eule Grey

The Essence of the Eye (Terat Series Book 2) by Jemma Topaz

Just a Peck by Chelsea Jean

My Lady Hiraya by Steven Sy

Air & Essence (Fate of the Acna Book 2) by Mikayla Hornedo

Waters of Destruction (An Orchid Isle Mystery Book 2) by Leslie Karst

2

You are Not Your Bones & Lesser Misfortunes by Alice Scott

3

Blood Cypress (Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena Book 7) by Elizabeth Broadbent

4

Only Hope by Ruby Landers

The Villain's Beast by Kate Hawthorne

Call Forth the Moonlight: A Magíqon's Guide to Gryphon Liberation by Z.M. Celestaire

Into the Fiery Woods by Riley Taylor

5

Black Smoke Rising by Caroline Cuell

6

Storm & Sea (Storm & Sea Saga Book 1) by Tereza Kane

8

Roll for Love by M.K. England

Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On by Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Youngs

Don’t Sleep With the Dead by Nghi Vo

Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom

Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

Ollie In Between by Jess Callans

Authority: Essays by Andrea Long Chu

She Was Monstress: An Anthology of Monster Women curated by Robin Jo Margaret

Nightingale (Birds and Butterflies Book 3) by Frances M. Thompson

Below the Hunter Moon (Silver Rapids Book 2) by A. Knightley

Rabbis of the Garden State by Daniel Meltz

A Vow of Wrath & Ruin by K.W. Foster

Tonight, I Bleed (The Witches of Halstett Book 2) by Katharine J. Adam

i cut my tongue on a broken country by Kyo Lee

I Love you S’more by Auriane Desombre

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory

Lies of a Toymaker by Kelly Ann Jacobson

Legacy of the Gods (The Black Rose/White Orchid Trilogy Book 2) by Eleanor Rose, Chase St. Clare and August Oliver

Holy Wrath by Victoria Mier

Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho

9

Motes of Inspiration (Chronicles of Nerezia Book 5) by Claudie Arseneault

10

A Line You Have Traced by Roisin Dunnett

11

Vincent & Sivan (Rum-Soaked Awakenings Book 1) by Cali Kitsu

Kylan (The Wydle Street Boys Book 3) by N.R. Walker

The Revenge Game (The Revenge Club Book 1) by Jax Calder

15

A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters by Rita A. Rubin

Chaos King (Infinity Alchemist Book 2) by Kacen Callender

Firecamp by Jaycie Morrison

a body more tolerable by jaye simpson

Pride or Die by CL Montblanc

Notes From a Regicide by Isaac Fellman

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn by Renee Swindle

You Belong to Me by Hayley Krischer

Family Week by Sarah Moon

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore

That’s What She Said by Eleanor Pilcher

The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu

Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa

No One Taught Me How to Be a Man: What a Trans Man's Experience Reveals about Masculinity by Shannon T. L. Kearns

The Gentleman & His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide

Hey, Mary! By Andrew Wheeler & Rye Hickman

I Hated You in High School by Kathleen Gros

When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris

Love at First Spin by Lauren R. Stephens

Fixed Up by Aurora Rey

Crossing Arizona by Bree Wiley

Every Reason to Stay (Bears of Firefly Valley Book 3) by Ryder O’Malley

French 75 (Miami Nights & Club Lights Book 3) by Addison Beck

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic (Adenashire Book 1) by J. Penner

The Forgotten Summer of Seneca by Camryn Garrett

Coming Up Clutch by Anna Gram

Stranded by Ronica Black

Whisk Me Away by Georgia Beers

Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt

16

Girl Crush by C.H. Williams

17

Some Body like Me by Lucy Lapinska

Acts of Cupidity (Afterlife Agency Book 1) by E.S. Drake

18

Survival and Other Surprises by Casper E. Falls

Lone Yellow Flower by Erika Gill

19

Defective by Ivy Lovell

20

Venom Bound (Blood Tethered Book 2) by I.S. Belle

21

Jeevansaathi (Janam Janam Ka Saath Book 2) by Talia Bhatt

Steamy On Set by D.S. Walls

Hands On: Stories of Sexuality Work, Intimacy, and Healing edited by Remi Newman

Notes From A Queer Cripple: How to Cultivate Queer Disabled Joy (and Be Hot While Doing It!) by Andrew Gurza

22

If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N Jamal

Eat the Ones you Love by Sarah Maria Griffin

Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey

Tales from Beyond the Rainbow: Ten LGBTQ+ Fairy Tales Proudly Reclaimed by Pete Jordi Wood

The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

Toxic Summer by Derek Charm

The Fantasies of Future Things by Doug Jones

When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

Saint Death’s Herald (Saint Death Book 2) by C.S.E. Cooney

Advocate (The Warden Book 3) by Daniel M. Ford

Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug

Everything Is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe

My Dad Is the Best by Fran Pintadera

KinnPorsche Vol. 3 by Daemi & Avaritia (illustrator)

The Pool of Aeslin (Erwain Trilogy Book 2) by Mariah Stillbrook

Errant Wings by S. Jean

An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys by Rob Costello

Love in Magnolia by Nicole Spencer-Skillen

Genocide Bad: Notes on Palestine, Jewish History, and Collective Liberation by Sim Kern

Mothers of Fate by Lynne Hugo

That Broke into Shining Crystals by Richard Scott

Let’s Talk About Abortion by Carly Kol & Illustrated by Emulsify Art

Iron Tongue of Midnight (Forge & Fracture Saga Book 3) by Brittany N. Williams

Every Sweet Thing is Bitter by Samantha Crewson

Bone Dresser by Nico Vincenty

Shape Families by Lynn Parrish Sutton, illustrated by Jake Tebbit

Separate Rooms by Pier Vittorio Tondelli, Simon Pleasance (Translator)

The Lost Selkie by Eule Grey

24

I Remember Lights by Ben Ladouceur

Cocky Bastard by Charlie Novak

The Floral Arrangement by Elizabeth Luly

A Single Dad to Heal Him by Traci Douglass

The Stand-In Dad by Alex Summers

The Prodigal Son (The Goode Brothers Book 4) by Sara Cate

25

Romanced and Ridden (Consorting with Monsters Book 1 ) by Rowan Merrick

A Body Not Her Own by Eileen Farren

28

Gross Misconduct by AJ Truman

29

One Love by Matt Cain

A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki

Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens

All Fired Up by M.K. England

Sleeping Children by Anthony Passeron, Frank Wynne (translator)

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner

Once Upon You and Me: A Spicy Gay Age-Gap Romance by Timothy Janovsky

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod

Right Beside You by Tucker Shaw

Beetle & the Chimera Carnival (Beetle & the Hollowbones Book 2) by Aliza Layne

Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love by Jessica Lewis

How to Have a Killer Time in D.C. (Oliver Popp's Travel Guides to Murder Book 1) by Sam Lumley

Unstoppable You (Sapph in the City: Book Six) by Chelsea M. Cameron

The Case of the Tortured Souls by Travis E Holley

Manzakar (The Slave-Soldier Series Book 1) by R. Laham

Awakened by A.E. Osworth

The Lilac People by Milo Todd

Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee

30

Shattered Star (Mechanized Hearts Book 2) by Fae Rynn

Just A Little Fling (Just A Little Book 3) by Kerry Kilpatrick

Kill Your Darlings (Hunters of Ironport Book 3) by Lou Wilham

Siren Protection Factor (Wet Hot Monster Summer Book 5) by Latrexa Nova

[thistle-nightshade]

[thistle-nightshade]

We're giving Microcosm publishing a try and so far we're in love! Look at these titles!

[thistle-nightshade]

The Reno tag was looking a little sad, so here's a little color from you friendly queer bookseller in northwest reno

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

I found 3 bundles on itch.io currently on sale featuring trans characters in at least some of the books:

Monsters, Mecha, and Greek Myth: 10 books, $15, cyberpunk, sci-fi, horror, centered around the Gunmetal Olympus Series, with the main book The Hades Calculus by Maria Ying, mostly trans women afaik (+ lesbian characters)

Ela Bambust Science Fiction Bundle: 7 books, 10$, sci-fi, many trans women (+ lesbian characters)

Claudie's Aro Week 2025: 6 books, $15, sale for Aro Week, fantasy + solarpunk, works by Claudie Arseneault, Baker Thief has a genderqueer character, Awakenings has a nonbinary character (+ obviously aromantic and aroace characters!)

Enjoy :)

[thistle-nightshade]

Anyone else catch Rep Pressley's speech?

Anyway... Here's a book list.

Flamboyants:The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known by George M Johnson

The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

March by John Lewis

An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

Black AF History by Michael Harriot

[thistle-nightshade]

Sara Raasch Strikes Again

Go Luck Yourself: Royals and Romance 2 by Sara Raasch

Coming March 2025!

I love an excellent sequel! If you loved the prince of Halloween, just wait till you meet the prince of St Patrick's Day.

I’m loving the Royals and Romance universe. I had a blast with The Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween in Nightmare before Kissmas, and I enjoyed watching the younger Klaus fall for the Prince of St Patrick’s Day in Go Luck Yourself just as much! They are the perfect blend of earnest and silly and an amazing way to get lost for an afternoon in a great book.

I made the mistake (again) of listening to this at work… and the amount of times I had to duck down and hide my face because I was laughing or smiling at the characters antics! The banter between characters and internal dialogue of Kris Klaus is top tier. I also think I might die from the way Raasch writes about love. Me trying and failing to keep my face neutral as I listened to Kris waxing poetic about his feelings— what a show my coworkers must have had a front row seat to. Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick is a fabulous narrator, bringing all this to life in the most brilliant way.

This book really poses the question: what happens when you take the younger child with abandonment issues and pit him against the oldest child with a savior complex? It turns out these ‘enemies’ aren’t so much enemies as madeningly in love with each other, that’s what. Two people who are deeply passionate about their respective art forms (writing and painting) and their holidays (christmas and st. patrick’s) also turn that passion towards each other.

This has got the same reverence for love, the same heart-wrenching self realizations as Nightmare Before Kissmass, and a little bit of overcoming generational trauma alongside amazing siblings and friends. The plot points for St Patrick's well done, different enough from the Christmas kingdom to be interesting but no less fraught. There are definitely a lot of parallels between the two romance plots, but this is from Kris's point of view which i think is closer to Hex's arc. I liked seeing that kind of perspective and seeing how it brought Hex and Kris closer. I also enjoy the Patrick siblings a lot, more characters to love and be excited about!

If you enjoyed book one, you are sure to love the sequel too. And if you haven’t checked these out, I highly recommend these silly and heartfelt romances. These chaos bisexual Klaus brothers are going to kill me for sure.

An ALC was provided by Libro.fm for this title.

[sararaasch]

“what happens when you take the younger child with abandonment issues and pit him against the oldest child with a savior complex?”

omg the most perfect encapsulation of this book AH

[thistle-nightshade]

Sara Raasch Strikes Again

Go Luck Yourself: Royals and Romance 2 by Sara Raasch

Coming March 2025!

I love an excellent sequel! If you loved the prince of Halloween, just wait till you meet the prince of St Patrick's Day.

I’m loving the Royals and Romance universe. I had a blast with The Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween in Nightmare before Kissmas, and I enjoyed watching the younger Klaus fall for the Prince of St Patrick’s Day in Go Luck Yourself just as much! They are the perfect blend of earnest and silly and an amazing way to get lost for an afternoon in a great book.

I made the mistake (again) of listening to this at work… and the amount of times I had to duck down and hide my face because I was laughing or smiling at the characters antics! The banter between characters and internal dialogue of Kris Klaus is top tier. I also think I might die from the way Raasch writes about love. Me trying and failing to keep my face neutral as I listened to Kris waxing poetic about his feelings— what a show my coworkers must have had a front row seat to. Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick is a fabulous narrator, bringing all this to life in the most brilliant way.

This book really poses the question: what happens when you take the younger child with abandonment issues and pit him against the oldest child with a savior complex? It turns out these ‘enemies’ aren’t so much enemies as madeningly in love with each other, that’s what. Two people who are deeply passionate about their respective art forms (writing and painting) and their holidays (christmas and st. patrick’s) also turn that passion towards each other.

This has got the same reverence for love, the same heart-wrenching self realizations as Nightmare Before Kissmass, and a little bit of overcoming generational trauma alongside amazing siblings and friends. The plot points for St Patrick's well done, different enough from the Christmas kingdom to be interesting but no less fraught. There are definitely a lot of parallels between the two romance plots, but this is from Kris's point of view which i think is closer to Hex's arc. I liked seeing that kind of perspective and seeing how it brought Hex and Kris closer. I also enjoy the Patrick siblings a lot, more characters to love and be excited about!

If you enjoyed book one, you are sure to love the sequel too. And if you haven’t checked these out, I highly recommend these silly and heartfelt romances. These chaos bisexual Klaus brothers are going to kill me for sure.

An ALC was provided by Libro.fm for this title.

[mactiir]

obsessed with mass market paperbacks. their pleasing rectangular proportions. how they fit badly in a hoodie pocket so you can drag them around everywhere with you like a temporary little buddy. the way they fit in your hand because they're MADE for human hands and not as bookshelf decoration. the way the pages feel when you riffle them gently with your thumb. How pristine and crisp they look when you get them and how creased and folded they look when you're done, even if you try to be nice to them. how that wear is okay, how that's correct actually, because they're made with the philosophy that books aren't meant to be PRETTY, they're meant to be read. that little ripple new ones get on the left side from where you hold them when you're reading, the way the ripple only goes as far as you've read, because u change stories by reading as they are changing you. how you can find thousands of these creased and folded and loved little dudes in every thrift store and used book shop and neighborhood library and you can instantly see the ones that someone carried around in a backpack for weeks or read to pieces or gave up on halfway through because they wear being read like fresh snow wears footprints. I love these poorly made, subpar little rectangles so much. truly the people's books.

[elistories21]

"they wear being read like fresh snow wears footprints" is the most poetic way to talk about a book someone's enjoyed I've ever seen