My name is Ty. I'm here to read queer books (and write them, too). Give me all of the queer books!
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I read and write queer speculative fiction, with a shot of contemporary queer womxn's romance (mostly lesbians). I love alternate history, steampunk, adventure, fantasy, and anything that falls under the genre LGBTQ/Queer fiction. I also love history in general; Queer history is my favorite, but I'll take anything! Butch lesbian protagonists are the bees knees.
Keeping this blog sort of for myself, sort of for others. Either way, Enoby and I will be reading and reviewing books when we have the time to do so! :)
Could you recommend any erotic sapphic novels, like, for someone who has never read erotica but wants to start?
FSure! Girl Talk by Cassidy Storm is a fun toe in because it’s just dirty talk and then sex at the very end, or if you want to start in shorter form, I like Cheyenne King’s novellas. If you like a paranormal bent at all, Rebekah Weatherspoon’s lesbian vampire sorority series, starting with Better Off Red, is really fun. If you’re into certain kinds of kink, you can try her At Her Feet, or Cat Montmorency’s Fleur de Nuit. I also hear realllly good things about Meghan O’Brien, though I haven’t read her work yet.
In truth, these are really more erotic romance than straight-up erotica, which I haven’t read in a long time and wouldn’t know how to find in solid quality, so maybe someone else can better rec that?
A brief list of FREE short SFF fiction online with queer Jewish themes
Riley Marigold and the Winged Lizards of Tel Aviv by Kayla Bashe @kayla-bird - f/f YA about kids trying to save genetically engineered lizard-dragons an animal shelter says it can’t afford to keep any longer
Seven Commentaries on an Imperfect Land by Ruthanna Emrys - positions the Jewish diaspora as a portal fantasy. Includes f/f and solidarity with Muslims.
Three Partitions by Bogi Takács - nonbinary sci-fi set in an Orthodox space colony, by a nonbinary author
Further Arguments in Support of Yudah Cohen’s Proposal to Bluma Zilberman by Rebecca Fraimow - trans m/cis f paranormal romance/humor with a shetl setting
This one is not LGBTQ+ but it’s free Jewish SFF and I wanted to include it
The Dybbuk in Love by Sonya Taaffe - a darkly romantic m/f ghost story.
All of the links except the first one go to my reviews, which have links to the stories themselves on them. The first one links directly to the story itself.
Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb - Urban fantasy story with multiple queer and trans characters and a queer, trans, Jewish protagonist. Trigger warning for suicidal ideation.
I have a feeling Tumblr broke their own code somehow. Here are working links.
Riley Marigold: http://www.solarpunkpress.com/stories/2015-10-5/001-riley-marigold-and-the-winged-lizards-of-tel-aviv-by-kayla-bashe
Seven Commentaries: https://www.tor.com/2014/08/20/seven-commentaries-on-an-imperfect-land-ruthanna-emrys/
Three Partitions: http://giganotosaurus.org/2014/04/01/three-partitions/
Further Arguments etc.: http://www.diabolicalplots.com/fiction-15/
The Dybbuk in Love: https://www.tor.com/2010/12/10/excerpt-the-dybbuk-in-love-from-people-of-the-book/
Hopefully that’ll last until the next time they botch the code. Thanks for letting me know.
why are wlw books so angsty and deep all the time like where is my casual wlw romcom or my fantasy lesbians, space bis and trans princesses like not every wlw has some lost love in some town in the middle of nowhere
I live for posts like this, because there are soooo many good f/f books out there that don’t get the attention they deserve because of the way wlw are marginalized. So!
Here are some recs for casual/feel-good f/f representation! All links are to my reviews.
Good Enough to Eat - super cute lesbian vampire rom-com
Promises, Promises - parody of LotR/D&D starring three lesbians on a quest for magical stuff
Everything Leads to You - Hollywood f/f YA about a young set designer who falls for a girl she meets under mysterious circumstances
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - ensemble-cast “crew of a spaceship” story. Mostly just random adventures, includes a f/f couple who survive the book.
Roller Girl - contemporary f/f romance about trans woman who joins a roller derby team
Not fluffy, but the angst is SFF-stress rather than “living under homophobia/biphobia” stress:
Ascension - queer disabled ladies fighting Big Pharma in space–you wanted space bi’s, come get your space bi’s (actually, if you want more space bi’s also check out the anthology Fierce Family.)
Chameleon Moon - review is of an earlier edition and I hear the new one has even more great representation. Trans woman superhero with two female partners living in a dystopian city that’s on lockdown from the government after everyone develops mutant powers in response to a wonderdrug.
Not Your Sidekick - in the future, what happens when your parents are superheroes but you never developed powers? You intern for the baddie, of course! MC is bi and ends up in a f/f relationship, and the sequel will star her trans bestie.
Hope this helps. Feel free to browse my “lesbian books” tag for more recs (there are bi/pan girls in some of those recs, too.)
All I Want For Christmas by Clare Lydon - Fluffy wlw romantic comedy (I know it’s not really in season at the moment but it’s so cute)
Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie - What it says on the tin. Elizabeth Bennett is a lesbian and the haughty Caroline Bingley is the last woman she could ever be prevailed upon to love.
Escape from B-Movie Hell by M.T. McGuire - Silly British sci-fi with a lesbian protagonist
Heart Trouble by Jae - A doctor gets shocked by a defibrillator while saving a woman’s life in the ER. Now they have a soul bond!
Finding Ms Write by Jae & Jove Belle - Collection of short stories about women who love women and also love books.
The Wind City by Summer Wigmore - Urban fantasy drawing on Maori mythology. Protagonist describes herself as “at least 60% gay” and falls in love with a monster girl.
Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon - Bi princess and lesbian bodyguard fall in love.
The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend by Mabel Maney - Parody detective story about a gang of five lesbians who solve crimes.
A Woman Scorned by Rachel Frank about an assassin who falls in love with a noblewoman (lesbian)
Beauty & Cruelty by Meredith Katz about the evil with falling in love with sleeping beauty (lesbian)
High & Mighty by S.S. Skye - a princess stuck in a tower who is decidely Not Amused about it (lesbian)
Humanity for Beginners by Faith Mudge - Two friends and a halfway house for lesbian werewolves (lesbian)
Hunting a Lady by Cari Z. and Caitlin Ricci - a woman who needs money goes to rescue a kidnapped lady for the reward (lesbian)
Lies & Reverie by Camilla Quinn - A shopkeeper’s daughter who loves to day dream, and the beautiful woman who runs the town (lesbian)
Love Rampage by Alex Powell - a girl in love with her best friend, and the unicorn who helps her (lesbian, trans)
Modern Serpents Talk Things Through by Jamie Brindle - a modern dragon who falls in love with the human who invades her cave (lesbian)
Prom and Other Hazards by Jamie Sullivan - super cute story about a girl, her best friend, and the prom (lesbian, bisexual)
Slaying Dragons by Sasha L. Miller - a frustrated mage, some dragons, and the lovely new partner she’s stuck with (lesbian)
The Broken Forest by Megan Derr - a Huntress, and the beautiful witch she meets dealing with a troublesome forest (lesbian, bisexual, trans)
The Mercenary by Annabelle Kitch - a peasant girl, the princess she loves, a quest to win her princess’s hand in marriage (lesbian)
The Persephone Star by Jamie Sullivan- a proper lady working in the post office, a notorious criminal set on revenge, and a bit of kidnapping (lesbian)
The Secret of Mermaid Cove by Megan Derr - an improper lady, an unwanted engagement, and an island full of secrets
Witch, Cat, and Cobb by J.K. Pendragon - a princess fleeing an arranged marriage, a witch, and a cat (lesbian, trans)
Zombies in the East End by Roxanne Dent - steampunk, zombies, and two tough ladies
California Skies by Kalya Bashe - bandits in the wild west, a hunt for jewels, stubborn people (bisexual, genderqueer)
Green Toes by Avery Flanders - gardens, a hint of magic shoes, and people falling in love (bisexual, genderqueer)
Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudin. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it’s fantasy. Basically one of the most epic quests to save a lover I’ve read, more enjoyable because it’s based on music and the magic thereof. It’s not in print, so it can be a little hard to get a hold of, but worth it.
Now on NetGalley: NOT YOUR BACKUP (Sidekick Squad #3) by C.B. Lee
The wait is over! For a limited time, the third installment of @authorcblee‘s Sidekick Squad, NOT YOUR BACKUP, is available to request on NetGalley!
As the Sidekick Squad series continues, Emma Robledo and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes’ League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, and she isn’t always taken seriously. But she is determined to win this battle and realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.
To increase your chances of receiving an advance copy of NOT YOUR BACKUP, be sure to read our approval preferences. You can find us on NetGalley at https://www.netgalley.com/pub/interludepress.
by Kaitlin Mitchell Happy Black History Month, readers! When I wrote our February book list in 2018, it was disheartening to see how few recent LGBTQIAP+ YA books by Black authors there were. Writi…
@cataxa’s art of Cinnamon Blade and Soledad Castillo from my new super hero/damsel-in-distress f/f romance Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor. This book has a cute dog, a tight-knit super hero found-family who all survive the book, and enough lady love scenes to stop traffic. Also, it’s only $1.99 🌸🐾
This art is from the part of the book where they’re just about to have their first kiss after flirting thru rescue after rescue.
“Should I buy these earrings or the other ones?”
It’s extra convenient to go shopping with your best friend when she’s also your bodyguard!
Queen Shulamit and Captain Riv (Rivka) from The Second Mango, Climbing the Date Palm, A Harvest of Ripe Figs, The Olive Conspiracy, and the short stories, fairy tales with a heavy focus on queer ‘found family’ and relationships of all types between women, both romantic and platonic. Above artwork by angelwhoisinlovewithyou on commission.
Omg, this is so cute??
I love Rivka’s snarks about how she doesn’t care about clothes/jewelry, but this really highlights that she doesn’t disrespect the women in her life who do.
Lovely!
what are your favorite f/f books with a happy ending? :) like, your top 10 ever! :)
Hmmm, with the caveat that I am extremely behind on adult books, and in no particular order:
Castling Lacey by Elle Spencer
Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon
How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
Pulp by Robin Talley
Girl Talk by Cassidy Storm
Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman
Take Me Home by Lorelie Brown
Roller Girl by Vanessa North
Dating Sarah Cooper by Siera Maley
There are two more I won’t mention because it’s a total spoiler to tell you the girl ends up with the girl, and obviously I’m biased, but Under the Lights and Out on Good Behavior would be up there for me too ;)
Holy cats, Batman! I read 15+ books in 2018!!!! And that’s not to count the non-fiction books I read. Here qre my fiction books :)
Fiction:
Blue Ice Landing by KA Moll
Competence by Gail Carriger
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
How to Marry A Werewolf (In Ten Easy Steps) by Gail Carriger
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
The Pirate's Booty (The Plundered Chronicles #1) by Alex Westmore
Shiver Her Timbers (The Plundered Chronicles #2) by Alex Westmore
Fire in the Hole (The Plundered Chronicles #3) by Alex Westmore
Haunting Love by K.A. Moll
The Quokka Question (Kylie Kendall Mysteries #3) by Claire McNab
Shoulders: A Novel by Georgia Cotrell
The Omega Objection by Gail Carriger
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1) by Becky Albertalli
Leah on the Offbeat (Creekwood, #2) by Becky Albertalli
Dagger: On Butch Women by Lily Burana
I think I actually read more than this, but this is all I can remember/all I wrote down and reviewed on Goodreads.
It was a fun year. For only wanting to have read 5 books in 2018, I blew that out of the water! And the above list is only my fiction list. I read a bunch of non-fiction too, which I’m going to put under a cut.
What will 2019 bring? Who knows, but I hope it’s queer ;)
~Ty
And now, all of my 2018 non-fiction book reads are under a cut, with their proper Chicago citations, because I’m a nerd.
Anheier, Helmut K, and Yudhishthir Raj Isar. Heritage, Memory & Identity. The Cultures and Globalization Series, 4. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2011.
Carnes, Michelle. 2009. Do it for your sistas: black same-sex-desiring women’s erotic performance parties in Washington D.C. American University, UMI Microform
Castle, Terry. 1993. The Apparitional Lesbian : Female Homosexuality and Modern Culture. Gender and Culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ingram, Gordon Brent, Anne-Marie Bouthillette, and Yolanda Retter. Queers in Space : Communities, Public Places, Sites of Resistance. Seattle, Wash.: Bay Press, 1997.
Lowenthal, David. Possessed by the Past: The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History. New York: The Free Press, 1996.
Morris, Bonnie J. 2016. The Disappearing L : Erasure of Lesbian Spaces and Culture. Suny Series in Queer Politics and Cultures. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place : The Great Good Place : Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community / Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. New York: Marlowe, 1999.
Rupp, Leila J. 2009. Sapphistries : A Global History of Love between Women. Intersections: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Genders and Sexualities. New York: New York University Press.
A werewolf walks into a bar and falls in love with a man who has no smell.
Isaac Mercer has three problems – a werewolf crush, an angry stalker, and a secret past.
Rating: 2.5/5
LGBTQA+? Queer as fuck.
Genre(s): urban fantasy, paranormal romance, gay male romance
Enoby Approved: Meh?
Read This Book If You Like: found family and queer characters in spaces, gay boy romance, bisexual lead character
Don’t Read This Book If You Can’t Handle: loose plot, BDSM, m/m sex, more characters than you can shake a stick at…
Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel with the condition that I review it should I feel so inclined. Thoughts and opinions are my own. I would have reviewed this novel regardless of when or how I got it.
My Pre-Review Warble:
I'm generally a big fan of Carriger works, but this series has been a miss for me. That being said, the modern voice and wit Carriger uses in the San Andreas Shifters series, and in this book especially, is amazing. Also queer characters for daaaaaays! However, at the end of the day, it didn't save the book for me.
More under the cut...
Let Me Be Real...
The Omega Objection needed/needs a SERIOUS developmental edit to par down extraneous characters/plot lines and develop Tank and Isaac’s characters and relationship. I kept reading until the end because I love the way Gail writes in her modern voice, and her wit had me rolling, but I was not invested in the relationship like I wanted to be.
I was invested in Isaac’s story line but not his romance with Tank. Neither Isaac nor Tank really developed much as characters by the end of the novel, and what development did occur felt rushed. The new characters that were introduced weren't fleshed out at all, which basically ruined them. All the old favorites got trotted out, but their appearances just ended up stealing the show and introducing secondary or tertiary plot lines that distracted me from the story at hand.
I feel bad tearing a Carriger book apart like this, but that’s where I’m at. I really, really wanted to like The Omega Objection; it had so much potential, and had all the right ingredients for me to love it, but in the end the mix didn't bake well and the cake was not for me. I honestly, really and truly, liked The Omega Objection better than I did The Sumage Solution, but I ended up rating it lower because of the weak characters and muddled plot.
The Good
Carriger wit in spades. I cannot tell you how many times I laughed out loud while I was reading this book. I sent more “omg!!!!!” screenshots to my girlfriend than with any other Carriger book.
The Plot to Romance ratio was good. Gail’s finally got it right! Isaac’s overarching narrative was great for cradling his romance with Tank.
The Gang’s All Here. Max, Mana, Gladdy, Chrys, the San Andreas pack, and Ms Trickle get trotted out for a spin on the pages…even Pepper, Ms Trickle’s chef wife, gets in on the action (sort of). Gladdy and Trickle get more screen time than most and are major plot points in the series. Yay!
The Meh
Was this book about Isaac and Tank, or was it really The Max Show Pt. 2? Max comes in to save the day again…and again…and again. We get it. He’s a Magistar. But this book is about Isaac and Tank.
Speaking of Magistars…I still don’t get the quintessence stuff. Savage mages? Splicers? Surgers? None of this makes sense. The ‘magic system’ has clearly been developed, but god knows I can’t understand it.
The Bad
Why are you here, _________? Don’t get me wrong I LOVE all of the characters in this series. Gladdy gives me joy every time she is ‘on screen,’ and Ms. Trickle is the butch kelpie of my dreams. But like….why were they in this book? I wanted to see Ms. Trickle (and her butch chef wife) more than anybody, but I don’t felt like her appearance, or Gladdy’s, or Colin’s, or Mana’s, or the random ass werecat that showed up for three pages, added anything to the story. Their parts could be removed and literally nothing would have changed.
“But Ms Trickle was a major part of the plot!” Was she, though? What did she do, exactly? If she had waded in at the end, that would have been one thing, but to build her up as a ‘major plot point’ when her major contribution to the text was some lesbian sass and her bit at the beginning felt cheap. Trickle’s contribution to the beginning could have been edited out and the plot wouldn’t have changed.
The SBI characters could have, and should have, been stronger. As they are, they feel sort of unnecessary. I liked Faste, cuz he was gruff and put werewolves in their place, but Lensi felt like she was just there to growl and swear. Like with Trickle, the way they were built up from the beginning, their contributions to the ending felt weak. At least they sort of do something at the end. (Also them hanging around at the end was weird since the pack didn’t seem to like them at all.)
The end of Isaac’s arc as an Omega felt weak to me. I can’t say much more without spoilers, but I will say Isaac’s Omega arc should have been two arcs; the fact it was rushed into one made the ending and his choice to join the San Andreas pack feel weak (which is probably what contributed to the SBI character contribution weirdness at the end).
The Cringe
Character development wasn’t really a thing. Isaac and Tank didn’t really develop as characters, despite having a whole ass novel to do so. At the end, Isaac is still broken and Tank still doesn’t have a feeling of self worth. And you know, that’s a real thing; change times time, especially because Isaac is clearly fucked up and has PTSD. But there wasn’t…anything about them that really changed over the course of the novel. There was a smidgen of character development at the end, but it felt half-assed and very sudden. I got more development out of Mana and Lovejoy than I did with Tank and Isaac, and it’s Tank and Isaac’s fucking book.
I wasn’t a big fan of how Tank and Isaac’s relationship started. I also didn’t really understand their relationship to begin with? They both thought each other was hot, and that was fine, but they went from ‘wow you’re hot I wanna fuck you’ to ‘we’re soulmates’ with very little in between. Do we share interests? Hobbies? Favorite foods? Humor? ….Something?
There was a lot of reliance on ‘wolf instinct’ but, as stated previously, human development was lacking. Isaac and Tank protecting each other at the end was sweet but…how did we get there? It just didn’t feel like a genuine, authentic, or relatable relationship, and it left me feeling underwhelmed.
There were too many subplots and strings. Gail stuffed so much into this book I thought it was going to explode. Lovejoy and Mana’s romance was talked about a lot, Gladdy and squad was mentioned a ton, Colin’s subarc was set up for Book 3, Isaac’s human friends were in and out, the SBI characters were there, the San Andreas pack was ever present, and all the monsters out of Isaac’s backstory either show up or make a mention.
Everything is muddled as a result of all of these little tiny things compounding into one giant confusion. This goes back to the “Why are you here, ______?” question. The characters bring with them subplots and strings that tangle up together and distract from the story; it is just too much.
TL;DR:
If I could rewrite a Gail Carriger book, this is the one I would rewrite. I’d cut down the plotlines/extraneous romances, give Ms. Trickle a waterhorse in the race (see what I did there?), and make the SBI characters three dimensional. I’d split Isaac’s character arc in two to give it more time to develop, strengthen his romance with Tank, and figure out how to give Tank a sense of self-worth by the end of the novel.
Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship only it turns out to be for the town s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious ’M,’ who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
A roundup of some wlw novellas I’ve read recently!
Soft on Soft by Em Ali // Contemporary, pan mc x demisexual love interest
Make up artist falls for a gorgeous model and they build a soft, loving relationship from the ground up to encompass both their needs. Just 100% comfort and mutual support. A little too saccharine for me but if you want sweet fluff that still deals with real mental health issues, this is for you!
Ripples of Smoke and Water by Lotus Oaks // Fantasy, identities not given
You know those fairytales where a princess has to complete three challenges to save her prince from an evil sorceress/troll/whatever? This is that except the princess isn’t in love with the prince and falls for the lake fairy who kidnapped him. Solid 4 stars, I’m a big fan.
The Lady and the Thief by Megan Derr // Historical fantasy, lesbian mc x bi? love interest
Years ago, Lisette posed as a maid in Adeline’s house and they carried on a secret romance – until Lisette stole her jewels and vanished. Now Lisette has reappeared in another disguise, and Adeline is determined to figure out who she really is, and what she’s up to. Spoiler alert: things are not as they seem and they are still into each other. A quick read in a fantasy world filled with LGBT characters!
A fake marriage between two best friends because they need money? SIGN ME UP.
I only read the first four chapters, so I don’t really know how the story will unfold, but I’m definitely buying the book. I can’t believe a book was written specially for me.
btw the book is called Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron.
A fake marriage between two best friends because they need money? SIGN ME UP.
I only read the first four chapters, so I don’t really know how the story will unfold, but I’m definitely buying the book. I can’t believe a book was written specially for me.
btw the book is called Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron.
It’s a little bit Empire Records, a little bit Josie and the Pussycats (the movie), with bonus vigilante, mystery-solving teen girl gang and a queer main character. This is set in the 90s, but other than working at a record store and making 90s music references, I didn’t notice that. It’s pretty idyllic: there’s no homophobia shown, and the multiple queer characters are not remarked on.
Heavy Vinyl, Volume 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva was reviewed @ The Lesbrary
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