Roar Cat Reads

Tag: Book Review

  • A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

    A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

    Genre | Fantasy Novella
    Page #s | 130
    Publishing Date | June 2022

    Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty, is over rescuing snoring princesses. Once you’ve rescued a dozen damsels and burned fifty spindles, once you’ve gotten drunk with twenty good fairies and made out with one too many members of the royal family, you start to wish some of these girls would just get a grip and try solving their own narrative issues.

    Just when Zinnia’s beginning to think she can’t handle one more princess, she glances into a mirror and sees another face looking back at her: the shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help. Because there’s more than one person trapped in a story they didn’t choose. Snow White’s Evil Queen has found out how her story ends, and she’s desperate for a better ending. She wants Zinnia to help her before it’s too late for everyone. Will Zinnia accept the Queen’s poisonous request and save them both from the hot-iron shoes that wait for them, or will she try another path?

    Goodreads

    A Mirror Mended is a great little novella that is bite-sized in amount but packed full of interesting world-building and relationships. Bringing multiverses to fairy tales, Zinnia can hop between Sleeping Beauty stories easily; it takes the intervention of Snow White’s wicked stepmother for her to make it into another fairy tale entirely. The two are forced to work together to survive, and in the best possible way, sparks fly!

    I love an enemies-to-lovers plot, and this one had an added feminism bonus. Why is the Evil Queen considered to be evil, and are the choices she made to survive understandable, if not forgivable? Adding some grey into the black and white perceptions of fairy tale characters really gave this story something to say.

    I am also a sucker for books that focus on relationships other than the romantic. While Zinnia and the Evil Queen are the stars of the show, it is Zinnia’s friendships that are the real heart even though they are barely on the page. I assume if I had read Harrow’s other novellas, I would have a fuller understanding of their history, but I didn’t feel I was missing out on anything. What I got was a very realistic but seldom-told story of a person who was running away from her friends because their relationship was changing and she didn’t know how to handle that. Avoiding the things we fear just making things worse? #relatable

    The novella plays with fairy tale characters, but it doesn’t have a fairy tale happily ever after. Zinnia is explicitly against this idea in the best way possible, and I found myself delighted by the ending, which felt more satisfying than I expected.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    A Mirror Mended is the perfect book for someone looking to upend classic stories with queerness, feminism, and a complicated ending.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

    The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

    Genre | Fantasy
    Page #s | 399
    Publishing Date | September 2015

    Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

    The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They’ll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She’ll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she’ll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

    In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery – and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

    But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

    Goodreads

    The Traitor Baru Cormorant is the first book in a trilogy that explores themes of colonialism, power, and whether you can change a corrupt system without also corrupting yourself. It’s a dark story without a happy ending, and I find myself very torn about reading the second two books because I’m not sure if Baru’s betrayals will “be worth it” in the end. But maybe that’s the point.

    This book is fast paced, covering the first two decades of Baru’s life from childhood to young adulthood. When her country is overtaken by the Empire, we get a succinct and heartbreaking depiction of colonization from the colonized’s point of view. Offering advancement and technology with one hand, the Empire offers restrictive moralism and brutal enforcement with the others. As a precocious child, Baru is taken to school to be indoctrinated; however, she holds on to her goal of gaining power within the Empire so that she can one day…liberate her homeland? Destroy the Empire? Her end goal is not entirely clear, and I hope this plot point tightens up in future novels.

    Baru is ruthless and intelligent, which, while hard to stomach sometimes, is also wonderful to see in a young female protagonist. She manages to gain enormous power and sway the fate of a nation as an accountant, which is a really fun twist on a classic story of revolution. Throughout the years that she spends in Aurdwynn, she becomes adept at telling herself that every decision she makes, every person she betrays, is necessary for her end goal. Whether or not you find the plot satisfying will heavily rely upon whether you think she’s right or not. I’m honestly so torn about this book; it was an incredibly engaging read with some thought-provoking themes, but that ending broke my heart!

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    Queerness is central to this book’s premise. Baru comes from a culture in which a traditional family system includes one mother and two fathers. Same-sex relationships are normalized until the Empire appears and declares it immoral. Baru’s own attraction to women must be kept secret as she works for the Empire, to varying success and varying consequences.

    There is an element here of queer rage fighting against the Empire that is not all that dissimilar from Black Sails, and honestly, that comparison suddenly makes me a LOT more interested in continuing this series.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    The Traitor Baru Cormorant is a dark fantasy novel about power and corruption that is perfect for anyone who wants a book that gives them all the feels PLUS a lot of things to think about.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Saga, Compendium One by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

    Saga, Compendium One by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

    Genre | Sci-Fi and Fantasy Graphic Novel
    Page #s | 1328
    Publishing Date | August 2019

    SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults. This specially priced volume collects the first arc of the smash hit series The Onion A.V. Club calls “the emotional epic Hollywood wishes it could make.”

    Goodreads

    I read through the first nine volumes of Saga a few years ago, then bought the compendium that includes everything up to the graphic novel’s hiatus in 2018 at ECCC this year. My partner read through it for the first time while we were on vacation, and watching her fall in love with Lying Cat made me read over her shoulder and then…read it all again on my own!

    Spanning years and introducing (and losing) a huge cast of characters, Vaughan and Staples have managed to create an utterly engaging and unique epic adventure with incredibly personal stakes. Saga is a story of family drama and the wars that intrude, whether galactic or personal. Sometimes we get a bounty hunter flying a spaceship away from a time-sucking galaxy baby, and sometimes we get a young family struggling to adjust to life after an unexpected miscarriage. This is a sci-fi and fantasy world that allows for, and honors, both.

    The central characters here are Alana and Marko, former soldiers on opposite sides of a never-ending war who fall in love and have an impossible inter-species baby. They have to go into hiding and raise their child with the help of an unlikely cast of characters, and let me tell you, many of them will break your heart!

    You’re never allowed to forget the stakes of what war entails, and although the book is fairly anti-war, it also engages with meaningful conversations about the impossibility of detaching fully from violence. Indeed, in one of the most emotional storylines of the early volumes, a bounty hunter kills sex traffickers in a way that I found most satisfying. Yet later this act of violence comes back to haunt him, because the cycle of violence, no matter how “necessary” or valorous, will always destroy.

    My favorite thing about this graphic novel is the sheer creativity of the space species we find. Lying Cat is an obvious favorite, and nothing will match my delight when the television-headed robot royals turned out to have a king with a giant screen tv for a face. The chaos and creativity somehow just WORK, and this is a masterclass in science fiction and fantasy that runs on vibes rather than logical systems.

    Hilarious, heartbreaking, and shockingly meaningful, Saga is an epic read that is, thankfully, still ongoing!

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    This is a blog for queer nerdy reads, and so far I’ve only mentioned a straight nuclear family. That giant cast of characters I mentioned includes a diverse array of queer characters, most notably gay reporters from a homophobic planet who heartbreakingly hide their relationship and sometimes perpetuate homophobia to protect themselves. There’s also a trans character who joins the story later whose experience explicitly parallels the little girl narrating the story in absolutely beautiful ways.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Saga is an adult graphic novel with explicit scenes of violence and sex, but with that out of the way, literally everyone should read this. I’d especially give it to someone who is skeptical of graphic novels and the stories that are able to be told in this medium.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

    Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

    Genre | YA Contemporary Fiction Graphic Novel
    Page #s | 289
    Publishing Date | May 2019

    All Freddy Riley wants is for Laura Dean to stop breaking up with her.

    The day they got together was the best one of Freddy’s life, but nothing’s made sense since. Laura Dean is popular, funny, and SO CUTE … but she can be really thoughtless, even mean. Their on-again, off-again relationship has Freddy’s head spinning — and Freddy’s friends can’t understand why she keeps going back.

    When Freddy consults the services of a local mystic, the mysterious Seek-Her, she isn’t thrilled with the advice she receives. But something’s got to give: Freddy’s heart is breaking in slow motion, and she may be about to lose her very best friend as well as her last shred of self-respect. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnist Anna Vice, to help her through being a teenager in love.

    Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.

    Goodreads

    The artwork in Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me is absolutely gorgeous; that is what kept me reading a story that I’m incredibly glad exists, but definitely feels like the kind of YA meant for high school students. It’s a story of young love, understanding when relationships are toxic, and learning not to neglect your friends even though you’re in love.

    Everything about Freddy is understandable, but Laura Dean’s red flags are so numerous and unthinkingly cruel that I just wanted to shake her until she realized she was better than this relationship of convenience. I was similarly annoyed by the very dramatic “You’re way too young for me; I’m 18 and you’re 17!” that is repeated. What??

    The highlight of this story is undoubtedly the crumbling friendship between Freddy and Doodle. The ways in which they miss each other’s bids for attention and care is heartbreaking and relatable. I was excited for the D&D shout out in this plot thread, but whoops, that turned out not so great.

    I might be underselling this book, because as I’m thinking about it, there is a lot of really wonderful stories here about abortion, queer progress, messy emotions, and no easy answers. And Freddy’s friend group is pretty much all varieties of queer, which is an accuracy that is great to see. You tell me – have you read Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me? What did you think?

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me is a great book to give to a queer teenager; bonus points if you use the book to actually discuss the themes within.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

    The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

    Genre | Science Fiction
    Page #s | 336
    Publishing Date | April 2021

    With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

    At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

    When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.

    Goodreads

    The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the fourth and final book in Becky Chambers’ sci-fi Wayfarers series, and it is either my favorite or second favorite of them all (other potential favorite is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet). Like all of her books, this is a story about characters and cultures more than action-driven plot, although there is a crisis near the end that catapults our characters into action.

    What I love most about this novel in particular is that it’s all aliens, all the time! Although humans (and human-alien relationships) are discussed, we focus on inter-alien relationships as members of four different species are trapped in a single transit hub in a spectacular bottle episode.

    By this point in the series, we have grown to have certain opinions of the Galactic Commons and different species such as the Aeluons; this book creates even more nuance and offers a darker perspective to this largely utopian sci-fi vision through the character of Speaker and her oppressed/neglected species. Even when I say “darker,” that so misrepresents this book, because the heart of it is showing how people can connect and understand each other across ignorance and opposing opinions. This book is a master class in engaging with cultures other than your own and how to navigate uncomfortable conversations with empathy.

    As always, Chambers’ view of the future is expansive when it comes to gender, which is on full force in this book. One of the main characters is Tupo, a non-gendered pre-teen whose species uses xyr/xym pronouns until they are old enough to decide which gender fits them best. By offering us glimpses of different cultures’ approach to gender, Chambers opens up our current understanding and normalizes seeing gender as a journey.

    I’m sad that I’ve now finished the Wayfarers series, and I’m eager to read whatever Chambers writes next!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is a great book to recommend to a sci-fi fan whose favorite part is the world building.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

    Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

    Genre | Graphic Novel Memoir
    Page #s | 240
    Publishing Date | May 2019

    In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

    Goodreads

    Graphic novel memoirs are one of my favorite genres (see also: Spinning by Tillie Walden, Flamer by Mike Curato, and The Fire Never Goes Out by Nate Stevenson), and Gender Queer is one of the best. Kobabe chronicles eir winding gender journey with poignant honesty and an attention to detail that highlights the fact that it’s often the small moments in life that shape our understanding of ourselves.

    For anyone outside of the binary, this book is a breath of fresh air. In a world made for labels and boxes, it is incredibly disorienting to find oneself outside of the prescribed spaces. Tellingly, Kobabe points out that in avoiding societal boxes, e made eir own, which were sometimes equally unhelpful. One of my favorite stories was the realization that, because e is AFAB, e gravitated toward masculine outfits and hair styles. But when e dressed up as a man for Halloween, it gave em an allowance to lean into sequins and sparkles. It was a joy to watch Kobabe find eir fashion at the end that is a unique embrace of masculine and feminine styles.

    Within the book, Kobabe makes clear that some of the most impactful moments for eir self-esteem was when e had access to education and representation that normalized what e experienced. E has passed that gift on to queer readers, who will find themselves reflected on these pages, and to cis readers, who will have a personal story to lead them toward empathy and understanding.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Gender Queer is a quick, deep read that is perfect for anyone who values honest reflections and well-told memories.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

    Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

    Genre | Middle Grade Fantasy
    Page #s | 340
    Publishing Date | May 2022

    Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

    The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

    And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

    Goodreads

    I will forever compare middle grade mythology adventures to the Percy Jackson series (which I love), and I’m happy to say that Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor captures the same energetically educational vibes while also introducing some very compelling moral ambiguity into the story.

    Using Augmented Reality goggles as the gateway to introducing and interacting with the powerful spirits of Chinese emperors who offer 12-year-olds enormous powers was ingenious, as was the Pokemon GO-style game that is mimicked in the book. It’s very fun and feels written in a very forward-facing, technology-driven mindset while exposing readers to legends and stories from thousands of years ago.

    For me, there were two real highlights to the book. First, Zachary is a Chinese-American who was raised to assimilate into American culture, so he wrestles with his cultural identity throughout the book as he has to interact with people, places, and languages that he is totally unfamiliar with. He is the perfect way for readers with little to know background knowledge of Chinese lore to catch up alongside him, but it’s also a very poignant story about embracing your culture, no matter what age or “how late.”

    Second, this novel plays around with moral ambiguity in a way that is pure catnip to me! Zachary and his friends have inherited the power of emperors, and emperors have historically gained their power through violent, paranoid, and oppressive means. This book embraces this fact and forces Zachary to wrestle with the nature of power and figuring out whether the people he is working with are the heroes…or the villains. It’s very compelling, and I can’t wait for the sequel for more!

    What Make This Book Queer?

    This is a middle grade adventure book, so Zachary’s sexuality is not the focus by any stretch of the imagination. However, he mentions being attracted to boys, and he’s disappointed when a cute boy shows interest in a girl. It’s all very innocent and sweet, and I think representing gay or queer kids at this age is so important!

    Also, there’s a throwaway comment about Zachary being very pretty. He says that’s not a good thing in American culture, and his new Chinese friend assures him he would be very popular in China because of it. It was a brief but powerful statement about the cultural construct that is gender!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is a fast, fun read that brings Chinese mythology to life in a dramatic and accessible adventure. A definite recommendation to anyone in Percy Jackson withdrawal.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

    The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

    Genre | Fantasy
    Page #s | 512
    Publishing Date | August 2022

    The prophecy of the nameless god—the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa—has proven a blessing and curse. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. But even with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight.

    The power of the deathless waters flows through Priya’s blood. Thrice born priestess, Elder of Ahiranya, Priya’s dream is to see her country rid of the rot that plagues it: both Parijatdvipa’s poisonous rule, and the blooming sickness that is slowly spreading through all living things. But she doesn’t yet understand the truth of the magic she carries.

    Their chosen paths once pulled them apart. But Malini and Priya’s souls remain as entwined as their destinies. And they soon realize that coming together is the only way to save their kingdom from those who would rather see it burn—even if it will cost them.

    Goodreads

    I’ll cut to the chase: I didn’t think The Oleander Sword lived up to its predecessor, The Jasmine Throne. That’s not to say it’s bad, but I do think it suffers from trying to do too much. Most appalling (in my book, at least), I found the romance between Malini and Priya incredibly lackluster. They are leaders of countries negotiating love and alliances, and that should be positively BOILING with tension. Is it possible to get insta-love vibes from an established relationship?

    What does work in The Oleander Sword is watching Malini’s march toward dethroning her brother and claiming the empire for herself while we the readers slowly realize that her fight is slow potatoes compared to what’s coming. The yaksa and the rot are Suri’s best invention, and every time she made flowers ominous, I shuddered in delighted horror. I can’t wait to see what is coming in the third book.

    I also continue to enjoy the themes of sacrifice that run through this series. Again and again, we’re asked to consider the point at which a sacrifice is no longer worth making, whether it’s obviously appalling (Chandra burning women alive to create living fire) or willing but dangerous (Priya pushing both her magic and her luck). There are no easy answers here, and I love that!

    Although the humans felt a little lacking this time around, we did get a lot more from the deities who all seem to have their own plan for the empire. I am VERY excited to see more of that in the last book of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Although not my favorite, The Oleander Sword is still a must-read for anyone who enjoyed The Jasmine Throne!

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

    A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

    Genre | Science Fiction Novella
    Page #s | 152
    Publishing Date | July 2022

    After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home.

    They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.

    Becky Chambers’s new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?

    They’re going to need to ask it a lot.

    Goodreads

    I adored the first Monk & Robot book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, so I was surprised to find that I liked A Prayer for the Crown-Shy even more! Where the first book allowed us to meet our two protagonists, this time we get to see them interact with people and towns, which brings out new observations and interactions that are, as always, delightful. If you’re not familiar with Becky Chambers’ work, “delightful” is the watchword. Never has an author so consistently written the literary version of a mental hug.

    As Dex takes Mosscap from settlement to settlement, we have the pleasure of seeing a cozy utopia from an outsider’s perspective, from socialist currencies to next generation 3D printers to polyamorous family systems to the simply joy of a satchel. Along the way, the pair continue to have thoughtful philosophical questions, most notably about the ethical limits of medical care.

    I am unsure whether or not there will be more novellas in this series, but I desperately hope so. Now that we’ve seen the two meet then visit human civilization, I am crossing all my fingers hoping that Mosscap will take Dex to meet some of the other robots. I’m not ready for this lovely story to be over!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is the perfect book for someone who wants to sink into a well thought-out futuristic sci-fi story that provides hope and appreciation for our own world.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

    A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

    Genre | Historical Fiction Romance
    Page #s | 480
    Publishing Date | May 2022

    When Viola Caroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.

    Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.

    As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.

    Goodreads

    I confess that I was confused and intrigued by the idea of a trans romance Regency novel – although I know trans people have always existed, I had no conception for what that might might have looked like before the modern era. A Lady for a Duke, while being delightfully anachronistic in some ways, provided a realistic picture of the path a trans woman might have taken. Namely, using their assumed death in war as an opportunity to present themselves to society as their true gender.

    I loved 90% of this book. The dialogue sparkles, the characters are unique and quirky, and the romance is positively sizzling. I am a huge friends to lovers fan, and adding in the drama of an assumed death made it all the richer. I also appreciated that revelations and “betrayals” were dealt with fairly quickly; I didn’t have to sit around for ages thinking: “Just TALK to each other already!” These were emotionally mature characters, and for that I am grateful. I also loved the diversity of queer characters, and I’m crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel that focuses on one of them.

    What about that 10% that I didn’t enjoy? The end of the book went in a weird direction, to my mind. The book didn’t need a villain, and if it did, having one in the B plot show up at the end in comically evil fashion fell too flat and too late. It killed my buzz as the story was wrapping up, which sucks! But writing this a couple weeks after finishing the novel, I can say that this part has mostly left my mind and the parts that stick out are the sweet and spicy moments that populate the majority of the book.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Romance readers, A Lady for a Duke is for you if you like friends to lovers and a bit of anachronistic sparkle to your Regency reads.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

    The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

    Genre | YA Contemporary Fiction
    Page #s | 400
    Publishing Date | May 2022

    Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way.

    After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami.

    The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?

    Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.

    Goodreads

    The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School hit me with my exact preferred mix of YA lightness and drama. Yami is a teen who’s been burned by coming out to her best friend and has the chance to start over at a new school…only there’s a hot girl who’s out and making it really hard for Yami to pretend to be straight. Silly shenanigans! Yami’s brother is bisexual and dating a boy, and she pretends to date him so their parents won’t find out about either of their sexualities. More silly shenanigans!

    But there are also truly deep themes here of religious trauma, mental illness and self-harm, class comparisons, and a family’s homophobic conditional love. Each is handled seriously and deftly, creating a story that is truly multi-faceted and realistic. There are happy endings, but not A Happy Ending in which everything works out in every way for everyone.

    The romance at the center of the book is very good, but the true marker of a good YA book to me is if there are equally important relationships to the main character. This is definitely the case here, as Yami deals with a former best friend, her beloved brother, her overworked mother, her deported father, her new friends at a new school, and Bo, her new crush. Each relationship shapes Yami and has its own resolution. I loved it!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School is the YA book to give to your friend who says they’re over YA books.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

    Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

    Genre | Fantasy Middle Grade Graphic Novel
    Page #s | 224
    Publishing Date | February 2020

    Kat Leyh’s Snapdragon is a magical realist graphic novel about a young girl who befriends her town’s witch and discovers the strange magic within herself.

    Snap’s town had a witch.

    At least, that’s how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a Crocs-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too.

    Snap needs a favor from this old woman, though, so she begins helping Jacks with her strange work. Snap gets to know her and realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic—and an unlikely connection to Snap’s family’s past.

    Goodreads

    I had the pleasure of seeing Kat Leyh speak at a panel at Emerald City Comic Con, and combined with my love for her graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, I knew it was time to read more of her work. I picked up Snapdragon, read it in one go, and left it on my girlfriend’s pillow. She also read it in a day, and we agreed that it is an utter delight!

    Snapdragon is a middle grade graphic novel about outcasts, young and old. Snap is a passionate, rambunctious kid who befriends the local witch and helps her care for animals, both living and deceased. I have never cared about possums until this book, and now I am cooing over online videos of possum moms laded with piggyback riding babies.

    As Leyh mentioned in her panel, this is a book about queerness that isn’t about sexuality (because the protagonist is a kid who isn’t thinking about that yet). Snap’s friend comes into confidence as trans throughout the pages, and Snap’s mom is a master class in how to support your kids and their friends. The witch that Snap befriends has a queer history with some sweet twists that I don’t want to spoil for you!

    This is a beautifully drawn story full of characters diverse in gender, sexuality, race, and size. I cannot recommend it enough.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Honestly, I can’t imagine who would dislike Snapdragon, but this book is especially for the intense animal lovers in your life. You know, not just those that love kittens and puppies, but who will get weepy over a sea turtle documentary.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker

    We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker

    Genre | Science Fiction
    Page #s | 378
    Publishing Date | May 2021

    From award-winning author Sarah Pinsker comes a novel about one family and the technology that divides them.

    Everybody’s getting one.

    Val and Julie just want what’s best for their kids, David and Sophie. So when teenage son David comes home one day asking for a Pilot, a new brain implant to help with school, they reluctantly agree. This is the future, after all.

    Soon, Julie feels mounting pressure at work to get a Pilot to keep pace with her colleagues, leaving Val and Sophie part of the shrinking minority of people without the device.

    Before long, the implications are clear, for the family and society: get a Pilot or get left behind. With government subsidies and no downside, why would anyone refuse? And how do you stop a technology once it’s everywhere? Those are the questions Sophie and her anti-Pilot movement rise up to answer, even if it puts them up against the Pilot’s powerful manufacturer and pits Sophie against the people she loves most. 

    Goodreads

    We Are Satellites is a realistic near-future science fiction novel that focuses on the cultural effects of a potentially exploitative tech advancement rather than the genre’s flashier explosions and chaos stories. As such, I found it to be a bit of a slower read, but one that resulted in a lot more consideration and long-term interest.

    Would you accept a brain alteration that allowed you to split your focus effectively? I definitely would, and so would nearly everyone in this novel. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Pinsker demands that we consider how such a tech revolution would expand the gap between the haves and have nots, leaving those with disabilities behind.

    The story follows a family of four, each of whom has a unique relationship to the Pilots that go from unique to ubiquitous over the years covered in the book. One mother gets a Pilot for work advancement, the second mother is against them, the daughter is not allowed to get one due to a history of seizures, and the son gets a Pilot but experiences debilitating side effects. Although I’m not often a fan of books that shift characters’ POVs, I thought this was done extremely well here. Changing perspectives is never done for the sake of a cliffhanger; they’re always to allow for deeper character and relationship exploration.

    I highly recommend We Are Satellites, and it was resoundingly enjoyed by my book club. If you, like me, find the beginning a little slow, take your time but please stick with it! You’ll be rewarding with a thoughtful and timely story.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Give We Are Satellites to the sci-fi lover who is more interested in character development than fast-paced action sequences.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

    Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

    Genre | Memoir
    Page #s | 400
    Publishing Date | March 2022

    Multi-awardwinning Hannah Gadsby transformed comedy with her show Nanette, even as she declared that she was quitting stand-up. Now, she takes us through the defining moments in her life that led to the creation of Nanette and her powerful decision to tell the truth-no matter the cost.

    ‘There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.’ -Hannah Gadsby, Nanette

    Gadsby’s unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability to create both tension and laughter in a single moment. But while her worldwide fame might have looked like an overnight sensation, her path from open mic to the global stage was hard-fought and anything but linear.

    Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby’s growth as a queer person from Tasmania-where homosexuality was illegal until 1997-to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of Nanette – the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling.

    Equal parts harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby’s tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time. 

    Goodreads

    If you’re interested in reading Hannah Gadsby’s memoir, you’ve probably already seen and loved her stand up special(s) on Netflix: Nanette and Douglas. She wowed me with her humor, yes, but especially with her honest reflections on trauma and autism. All three of these qualities are very much in play in her memoir, which shares stories from each year of her life up to the release of the show that made her famous.

    She doesn’t share all of her stories, though. Much like the way Nanette dissected the art of comedy while being comedy, this memoir dissects the experience of trauma through its form. She explicitly states that a biographer would want to highlight those moments of abuse, violence, and trauma; as the person who lived through them, however, she emphatically does not. Instead, we learn about her trauma only when another story necessarily brings up feelings or people that were involved. It’s brought up almost against her will, and is not dwelt upon longer than necessary. It’s just like a real trigger; it’s a brilliant choice, and also really nice to read someone’s memoir who is not willing to share her trauma for an audience’s “entertainment.”

    I also loved her decision to share her personal history alongside Tasmania’s homophobic history. Even when she is too young to remember the specific events, they inform the world in which she grows up. It’s also an incredible reminder of just how openly and violently homophobic governments and people were just a decade or two ago. We shouldn’t take our current experience for granted; nor should we assume it will always be this way (as is all too obvious in anti-trans laws and opinions today).

    All of this sounds quite dour! Just like her comedy shows, it’s hard to describe how something so affecting and heavy can also be funny and charming. But it is! Hannah is a master of comedy, knowing how to guide her audience (whether audience or reader) through a story with a deft touch. You’re in good hands here, folks.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Ten Steps to Nanette is essential reading for lovers of memoirs, and it’s especially valuable as an honest reflection on life as a queer autistic person.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

    The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

    Genre | YA Fantasy
    Page #s | 358 and 384
    Publishing Date | March 2020 and September 2021

    Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences.

    Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest.

    But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumors that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

    Set in the world of the New York Times–bestselling Winner’s Trilogy, beloved author Marie Rutkoski returns with an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us—and the lies we tell ourselves.

    Goodreads

    I fell in love with Rutkoski when I read The Kronos Chronicles years ago, and it was such a fun experience to rediscover her and find that her writing has become super queer! The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart are a fantasy duology about magic, oppression, and revenge with a lot to say about how people respond to abuse.

    I have very mixed feelings about these books. On one hand, I tore through them both; the dialogue sparkles (particularly in the first book), the worldbuilding is engaging, and the plot advances quickly (too quickly in the second book). On the other hand, plot twists hinge on my pet peeve, miscommunication, and the second book introduces an entirely new world that only gets half the book’s attention but was fully more interesting to me.

    Some of the broader strokes aren’t tight or clean enough, but it’s the details in which Rutkoski excels. Nirrim’s character development is compelling as she resists seeing and then realizes her abuse (both personally and systemically). Her reactions felt very human, by which I mean they are often messy and not “correct.” Sid has shades of manic pixie in the first book, but she is fully fleshed out in the second. Her rebellion against her parents without actually talking to them about what they want for her was excruciating but very teenager. And her parents! Where is THEIR story? I want it.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart are perfect books to read if you want a quick, queer, fantasy palate cleanser.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!