Roar Cat Reads

Tag: gender fluid

  • The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

    The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

    Genre | YA Contemporary Fiction
    Page #s | 352
    Publishing Date | October 2021

    Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.

    Goodreads

    I did not expect to be emotionally moved by magical baked goods, but here we are! The Heartbreak Bakery celebrates love, whether romantic, communal, or sugar, and it’s the perfect quick read to satisfy a readers’ sweet tooth.

    Syd works at a queer bakery in Austin, TX, and literally everything about this sentence makes me happy. Austin is one of my favorite cities, and its awesomeness (as well as it’s flaws) is captured here so personally. If this is based on an actual queer bakery in Austin, someone please let me know because I want to go there immediately. The Proud Muffin is the queer community we all long for – diverse, inclusive, and full of activities and free desserts.

    Anyway, Syd works there, and accidentally bakes a batch of breakup brownies by pouring heartbreak into them. The rest of the book is a falling-in-love montage while Syd and coworker Harley scramble to reunite couples through even more magical baked goods. I honestly thought this would all turn out to be a “we were reading too much into this and thought magic but it was mundane” situation, but instead the reveal at the end turned out to be thematic and poignant.

    This book does gender non-conforming so well! Syd is agender and wrestles with what this means throughout the book, while Harley is confidently gender fluid and signals their pronouns by pin on any given day. While there is some coming out themes where Syd is concerned, it’s very much about personal understanding rather than societal acceptance. I loved it.

    For a book about falling in and out of love, I only fell in! The Heartbreak Bakery is so much fun.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Want a fun summer read to read at a (literal or imaginative) coffee shop? The Heartbreak Bakery is for you!

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

  • Wilderwood by Halli Starling

    Wilderwood by Halli Starling

    Genre | Fantasy / Romance
    Page #s | 256
    Publishing Date | August 2021

    “They say we are born, not made, as vampires. Created vampires are feral, ruthless killers who desire blood above all else. Those who are born into this fate have better control and thus are civilized. That we are only brutal if we choose to be. And so because we have free will, we are more like the humans and the other creatures with souls. I have never once felt human, or like anything else. I know what I am, and it is because of that feeling, and because of the marks on my flesh, that I stand steadfast in my cause.”

    Wilderwood is a haven for those who have been cast out of “proper” society: academics, artists, the eccentrics and undesirous. It is also home to other kind and having weres, mages, and even an ancient griffin living amongst mortals just isn’t done.

    Except in Wilderwood.

    Octavia Wilder cares for those who live in the town her ancestor built and when a feral vampire threatens the peace, she partners with the Ranger who has brought word of the threat.

    Ranger Roderick Arman hunts Corbin Luther, the feral vampire who killed his partner two years ago. When Luther’s trail leads him to the odd little town of Wilderwood, he quickly realizes there’s more to the town – and his hunt – than expected.

    Ranger Bellemy Eislen disappeared two years ago when what was to be a quick trip to the Faelands on behalf of the Rangers went entirely wrong. Trapped in another realm, they tirelessly sought a way back to their world. And to Wilderwood and Octavia.

    The three of them must fight to save Wilderwood from an invasion from another realm and protect the town from the Faelands Queen.

    Wilderwood is a fantasy/romance book with some violent and sexual elements. The story features a polyamorous, queer romance between three consenting adults.

    Goodreads

    If you’ve ever read a book and rolled your eyes at the developing love triangle, thinking, “Why don’t they just bone each other?” then boy, is this the book for you! It was so refreshing to see three competent adults deal with their attraction to each other with communication, a priority for their partner’s happiness, and an openness to new experiences.

    Although Wilderwood is set in the “1800’s,” it’s first and foremost a fantasy, with all the word’s implications. If you have to handwave away a linguistic anachronism here or a modern concept there, well, get used to it. There are vampires and encroaching fey worlds; realism is not the point here.

    You know what’s also not realistic? How horny everyone gets in the most horrific situations! I have a feeling that my opinion is only revealing how rarely I read erotica, because these people sure got turned on at the most inopportune times. The sex scenes were good fun, but I couldn’t help wishing that they would like, rest before the big battle or just have an anxious sulk….This is probably why no one is writing a book about my life.

    The highlight of this book for me was how unapologetically queer it is. There is a trans character whose pronouns are immediately respected by all, gay love between side characters, and the aforementioned polyamory between magical beings of all genders. It was so nice to see diverse relationships play out with no mention of their diversity. This is my favorite part of fantasy – showing the world as we want it to be (though I would prefer mine with a LOT fewer melted cows).

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

  • A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

    A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

    Genre | Science Fiction
    Page #s | 365
    Publishing Date | October 2016

    Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

    Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

    A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers’ beloved debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and is perfect for fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon, Mass Effect and Star Wars.

    Goodreads

    After falling completely in love with Chambers’ first book in this series, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I was disappointed to find that it took me a while to connect with the alternating storylines in A Closed and Common Orbit. I should not have doubted! I wound up absolutely loving the story of two beings learning how to survive and find connection, one a human unwillingly treated as a machine and the other an AI unwillingly treated as human.

    Jane/Pepper’s story was fascinating, and arguably the more plot-driven arc as we wait to see how she will survive living in a rundown spaceship after escaping a factory that raises human slaves. I loved watching her grow up with Owl, her AI mother, and scavenge for food and parts. However, it was a very smart move on Chambers’ part to balance the isolation and desperation of Pepper’s past with the Sidra’s (formerly Lovelace) story of struggling to fit in to a happy, healthy society. Together, they make a cohesive story.

    As always, Chambers’ books take advantage of a sci fi setting to create uniquely diverse alien races that have a variety of gender and sexuality presentations. In this book, we get a closer look at Auleons, both generally at their cultural festival and specifically in the character of Tak. With the central premise that it is very difficult for their species to breed, an entire culture emerges around the importance of mating and parenting as a respected full-time job for fathers who went to school to prepare. Additionally, we’re introduced to their four genders and how the culture makes space for and celebrates each one.

    Finally, I really enjoyed the conversations about what makes someone/something worthy of personhood. There is such a satisfying hook to Pepper being raised by an AI and therefore feeling invested in helping Sidra fit in as an illegal AI with a body. It’s clear to the readers that this crime is absurd and that AI should be granted personhood, but the book pushes this to challenge our assumption about any technology that has been granted even the barest form of personality. Whether coded through genes or software, who are we to determine where personhood begins? So interesting!

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    A Closed and Common Orbit is perfect for lovers of sci-fi and philosophy.

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

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