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Archive for 'Queer'

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards (2025) Sara Raasch (Magic and Romance #1) This is the book that precedes The Fake Divination Offense. I’d initially skipped it because although the world building sounded fascinating, I usually dislike enemies to lovers. Which this is. But much of it worked for my anyway, because it was academic rivals, […]

The Fake Divination Offense

The Fake Divination Offense (2026) Sara Raasch (Magic and Romance #2) Orok Monroe just wants to celebrate the lawsuit he and his best friend Seb won against the “Camp” that tortured them, but almost none of his new teammates show up, so he’s left wondering if the Hellhounds feel about him the same way his […]

Til Death Do Us Bard

Til Death Do Us Bard (2025) Rose Black Logan and Pie have been blissfully married for six months. He hadn’t expected to retire – an uncommon outcome amongst adventurers. Logan had imagined his end in the form of slavering jaws in some gods-forsaken corner of nowhere. Now he had a cottage and a husband. But […]

[Never] Feed the Crows

[Never] Feed the Crows (2023) Jennifer Cody (Corvin’s Crows #1) It’s Amos’s second year on campus, and he has a great roommate and is doing well in his classes but hasn’t made many friends except for his roommate–and the crows. Honestly, I don’t even know how it happened, but one day I realized that I […]

Dead & Breakfast

Dead & Breakfast (2025) Kat Hillis & Rosiee Thor Arthur and Sal moved to Trident Falls, Oregon to run the Bed & Breakfast Arthur remembered visiting as a child–a place where he had happy memories. Arthur had visited Trident Falls many times as a boy, and it had seemed a slice of idyllic peace, tucked […]

Tales from the Territory

Tales from the Territory (2026) Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes) Goblins & Greatcoats There has been a terrible murder. Is the goblin going to be able to solve the case? Is that the Gatewarden? A goblin?” stage-whispered the young warden. Zyll’s long, pointed ears caught the murmuration of uncomfortable shrugs that followed. She didn’t bother […]

The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment: Twelve Magical Romantasy Tales

The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment: Twelve Magical Romantasy Tales (2026) edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan ’Tis Pity He’s an Elf by Jen Williams Silver Dahlia, Golden King by Chloe Neill Fool in Love Ghoul in Hate by Greer Stothers The Brocade Prince by A. Y. Chao Double Trouble by Kelley Armstrong Unearned […]

The Lights on Knockbridge Lane

The Lights on Knockbridge Lane (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run #3) Adam had never once regretted forgiving someone. Because forgiveness was about him, and not about them at all. He’d always preferred going out at night. Not because—as his neighbors believed—he was a vampire or a witch or whatever the rumor of the moment was. […]

Guilt and Ginataan

Guilt and Ginataan (2024) Mia P. Manansala (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #5) There is so much to love about this series: food, queer rep, smart female character, mental health rep, and few white characters. Yet, the mysteries always fall a little flat for me. I don’t know why. (In the earlier books it was because […]

Something Extraordinary

Something Extraordinary (2024) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #3) Set in England in ~1814 I’ll be honest–I put off reading this because in earlier books I found Bella annoying and frustrating and I didn’t want to spend time with her. But she was a little better in book two, as was Horley Comewithers, so I moved […]

Best Laid Plans

Best Laid Plans (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run #2) He looked at the situation and chose to acknowledge all the dimensions of it. Dimensions (as he thought of them) weren’t positive or negative. They were simply the truth of how he felt about things. “Jesus Christ,” he said, and scrubbed hands over his face. “Guess […]

Better Than People

Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run, #1) Every day had dilated to a month, every night to a year, and Jack found himself wishing for anything—anything—to break the monotony of lying on the couch all day long and in bed all night. This part was always the hardest. The moment when he could […]

Two Rogues Make a Right

Two Rogues Make a Right (2020) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks #3) Set in Sussex, England in 1818 Will had four shillings and a bottle of laudanum, and barely enough self-control not to drink it himself. It had been two years since he showed the first signs of consumption, which he had acquired in circumstances […]

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (2018) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks #2) Set in London in 1817 I feel like you all know you’d be contaminated by touching anything that comes from my purse. It makes me feel so dirty. How could anyone sleep under these conditions? Sadie might die. Her baby might never live. […]

It Takes Two to Tumble

It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks #1) Set in England in 1817 Every day he visited the poor and the housebound, trying to find small ways to improve their lot or at least their outlook. That was why he had gone into the church. When people needed help, they went […]

Mirage City

Mirage City (2025) Lev Ac Rosen (Evander Mills #4) Set in San Francisco in 1953 It’s been a year since Andy began working above the Ruby. I’ve been here over a year now, the matchmaking business, pairing up queer people in heterosexual-looking relationships to appease work or family, and crafting stories for them: how they […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith had investigated orgy sites where there had been twenty or more witnesses all standing and watching some victim being dismembered just because a cameraman was filming it. The presence of a camera implied fiction and a sense that some authority was […]

Dead in the Shop

Dead in the Shop (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #3) “I’d let it all fade away into history if I had my way.” “Our name? Our legacy?” Her lack of insight blew Valor’s mind. How did she not see their family had offered zero value to the world? Their name meant nothing; they had no […]

Dead in the Pond

Dead in the Pond (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #2) Bishan found it very difficult to force himself to do anything without understanding the reason. “Would you rather stay?” Yes. “Yes, but if I do it’ll make leaving harder the next time.” Bishan enjoyed photography because it put distance between the world and himself. They […]

Dead in the Garden

Dead in the Garden (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #1) (T)hey’d always assumed Bishan’s traditionalist parents would be the disapproving ones. It seemed being gay and dating an Anglo-Indian had been one step too far for the son of an earl. … (H)is father, mother, and elder brother hadn’t spoken to him in over a […]

Paladin’s Hope

Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #3) “Anything’s possible,” said Piper, in a tone that hopefully conveyed, “Not a chance in hell.” His thoughts were so jumbled that he hardly knew what to pray for, so he settled on a general, Do you see this whole mess, gods? Please just fix it! […]

Paladin’s Grace

Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #1) After finishing The Vampire Gideon’s Suicide Hotline and Halfway House for Orphaned Girls I needed something to made my brain feel better, and since after reading Daggerbound I wanted to read more Kingfisher, this seems the perfect choice. He and Istvhan had exhausted the weapon […]

Rough Pages

Rough Pages (2024) Lev Ac Rosen (Evander Mills #3) Set in San Francisco in 1953 Andy is finally accepted by the community, and slowly coming to believe in his own worth as he solves problems for those who can’t turn to the authorities. He also ends up–with Lee–with an unexpected title. I’ve even made a […]

The Viscount Says Yes

The Viscount Says Yes (2025) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #6) Set in Tutting-on-Cress in 1818? This is the conclusion to Pip’s story. He’s lived with Charles and Gavin long enough to regain his trust in people, and he is slowly, finally, come to trust himself. I’m not going anywhere. There’s no hurry, Pip.” Bertie […]

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress (2024) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #5) Set in Tutting-on-Cress in 1818 Gerry has been hoping to fall in love the way two of her brothers did, but has never felt the way she thought falling in love should be. So she figures she’ll be content running her shop and living […]

Dear Bartleby

Dear Bartleby (2023) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #4) Seb, youngest sibling of Gavin and Gerry has been sent down for Oxford for one too many pranks. Father sat me down in his study and told me I need to learn to be a proper gentleman. Ominous start. He listed out all manner of qualities […]

The Education of Pip

The Education of Pip (2023) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #3) Set in England in ~1816 This story overlaps with One Good Turn and we get Pip’s story. Please check the trigger warnings, as Pip has been abused by the man he thought to be his lover, and has been forced into prostitution. Pip concluded […]

One Good Turn

One Good Turn (2022) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #2) Set in London ~1816 Nell Birks doesn’t want the life she grew into. As an orphan plucked off the streets she was glad to have food to eat and a safe place to sleep, but she wants to learn magic rather than continue life as […]

Daggerbound

Daggerbound (2026) T. Kingfisher (Swordheart #2) Not a decade, but long enough for the impatient, we have the follow-up to Swordheart! This is set about 7 years after the end of the Clocktaur War series, and a couple of years after Swordheart but before The Saint of Steel series. Learned Edmund (from the Clocktaur War […]

The Bell in the Fog

The Bell in the Fog (2023) Lev Ac Rosen (Evander Mills #2) Set in San Francisco in ~1952 The story takes place several months after the events of Lavender House. Evander Mills is trying to make his way as a queer private detective, but as he was once a copy, not many people seem to […]

Letters to Half Moon Street

Letters to Half Moon Street (2022) Sarah Wallace (Meddle & Mend #1) Set in alternate London in 1815 I enjoyed the Fae & Human Relations series Sarah Wallace co-wrote with S.O. Callahan, so I picked up this book awhile ago, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it. I’m sorry I waited, as her influence for […]

A Murderous Business

A Murderous Business (2025) Cathy Pegau (Harriman & Mancini #1) Set in NYC in 1912 Margot Harriman has taken over her family business at B&H Foods after her father’s death, but it’s 1912 and people don’t believe a woman can truly run a company. Even her father’s second in command–a man who she has know […]

Lavender House

Lavender House (2022) Lev AC Rosen (Evander Mills #1) Set in San Francisco in 1952 Evan Mills has been dismissed from the SF police department after being caught in a raid at a queer club. Caught–quite literally–with his pants down. Now with no job, and no home (he was thrown out). Even he wouldn’t meet […]

The Missing Page

The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #2) Set in Cornwall in 1947 “The letter from the solicitor said the uncle’s will stipulated that all legatees attend the reading at the family home in Cornwall or forfeit their bequest.” Leo’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Was it his uncle’s dying wish to reenact a […]

Hither, Page

Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #1) Set in England in 1946 Even Edith Pickering and Cora Delacourt, who had lived with Mrs. Hoggett, didn’t seem terribly moved, but then again they had a good deal of practice in losing people, having lived through the last time the world decided to kill off […]

Loud and Clear

Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne So Caleb was set for a designated driver for every Tuesday night until this stupid drink-night thing got canceled. … Which was another reason why he actually had to attend. For all the drinking, until people got too shit-faced, they actually talked about work. Missing this was the equivalent […]

Dead in the Frame

Dead in the Frame (2025) Stephen Spotswood (Pentecost and Parker #5) Set in NYC in 1947 This book picks up right where the previous left off–with Lillian Pentecost being arrested for murder. The bylines changed and the adjectives got shuffled, but the tone across the board was: She probably did it. It was almost as […]

Pack of Lies

Pack of Lies (2022) Charlie Adhara (Monster Hunt #1) Not everything had to be about hope and love and trust to be worth doing. Sometimes it was just the desire to not feel so terribly alone. I don’t think anyone could ever see you as inept. Not at anything. You positively ooze…ept. It was something […]

Cry Wolf

Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #5) “Did you know the cat is being more cordial than either of you right now? And I know for a fact she was raised in an alley.” “Also, he said to tell you you’ve been demoted to fourth rank.” “We don’t do ranks,” Park protested. “We’re […]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #4) I couldn’t justify throwing out sixty years of data. It wasn’t the science that was bad. It was the way he used it. The reasons he used it. “I think I’m going to give therapy another try. You know, real therapy and not informal […]

Thrown to the Wolves

Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #3) Just like any power-hungry man, deep down he was a coward. In her lap Boogie was curled up and purring so loudly the sound practically echoed through the barn. Helena couldn’t have looked more like an evil mastermind if she tried. He comforted himself […]

The Wolf at Bay

The Wolf at Bay (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #2) This book opens with possibly my favorite scene ever. “Birthday, anniversary, or apology?” … “You’ve been standing here staring at that flower shop for fifteen minutes. So is it for her birthday or anniversary, or are you making up for a fight? Because I’ve […]

The Wolf at the Door

The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf, #1) The old-fashioned investigative work Cooper had dreamed of doing when he got recruited to the FBI wasn’t really applicable these days. … After cases like Bethesda he felt like a glorified bounty hunter, and that wasn’t why he’d wanted to get into law […]

Murder Crossed Her Mind

Murder Crossed Her Mind (2023) Stephen Spotswood (Pentecost and Parker #4) Set in NYC in 1947 Defense attorney (and ower of apologies to Lillian Pentecost) Forest Whitsun has come asking for help. His friend–the retired secretary for the law firm he used to work for–is missing, and he is certain something bad has happened to […]

Secrets Typed in Blood, Audio Book

Secrets Typed in Blood, Audio Book (2022) Stephen Spotswood narrated by Kirsten Potter (Pentecost & Parker #3) Set in NYC in 1947 “I’ll say this, though—she refused to meet my eyes. That screams someone with something to hide.” My boss shook her head. “I don’t think that was intentional,” she said. “I believe she is […]

The Prince and the Dressmaker

The Prince and the Dressmaker (2018) Jen Wang Prince Sebastian’s parents are searching the country for his bride. They want him to have a say in who he marries (something they didn’t have) but Sebastian has a secret: Lady Crystallia. After following her client’s wishes and getting fired, Frances is saved when a royal courtier […]

Lady Mechanika: Sangre

Lady Mechanika Volume 6 Sangre (2020) Joe Benítez, Marcia Chen, Brian Ching (Lady Mechanika #6) Well damnit. This is a rerelease, not the newest volume. Weirdly, I remembered the historical Mesoamerican parts rather than the current timeline. Publisher: Image Comics Rating: 8/10

Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones

Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones (2018) Ngozi Ukazu (Check, Please! #2) Publisher: First Second Rating: 10/10

The Unmatchmakers

The Unmatchmakers (2022) Jackie Lau Leora may find her mother frustrating, but she’s looking forward to a week at the vacation house her mother bought with her two best friends–even if she hasn’t seen the kids she nearly grew up with in years. It’s a bit weird, us all hanging out as adults. Different than […]

Husband Material

Husband Material (2022) Alexis Hall (London Calling, #2) Oliver had been seeing a trained professional for nearly two years because of his parents so I did my best to be sensitive and not poke anything that might be the emotional equivalent of a bear or a mine—or a bear-mine, which would be a bear that […]