Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Cute or Cannibal?: Two Takes on Queer Halloween Horror Comics

There are only a few more days until Halloween! But there are so many great queer reads perfect for the season! Luckily, I have a couple of recommendations you can read in one sitting, whether you prefer Halloween to be a cozy cute affair or on the gory side.

The nonprofit I wanted to highlight today is Black Trans Advocacy, which advocates for health, housing, and employment equality for Black trans people. You can find out more about them on their website, and you can support them at their donation page.

Bookish Goods

a photo of a shirt with a line art illustration of a woman, plants, and constellations with the text "Slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl" by Sappho

Sappho Shirt by PipingHotTees

Given a link later in this post, I thought I’d include a lesbian poetry shirt. This Sappho shirt says, “Slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl,” and I love that it’s labelled “subtle lesbian pride.” Nothing more subtle than that! $25

New Releases

Don’t forget to check out the sponsor of today’s newsletter, which is also a queer book out this week! If you haven’t read the first book, it just came out in paperback.

the cover of The Call-Out

The Call-Out: A Novel in Rhyme by Cat Fitzpatrick (Queer and Trans Women Fiction)

Cat Fitzpatrick was one of the editors on a favorite anthology of mine, Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy From Transgender Writers, so I’m excited to read a whole novel of hers! This follows six queer women, most of them trans, in Brooklyn, and it discusses racism in queer communities, call-out culture, feminist theory, and more — oh, and it’s all told in rhyming poetry.

the cover of The Sevenfold Hunters

The Sevenfold Hunters by Rose Egal (Sapphic YA Science Fiction)

This is one I hope gets a different cover for the paperback edition, because I feel like this one looks a little generic sci-fi, when this actually follows a queer teen hijabi alien hunter! This looks like a lot of fun, and it promises a found family element with the team tasked with freeing Earth.

Ghost Town by Kevin Chen, translated by Darryl Sterk (Gay Fiction)

Cupid Calling by Viano Oniomoh (M/M Romance)

the cover of Ghost Town

His Christmas Guardian by Cindy Dees (M/M Romantic Suspense)

Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle #3) by Nghi Vo (Sapphic and Nonbinary Fantasy)

In The Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan, Gaia Cardinali, and Micah Myers (Gay YA Fantasy)

It Took Luke: Overworked & Underpaid by Mark Bouchard and Bayleigh Underwood (Queer Horror Graphic Novel)

Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros (Sapphic Middle Grade Graphic Novel)

Last Gender, Vol. 1 by Rei Taki (Queer Manga)

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 7 by Tamifull (Sapphic Manga)

the cover of Queer Silence

Heretic: A Memoir by Jeanna Kadlec (Queer Memoir)

Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter (Gay Memoir) (Paperback Rerelease)

Angels and Earthworms: An Unexpected Journey to Joy, Love, and Miracles by Lorraine Segal (Lesbian Memoir)

Revolution Is Love: A Year of Black Trans Liberation by Qween Jean, Raquel Willis, Joela Rivera, and Mikelle Street (Trans Nonfiction)

Queer Silence: On Disability and Rhetorical Absence by J. Logan Smilges (Queer Nonfiction)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

It’s the last Our Queerest Shelves before Halloween, so here are a couple choices of queer comics you could read Halloween night, whether you’re looking for something cute and seasonal or something a little more bloody.

the cover of Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey

Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey, Pius Bak, and Roman Titov

I was looking for a topic that would give me an opportunity to recommend this book I just read. Joey is on her way to becoming a lawyer, so she shouldn’t feel so awkward meeting her rich boyfriend’s family — she’ll be one of them soon. But it turns out their family and community has certain…tastes. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s sapphic and certainly lives up to expectations.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker cover

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

If you want to pick up something seasonal but not, you know, about cannibalism, try Mooncakes! It’s a romance and adventure between a Deaf queer witch and a nonbinary werewolf. Also, she has two grandmas who own a magic bookstore together, which is truly life goals.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

It’s Asexual Awareness Week! Here are some recs: 21 Ace Books To Read During Ace Week, Quiz: Which Sapphic Asexual Book Should You Read This Ace Week?, Sapphic Asexual and Demisexual Stories, Demisexual YA SFF, and Asexual Awareness Week Roundtable

A Queer Woman’s Place Is in the Horror Story

Organizing My Bookshelf Helped Me Learn to Love My Queer Identity

Gaylor fans think Taylor Swift wrote a book of lesbian poetry under a pseudonym. I’m not a big fan of public speculation of someone’s orientation/identity, but congratulations to this lesbian poet for getting a spike in sales out of it.

Heretic by Jeanna Kadlec was reviewed at Autostraddle

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

I Was a Queer Teenage Werewolf

I’m writing this from the sunny shores of Venice beach! It’s not exactly autumnal/Halloween vibes, but I’ve had a great time actually meeting my Book Riot co-workers for the first time. But enough about me. Let’s get into the books!

The charity I want to highlight this week is PFLAG’s Read With Love program, which is attempting to get more diverse books into libraries. You can find out more at their website, including ways to donate.

Bookish Goods

a sticker of an open book with the text "Ask me about my gay fanfiction"

Ask Me About My Gay Fanfiction sticker by CraftyQueerStudio

That’s one way to make new friends. $5

New Releases

Lavender House Book Cover

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen (Queer Historical Mystery)

Lavender House is a refuge for queer people in the 1950s, where those living there don’t have to hide who they are. It’s funded by the owner of a soap empire, but when she dies mysteriously, Andy — a gay detective — is hired by her widow to find out if it was murder.

Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck things cover

Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad (Sapphic YA Contemporary)

This follows the four Singh sisters, whose family owns the Songbird Inn: the most romantic inn in America. Over four seasons, each of the sisters finds love, including photographer Sirisha, who falls for an actress in the theater troupe that just came to town — now she just has to work up the courage to talk to her.

The Lost Century by Larissa Lai (Queer Historical Fiction)

Reprieve by James Han Mattson (Queer Horror) (Paperback Rerelease)

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman (Trans and Gay YA Contemporary)

Heartstopper Yearbook cover

The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman (LGBTQ YA Tie-In Book)

Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall (F/F YA Historical Fiction)

Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne (Queer Middle Grade)

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki (Yuri Manga)

README.txt: A Memoir by Chelsea Manning (Trans Memoir)

This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers by Elias Jahshan (Queer Nonfiction)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Obviously I’m going to keep on the Halloween theme as long as I can, so this week’s riot recs are YA graphic novels about queer werewolves!

cover of Blackwater

Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

This promises to be Riverdale meets Stranger Things, following two teenage boys who fall for each other while investigating paranormal mysteries in the town of Blackwater, Maine. There are ghosts and werewolves, but also trans and chronic illness representation.

cover of Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle, featuring cartoon of four young people standing in front of a full moon

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle

Becca is the new girl at school, so she’s thrilled to be accepted into the popular girls’ group. And if that means becoming a werewolf and killing and eating a few boys, so be it. The pack eventually turns on each other, but not before two of them fall for each other.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

Adam Silvera Is Writing the Books He Wished He Had as a Queer Teen

Queer Books Databases Make It Easy To Search for Your Next LGBTQ+ Read

Hayley Kiyoko is writing a book based on her song “Girls Like Girls”!! Available for preorder now.

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!

Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

A Punch to the Face of Gay Halloween Vibes

I am full on in the Halloween spirit. Sure, there are a few weeks to go, but I’ve been watching scary movies and reading horror novels ever since the first of October came around. So let’s get into some witchy reads!

This week I wanted to highlight the charity Hope In a Box. They supply rural public schools with “curated books with LGBTQ characters, detailed curriculum for these books tied to Common Core State Standards, and extensive training and mentorship on how to cultivate an inclusive classroom.” You can find out more at the Hope In a Box website and support them by donating. You can also buy a box outright for your own classroom.

Bookish Goods

a photo of a Read More Queer Books hoodie

Read More Queer Books Sweater by JazzyDesignsEtsy

It’s sweater weather!! At least, it is here. And what better way to bundle up than with a Read More Queer Books sweatshirt? $26+

New Releases

the cover of Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner (F/F Romance)

It’s hard to believe this is out today, because I feel like I’ve been hearing people talk about the “MILF book” for years! During Family Weekend, Cassie slips away from the university and into a bar, where she has what is supposed to be a casual fling. Except, whoops, it turns out she hooked up with her friend’s mom.

the cover of Nikhil Out Loud

Nikhil Out Loud by Maulik Pancholy (Gay Middle Grade Contemporary)

Nikhil is a 13-year-old voice actor, the star of Raj Reddy in Outer Space. When his family moves to a small town in Ohio, though, his life turns upside down. He is cast in the school musical because of his experience as an actor, but he can’t sing — and adults are protesting an openly gay star being on stage. To make matters worse, his voice is beginning to change, which means leaving the role of Raj behind him.

When Things Happen Together by Jordan Clayden-Lewis (Gay Fiction)

Daughters of the New Year by E. M. Tran (Lesbian Fiction)

the cover of Season of Love

Jade Is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton (Queer Woman Fiction)

Before All the World by Moriel Rothman-Zecher (Gay Historical Fiction)

Army of Lovers by K.M. Soehnlein (Queer ’80s Historical Fiction)

Pacifique by Sarah L. Taggart (Sapphic Thriller)

Season of Love by Helena Greer (F/F Holiday Romance)

Rain by Joe Hill, David M. Booher, and Zoe Thorogood (Sapphic Horror Graphic Novel)

the cover of The Name-Bearer

Black and White: Tough Love at the Office Vol. 1 by Sal Jiang (Yuri Manga)

I’m in Love with the Villainess (Light Novel) Vol. 5 by Inori and Hanagata (Yuri Light Novel)

The Edge of Being by James Brandon (Queer Guy YA Contemporary)

The Other Ones by Fran Hart (M/M YA Halloween Romance UK Release)

The Name-Bearer by Natalia Hernandez (Queer YA Fantasy)

Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot (Queer YA Fantasy)

A House Unsettled by Trynne Delaney (Queer YA Horror)

the cover of Where the Lost Ones Go

Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm & Jamie Green (Bisexual YA Graphic Novel Retelling of Twelfth Night)

Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman (Sapphic Middle Grade Fantasy)

Something Great by Jeanette Bradley (Nonbinary Picture Book)

Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson-Trudeau, Phoenix Wilson, and Megan Kyak-Monteith (Two-Spirit Picture Book)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

It’s October 13th, which is practically October 31st, so of course I’m going with a Halloween-y theme today! And that theme is…witches! There are so many great queer witch books, but here are a couple.

the cover of Witchmark: a blue-toned city street with trees and a cobblestone road, with a silhoutte of a man wearing a bowler on a bicycle. a woman and another man are reflected on the street in the shadow of the bike.

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Miles is a witch, but that’s been more trouble than help in his life. He enlisted in the war to escape being detected, but there, his witchmark and healing powers are exposed. Now, he has to trust another soldier in order to keep his freedom. This is a magical gas lamp fantasy with an M/M romance.

Payback's a Witch cover

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

Do you want to get punched in the face with Halloween vibes? This is the book for you. It’s like Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus, but as a bisexual F/F adult romance. It takes place in a magical village that doubles as a Halloween tourist trap. There are three women who bond by getting revenge on their mutual ex, a warlock — and then two of them fall for each other. There’s also a magical competition! This is a fun and fluffy seasonal read.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

10 Queer Haunted House Books

Author Meryl Wilsner on Writing MILFs, Age Gaps, and Twisting Tropes

The Family Outing Is a Vivid Memoir of Neglect, Secrets, and the Power of Family

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Bringing the Lesbian Vampire Home

There are two different book covers included in this post that feature queer underwater monsters. I’m sorry/you’re welcome.

Today’s featured charity is Pride and Less Prejudice, which provides LGBTQ-inclusive books to K-3 classrooms. This is a great, productive way of opposing censorship in schools. Here’s their donation page to help out!

Bookish Goods

a photo of stickers of rainbow books with Gay Agenda on the cover

Gay Agenda Sticker by CraftyQueerStudio

My personal gay agenda is more of a TBR, so these stickers are perfect.

New Releases

A Scatter of Light cover

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo (Sapphic YA Contemporary)

Aria didn’t plan to spend the summer with her grandmother in California, and she certainly didn’t expect to fall for Steph, her grandmother’s gardener. The only problem — other than that Aria thought she was straight until now — is that Steph already has a girlfriend. This is a messy coming of age story set in the way-back time of 2008. Explorations of astronomy, time, and art weave through this beautiful and bittersweet novel. For Last Night at the Telegraph Club fans, there’s also a brief update on the main characters!

I talk about this book more in depth in this week’s All the Books episode.

The First to Die at the End cover

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera (M/M Fantasy)

They Both Die at the End was a huge hit that’s still being regularly recommended on TikTok five years later, so this prequel is highly anticipated. It takes place at the launch of Death-Cast, while everyone is waiting to see if it really can predict how people will die. Orion and Valentino meet and quickly fall for each other. One gets a call, one doesn’t, but they decide to spend the day together, even if, for one of them, it may be their last.

the cover of The Future Is Disabled

The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Queer Essays)

Carework was such an incredible read, and Bodymap is my favorite book of poetry, so I knew I would love this, and I was absolutely right. It discusses disability justice during the pandemic as well as into the future. I look forward to rereading this soon, because there is so much to think about packed into this essay collection.

I talk about this book more in depth in this week’s All the Books episode.

The Language of Bodies by Suzanne DeWitt Hall (Sapphic Thriller)

Blue-Skinned Gods by SJ Sindu (Queer Fiction) (Paperback Rerelease)

the cover of Tentacles & Triathlons

Tentacles & Triathlons by Ashley Bennett (M/M Fantasy Romance)

Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless (M/M Historical Fantasy Romance)

The Rising Tide by Amy Lane (M/M Fantasy)

Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector (Bisexual Fantasy)

Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli (Queer Horror Anthology)

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson (Queer Polyamorous Dracula’s Wives Retelling) (Hardcover Rerelease)

the cover of Queer Little Nightmares

Anne Of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki (YA Anne of Green Gables Retelling)

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo (Sapphic YA Thriller) (Paperback Rerelease)

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters (Sapphic YA Supernatural Thriller)

Thieves by Lucie Bryon (Sapphic YA Graphic Novel)

Hollow by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, and Berenice Nelle (F/F YA Fantasy Graphic Novel)

the cover of Hollow

The Summer You Were There Vol. 1 by Yuama (Yuri Manga)

Big Love: Reclaiming Myself, My People, My Country by Brooke Blurton (Queer Memoir)

The Family Outing: A Memoir by Jessi Hempel (Queer Memoir)

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson (Bisexual Memoir) (Paperback Rerelease)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

It’s October, which means everyone should read Carmen Maria Machado’s books. I don’t make the rules. (Yes, I do.) I’ve chosen this theme partly because It Came From the Closet is out today — I snuck in another featured new release in this section because there are too many amazing options! — but also because she’s in a documentary called Queer for Fear on Shudder! I can’t wait to see it!

the cover of It Came From The Closet

It Came From The Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Vallese

What could be more fitting for the October Our Queerest Shelves newsletter than this book? It’s a collection of essays by queer and trans writers about different aspects of horror movies, including an essay from Carmen Maria Machado about Jennifer’s Body.

Carmilla cover

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado

I’ve always been drawn to Carmilla, the lesbian vampire novel that predated Dracula, but I also know that it was written to be a story about queer women as villains and monsters. Then, I read Machado’s version, which elegantly reframes the entire narrative just by adding a new intro and a handful of footnotes. It also has some great illustrations. I loved it so much I wrote a whole post about it: Bringing the Lesbian Vampire Home: Carmen Maria Machado’s Reclamation of Carmilla.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

Autostraddle: Malinda Lo’s New Coming-of-Age Queer Novel, A Scatter of Light, Shines Brilliantly

Autostraddle: It Came From the Closet Gave Me New Appreciation for the Horror Genre

Alexander Chee reviewed All Down Darkness Wide by Seán Hewitt at The Atlantic

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

It Gets Gay in the Sequel

It’s almost October! In this week’s new releases, I have two takes on books to add to your seasonal TBR: an M/M Halloween romance that’s as sweet as trick-or-treating, or a blood-drenched gothic sapphic horror novel…or both!

For today’s featured charity or nonprofit, I wanted to highlight the Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline for trans people that also gives microgrants to help trans people change legal documentation to reflect their gender. You can find out more at their website, and you can help out at their donation page.

Bookish Goods

a mug with a painting of queer book spines, including Pet, The Song of Achilles, and Her Body and Other Parties

Queer Pride Favorites Bookshelf Mug by HangryCreates

I love the variety of LGBTQ books represented on this mug! Set your day off right with drinking your morning coffee from a queer books mug. $18

New Releases

house of hunger book cover

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson (Sapphic Gothic Horror)

If you’re looking for a queer gothic horror novel for your October TBR, here’s a perfect candidate. Marion makes a desperate decision to try to escape poverty by signing up to be a bloodmaid for the elites. She quickly catches the eye of the notorious Countess Lisavet, which may prove deadly.

the cover of The Rivals of Casper Road

The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish (M/M Halloween Romance)

Just look at this cover!! Here is another take on a seasonal read: a comforting Halloween romance. Zachary is his neighborhood’s reigning Halloween decorating champion. Bram, his new neighbor, is determined to steal his crown. Then the competition turns to prank wars, and then to something else entirely… This looks so cute I can barely stand it.

Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin, translated by Jamie Chang (Queer Fiction)

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr (Queer Historical Fiction)

Book cover of The Genesis of Misery

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2021 edited by L. D. Lewis and Charles Payseur (Queer SFF Anthology)

The Tide That Binds Us by Alexis C. Maness (Sapphic Mermaid Fantasy)

Lark Ascending by Silas House (Gay Sci FI)

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang (Nonbinary Sci Fi)

Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender (Nonbinary YA Contemporary)

How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy (Sapphic YA Fantasy)

the cover of How to Succeed in Witchcraft

My Name Is Magic by Xan van Rooyen (Nonbinary YA Fantasy)

Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker & Nicole Goux (Lesbian YA Graphic Novel)

The Trouble With Robots by Michelle Mohrweis (Bisexual Middle Grade Contemporary)

Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (M/M Fantasy Light Novel)

Love is an Illusion! Vol. 1 by Fargo (M/M Manga)

I’m in Love with the Villainess (Manga), Vol. 3 by Inori and Aonoshimo (F/F Yuri Fantasy Manga)

Cats and Sugar Bowls by Yukiko (F/F Manga Erotica)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

In honor of the cover reveal for the new Nico di Angelo book by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro (scroll down!) I thought I’d share some YA fantasy series that get gay in the sequel. (Yes, I know the Rick Riordan book are middle grade, but close enough.)

the cover of The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

Coincidentally, it was Mark Oshiro who got me reading Tamora Pierce. They were reading all of Pierce’s books in order, reacting to each chapter, and I decided to come along for the ride. The Will of the Empress would be the 26th book I read of hers, the ninth set in the Emelan world with the same characters, but it was the only one I owned before starting the project. Because I knew there was a lesbian main character. I spent eight books guessing which of the three girls would come out by the end of the series, which was another layer of delight to reading a series I loved. While this could technically stand alone, I recommend starting with Sandry’s book, the first Emelan/Circle of Magic story.

the cover of Court of Lions

Court of Lions by Somaiya Daud

In the first book in the series, Mirage, we follow Amani’s journey entering the court as Princess Maram’s body double. We only see glimpses of Maram, who is hated by her kingdom. In the sequel, this antivillain gets her own point of view — and a sapphic romance.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

This is not a drill! The new Nico di Angelo book has a title, cover, and release date! It’s called The Sun and the Star, it’s co-authored by the incredible Mark Oshiro, and it will be out May 2, 2023. Check out the gorgeous (and gay) cover!

LGBTQ Reads shared tons of new bisexual books for Bi Visibility Day, with links to previous years’ lists!

‘We’re seeing a relaunch of an old story’: Exploring the movement to ban books with LGBTQ characters

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Let’s Make Banned Books Week Mean Something

It’s Banned Books Week, and I’ll get into my complicated feelings about that later in the newsletter. The TL;DR version, though, is please use this time to actively fight against book censorship — don’t just read banned books! That might be great for your reading life, but it doesn’t help the kids who have been denied access to them. Show up to school board meetings, vote in library and school board elections, contact your legislators, and throw your weight behind these life-saving books so that kids have the chance to read them when they need them!

One place you can help is by donating to EveryLibrary, which has been on the front lines of fighting censorship and supporting librarians.

Bookish Goods

a photo of a long sleeve that says I Support #FReadom

Official #FReadom Librarian Unisex Long Sleeve Tshirt by KeenBeeStudio

The FReadom Fighters are a group of Texas librarians fighting censorship. You can help support them with this official shirt!

New Releases

the cover of The Lost Century

The Lost Century by Larissa Lai (Queer Historical Fiction)

When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai is one of my favorite books, so of course in my infinite reading wisdom, I somehow have never read another of her books. I’m going to have to fix that soon, though, because this looks fascinating. It follows Tobie, who is just learning the story of her grandmother during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in the 1940s. It promises to explore “queer Asian history, underground resistance, the violence of war, and the rise of modern China.”

the cover of Other Ever Afters

Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman (Queer Middle Grade Graphic Novel)

What a fantastic new releases day! Melanie Gillman is one of my favorite artists — just look at that detailed pencil crayon art! I just finished this collection and loved it. They do feel like timeless fairy tales, but they’re all queer and often about dismantling oppressive power structures. I highly recommend this for readers of any age!

The Old Place by Bobby Finger (Lesbian Fiction)

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer (Gay Fiction)

the cover of Less is Lost

Constitution Check by Katherine McIntyre (F/F Romance)

Morgan Breaks a Vow by M. L. Sexton (F/F Romance)

The Unbalancing: A Birdverse Novel by R. B. Lemberg

No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper (F/F Fantasy)

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass (M/M YA Romance)

The Killing Code by Ellie Marney (Sapphic YA Historical Mystery)

rust in the root book cover

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland (Sapphic YA Fantasy)

Eternally Yours edited by Patrice Caldwell (YA Fantasy Anthology, F/F Story Included)

Fraternity by Andy Mientus (90s Gay Paranormal YA)

You Only Live Once, David Bravo by Mark Oshiro (Queer Middle Grade Fantasy)

Doughnuts and Doom by Balazs Lorinczi (F/F Fantasy Graphic Novel)

Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern (Queer/Nonbinary Graphic Novel)

Doughnuts and Doom cover

Look Again by Elizabeth A. Trembley (Queer Graphic Memoir)

The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter (Queer Memoir)

Anti-Romance: Special Edition Vol. 1 by Shoko Hidaka (BL Manga)

Monotone Blue by Nagabe (BL Manga)

Togetherness by Wo Chan (Nonbinary Poetry)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Banned Books Week

It’s Banned Books Week, and I’m feeling conflicted about it, to be honest. “Celebrating” Banned Books Week has always felt strange, and now that book censorship (especially against LGBTQ and BIPOC books as well as sex education books) has hit unprecedented levels in the U.S., it feels even more out of touch. The ALA, which hosts Banned Books Week, has had a disappointing response to this crisis while still collecting unmarked funds through Banned Book Week. Meanwhile, many librarians have reported that they aren’t even answering the phone when contacted for support.

Here in Canada, we celebrate Freedom to Read Week instead (in February). But rebranding is not enough. It’s about recognizing that “read banned books” is not an adequate response to conservative propaganda pulling much-needed diverse books out of schools and public libraries, and it doesn’t protect librarians who are being called “groomers” or stop hate groups from harassing library workers.

So, I do want to highlight a couple of queer books that have been challenged and banned a lot in recent years, but please, don’t have your takeaway be just “read these books.” This requires an active response, including showing up to school board meetings and voting in school board and library board elections. Check out our Banned Books Week Action List for more.

book cover all boys aren't blue by george m. johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

If you see Banned Books Week displays that are mostly made up of books like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, they are missing the mark. The books getting targeted now are queer books, especially by authors of color, like this beautiful nonbinary YA memoir and the asexual and nonbinary graphic memoir Gender Queer.

the cover of Melissa by Alex Gino

Melissa by Alex Gino

Melissa, previously published as George, has the dubious honor of being frequently banned and challenged before 2021 made banning queer books cool again. (I apologize for the sarcasm and anger dripping off this newsletter; I just really hate queer books getting banned.) This is a sweet middle grade novel about a trans girl who wants to play Charlotte in the school’s production of Charlotte’s Web.

If there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

The best queer comics, recommended by LGBTQ creators

2022 Is The Year Of The Bisexual Book

Banned in the USA Q&A: Kalynn Bayron calls challenges “clearly homophobic”

2022 queer books by Latinx authors and starring queer Latinx main characters!

10 Books To Add To Your TBR After Watching Prime Video’s “A League Of Their Own” and 8 Books A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Fans Have to Read

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Queer Books To Read for Hispanic Heritage Month!

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! I’ve got a couple recommendations for you to add to your TBR this month, plus artwork from Cemetery Boys you can hang up in your reading nook.

From September 22-25, Pride and Less Prejudice is holding a virtual auction to raise money to donate LGBTQ-inclusive books to elementary schools in the U.S. and Canada. Mark your calendar!

Bookish Goods

a print of the two teen boys in Cemetery Boys embracing each other

Mi Querido scene from Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas | Illustration | Print by Peaches Obviously

This shop has art from a bunch of queer books, including The Song of Achilles, One Last Stop, and I Wish You All the Best. This one is a scene from Cemetery Boys! $16

New Releases

cover image for I'm the Girl

I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers (Sapphic YA Thriller)

From the author of Sadie and The Project, this is a highly-anticipated queer YA thriller about Georgia, who is trying to solve the murder of the 13-year-old girl whose body she discovered. Along the way, she’s pulled into a glittery world of excess unlike anything she’s ever experienced, and it soon becomes obvious that here, everyone is complicit. But exposing the truth will mean risking everything.

the cover of No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies

No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay by Julian Aguon (Queer Essays)

This is a mix of essays, memoir, and poetry that explores environmental justice and Indigenous resistance, highlighting why the natural world is worth fighting for, from a queer climate activist based in Guam.

Junie by Chelene Knight (Sapphic Bisexual Historical Fiction)

We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow: And Other Stories by Margaret Killjoy (Queer SFF Short Stories)

the cover of Notorious Sorcerer

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans (M/M Fantasy)

The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg (Queer F/NB Fantasy)

Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #3) by Tamsyn Muir (Sapphic SFF)

Death by Society by Sierra Elmore (Sapphic YA Contemporary)

Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt (Asexual YA Heist)

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco (Queer, Polyamorous YA Vampires)

the cover of Silver Under Nightfall

Tragic by Dana Mele & Valentina Pinti (Sapphic YA Hamlet Graphic Retelling)

Love Nest, Vol. 1 by Yuu Minaduk (Yaoi Manga)

Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen (Queer Poetry)

Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparán (Queer Poetry)

Almanac of Useless Talents by Michael Chang (Queer Poetry)

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones (Queer Poetry)

the cover of Before We Were Trans

Caught In The Act: A Memoir by Courtney Act aka Shane Jenek (Drag Memoir)

A Place Called Home: A Memoir by David Ambroz (Gay Memoir)

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown (Asexual Essays)

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam (Trans Nonfiction)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! (It runs September 15th through October 15th.) So, of course, it felt like a good time to highlight some queer Hispanic books. As with many intersectional identities, I find it easier to find YA that’s representative, but here is a litfic title and a memoir to add to your TBR this month! And if you haven’t read Carmen Maria Machado yet, get on that.

cantoras

Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis

Cantoras follows a friend group of five queer women over several decades during the Urguayan dictatorship (1970s and 80s). Despite the danger they face being queer in this time period, they find community in each other, escaping every year to an isolated shack on the beach that they own together.

Hola Papi Cover

¡Hola Papi! by John Paul Brammer

Brammer’s advice column got its name from the opening line he kept getting from white guys on Grindr. In the book of the same name, he explores growing up as a queer Latino kid in a small town and how it eventually led to becoming “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw.”

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

The Right Is Banning LGBTQ+ Books, So We Made Our Own Queer Syllabus

8 Books A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Fans Have to Read

Andrew Sean Greer on His New Novel, Less Is Lost

Before We Were Trans by Kit Heyam was reviewed at The New York Times

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!

Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Witchy YA and THE HOLIDAY, But Gay

It’s September, and that means a lot of kids and college students are back to school! (And some of you went back in August, apparently? We don’t do that here in Canada.)

So today, let’s help some teachers and librarians get queer books on the shelves for students who need them. Here are a few Donors Choose projects that would appreciate you tossing them some money as well as social media shares:

Bookish Goods

a photo of someone wearing a shirt with a rainbow over a mountain and the text "It's always a beautiful day to say gay"

It’s Always a Beautiful Day To Say Gay by CosmicBabesClub

This is a particularly great shirt to wear in Florida, home of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. $23+

New Releases

the cover of The Holiday Trap

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (Gay and Lesbian Holiday Romance)

If you, like me, watch The Holiday every December and cry when Jude Law cries, do I have a book for you. Greta is tired of being seemingly the only lesbian in her small town in Maine. Truman, in Louisiana, is reeling from finding out his boyfriend has a secret life — complete with a marriage and a kid. They both want to get away. So they decide to swap places for the holiday break! But when they fall for people far from home, what happens when the holidays come to an end?

Cover of The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (Trans Guy YA Fantasy)

Aiden Thomas has a huge fanbase from Cemetery Boys, so this is a highly anticipated release. Every ten years, the sunbearer trials pit ten of the best semidiós competitors against each other. At the end, one will be elevated, and one will be sacrificed. Teo is shocked to find himself (and his best friend) chosen, because no one considered him one of the best. Now he has to keep himself and his best friend alive — and did I mention his ex-boyfriend is also in the competition?

Sacrificio by Ernesto Mestre-Reed (Queer Fiction)

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg (Queer Boys YA 80s Historical Fiction)

A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee (F/F YA Treasure Island Remix) (Paperback Rerelease)

cover of Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix (Remixed Classics, 5) by Anna-Marie McLemore; illustration of two young men, one white and blonde, one Latine with dark hair, dressed in 1920s outfits

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore (Trans Guy YA Retelling)

Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland (Queer YA Horror/Fantasy)

Moonflower by Kacen Callender (Nonbinary Middle Grade Contemporary)

A Costume for Charly by C.K Malone and Alejandra Barajas (Bigender Picture Book)

Coven by Jennifer Dugan and illustrated by Kit Seaton (Sapphic YA Graphic Novel)

Space Trash Vol. 1 by Jenn Woodall (Sapphic Sci-Fi Graphic Novel)

The Summer You Were There Vol. 1 by Yuama (Yuri Manga)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Since Aiden Thomas has a new book, and I consider September/October prime witchy/horror/mystery reading time, I decided to make this week’s Riot Recs about Witchy YA! Of course, check out Cemetery Boys to read about a trans and queer brujo who accidentally brings the wrong spirit back while trying to solve a murder. We’ve all been there.

the cover of Labyrinth Lost

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Alex comes from a family of brujas, but she has no desire to wield their power, which is linked to the dead. But when she tries to get rid of magical abilities, she instead sends her family to Los Lagos, a terrifying in-between world. Now she’s teamed up with a broody brujo and her bubbly best friend (hello, love triangle) to travel there herself and try to get them back.

The Witch King cover

The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon

Wyatt is on the run from the fae world since his powers caused a disaster. But his ex-fiance, Emyr, has tracked him down and now demands he keep up his side of the political union between witch and fae. Wyatt makes a desperate deal to escape, but perhaps marrying Emyr isn’t such a bad deal after all. (This has a trans guy main character.)

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer book recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

Teens Are Fighting Back Against LGBTQ Book Bans

Maia Kobabe was interviewed at Time about the attempt to restrict sales of eir memoir.

103 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way Fall 2022

Get in Your Back-to-School Feelings With These 10 Queer YA Books

10 Queer Dark Academia Books

Chivalry Is Undead: The Sapphic Swordswomen of The Locked Tomb

Meet the Real-World Rude Lesbian Swordfighter Behind Gideon the Ninth

10 Asexual Icons In Comic Books

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Queer Books From 2021 You Probably Missed

I regret to tell you I’ve fallen back into a reading slump since last time I wrote, but hope springs eternal! There are so many incredible (and so very queer) books on my TBR that I’m bound to get pulled in again soon. Some of them are in this very newsletter!

This week, I wanted to highlight the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which provides legal aid to low income trans, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people of color in New York City. You can find out more about them on the SRLP website and you can help out using their donation page.

If you know of a queer charity/nonprofit you’d like to see highlighted on OQS, let me know!

Bookish Goods

a photo of a Sappho bust lamp

Sappho Bust Lamp by StaticGazeFollow

I’ve been admiring this Sappho bust lamp for about a year now, which means I should definitely buy it, right? It would really gay up the place. Etsy also offers Sappho bust planters and statues. $35

New Releases

the cover of Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta

Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham (Trans Woman Fiction)

After two traumatic decades of being held in a men’s prison, Carlotta, an Afro-Latina trans woman, is back in Brooklyn and trying to rebuild her life, including reconnecting with her son. This is a stream-of-consciousness story in the style of Ulysses where Brooklyn is as much the main character as Carlotta is.

cover of Dead Flip by Sara Farizan; 1980s movie poster-style image of several teens and arcade games under neon text

Dead Flip by Sara Farizan (Lesbian YA 90s Horror)

In 1987, Cori and Maz’s friend Sam disappeared. Five years later, the two have drifted apart: Maz is convinced Sam was pulled into a pinball machine, while Cori believes he’s dead. They’re thrown back together, though, when they find Sam standing outside his house like he never left — exactly like he never left. He’s still 12. Now they have to figure out what happened and keep him safe.

The Dreaming by Andre Bagoo (Gay Short Stories)

Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford (Queer Thriller)

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland (M/M Fantasy Romance)

cover of A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland; illustration of two men with dark hair, one with a beard, wearing royal garments

A Love For Micah by Eskay Kabba (M/M Romance)

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae (F/F Romance)

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series Vol. 1: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour by Tee Franklin and Max Sarin (F/F Superhero Comic)

Patisserie of Love Vol. 1 by Anna Hanamaki (Yaoi Manga)

Seaside Stranger Vol. 4: Harukaze no Étranger by Kii Kanna (Yaoi Manga)

PULSE Vol. 1 by Ratana Satis (Yuri Manga)

Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery by Casey Parks (Lesbian Memoir)

Don’t Look Away by Danielle Laidley (Trans Woman Memoir)

Feels Right: Black Queer Women and the Politics of Partying in Chicago by Kemi Adeyemi (Nonfiction)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Queer Books From 2021 You Probably Missed

Since I started book blogging, and especially since cohosting All the Books, I’ve been a front list reader: my TBR is dominated by books that aren’t even out yet, or have only just come out. So today, I’m taking a moment to talk about some books that came out a year ago almost exactly that I don’t see talked about a lot now, but are worth a second look.

In the Watchful City cover

In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu

This is a novella about a fantasy city protected by a living system called the Gleaming. One day, a stranger arrives in town with “curiosities” from elsewhere, and Anima, a part of the Gleaming, begins to see the world in a whole new way. The book also has several main characters who use neopronouns, including æ/ær.

the cover of The Ophelia Girls

The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey

A bonus to waiting a year after the pub date: this is in paperback as of last month! From the author of The Animals at Lockwood Manor, Ophelia Girls is an unsettling story told in two time periods. In the 1970s, Ruth and her friends try to stage the painting of the drowning of Ophelia over and over — until the river takes one of them for good. Ruth returns to the estate as an adult with a teenage daughter, Maeve, who has recently recovered from cancer. Maeve feels misunderstood — except by Stuart, a childhood friend of Ruth’s. This is a story about a 40-year-old man grooming a 17-year-old, so do be prepared for that going in. (To be clear, the text portrays this as something disturbing; it doesn’t condone it.) Ruth is a lesbian, and there’s a gay side character.

As always, if there’s a topic you’d like queer books recommendations for, let me know on Twitter and it might be my next Riot Rec!

All the Links Fit to Click

Adiba Jaigirdar’s Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating won the YA Book Prize!

The Unapologetic Dyke Camp Style of Tasmyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Series

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

Cryptid Romcoms and Queer Little Nightmares

Last weekend, I briefly surfaced from a years-long reading slump. I wanted to pick up a book instead of scrolling TikTok. I finished the middle grade book I was reading, read a novella from start to finish (We Had to Remove This Post, which was disturbing but thought-provoking), and then read a whole graphic novel. In the same day! On a whim!

I haven’t had a significant chunk of unscheduled time since then, so I’m crossing my fingers that it’s my new normal. Despite loving books, I am so easily led astray by the siren call of online videos. (And speaking of sirens, that’s a bit of foreshadowing for today’s Riot Recs!)

This week, I want to highlight the charity LGBT Books to Prisoners. You can donate either monetarily or with books. They’re especially looking for gay, bi, and trans books (they have an overflow of lesbian book at the moment). You can also purchase books off their Amazon wishlist.

Bookish Goods

a photo of someone wearing a white hoodie with the Heartstopper-style leaves across it

Heartstopper Leaves Hoodie by GiftUniversell

Find your fellow Heartstopper fans with this hoodie that has the iconic illustrations of leaves from the book and show. And for everyone else, it just seems like a cute seasonal sweatshirt for fall! This one goes up to 5x. $30+

New Releases

the cover of My Government Means to Kill Me

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson (Queer Historical Fiction)

This is a coming of age story about a young queer Black man in New York City in the 1980s, including volunteering at a home hospice for AIDS patients. It comes highly recommended by Andrew Sean Greer, the author of Less, among many others, and promises to be funny, sexy, and powerful.

this is why they hate us book cover

This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves (Bisexual YA Contemporary)

Quique needs to get over his hopeless crush on Saleem, so he decides the best move is to pursue some fun flings with other people, which is only slightly complicated by the fact that he’s not out to anyone except his best friend. It turns out, though, that, as the back of the book puts it, “getting over one guy by getting under a bunch of others may not have been the best laid plan.”

Kissed by Her by Chelsea M. Cameron (F/F Romance)

Just a Touch Away by Jae (F/F Romance)

the cover of You & I, Rewritten, showing an illustration of two men holding books with papers flying around them

Call Me Enitan by L. Leigh (Sapphic Romance)

Like Real People Do by E.L. Massey (M/M Romance)

You & I, Rewritten by Chip Pons (M/M Romance)

A Flood of Blood to the Heart by Isis Molina (F/F Fantasy Short Stories)

Nine Stones Vol. 1 by Samuel Spano (M/M Graphic Novel)

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro (Queer Middle Grade Fiction) (Paperback Rerelease)

I’m Not Broken by Jesse Leon (Gay Memoir)

Gender Pioneers: A Celebration of Transgender, Non-binary and Intersex Icons by Philippa Punchard (Nonfiction)

For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I asked you what you wanted to see in Riot Recs, and I got a request for queer cryptids/monster-hunting. It just so happens that I’m reading one right now, so that was easy. I also feel like cryptid stories are the perfect transition from summer to fall: there may be a sasquatch lurking in the woods while you’re camping, but they’re also unsettling enough to earn a spot on your horror/thriller reading season TBR. (Which is what fall is all about, right?)

Do you have any other queer cryptid books you recommend? Or do you have another topic/subgenre/trope/etc you’d like to see covered on OQS? Let me know on Twitter!

the cover of Patricia Wants to Cuddle

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Imagine The Bachelor, but set on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Now add lesbians. Now add a sasquatch. And look at that cover! This one promises to be part romcom, part horror thriller. As a queer woman who lives in the Pacific Northwest and loves a weird book, I am prepared for this to be my new favorite read.

the cover of Queer Little Nightmares

Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli (October 4th)

Let’s take a minute to admire how these covers match. Queer Little Nightmares is out at the beginning of October, and it’s a collection of queer stories and poems about monsters, from werewolves to a Minotaur to a gentle kaiju. Arsenal Pulp Press is my favorite publisher, so I can’t wait to get my paws on this one.

All the Links Fit to Click

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!
Danika