The Sunbearer Trials

                      

Title: The Sunbearer Trials

Series: The Sunbearer Duology #1

Author: Aiden Thomas

Published: Feiwel & Friends, September 6, 2022

Pages: 413

Genre: LGBTQ Young Adult

As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the chaotic Obsidian gods at bay. Sol selects ten of the most worthy semidioses to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all—they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body melted down to refuel the Sun Stones, protecting the world for another ten years.

Teo, a seventeen-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of the goddess of birds, isn't worried about the Trials . . . at least, not for himself. His best friend, Niya is a Gold semidiós and a shoo-in for the Trials, and while he trusts her abilities, the odds of becoming the sacrifice is one-in-ten.

But then, for the first time in over a century, the impossible happens. Sol chooses not one, but two Jade competitors. Teo, and Xio, the thirteen-year-old child of the god of bad luck. Now they must compete in five trials against Gold opponents who are more powerful and better trained. Worst of all, Teo’s annoyingly handsome ex-best friend and famous semidiós Hero, Aurelio is favored to win. Teo is determined to get himself and his friends through the trials unscathed—for fame, glory, and their own survival.

YESSS! I am so freaking pumped for this book. Who said I was burnt out on YA? She lied! I saw somewhere that this was pitched as Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games....and yes. That's the perfect description and I loved every second of it. The only thing I didn't love is that it ended on a cliffhanger. But I'm FERAL for book two! 

Teo is awesome. He's a bit of a troublemaker who's excited to watch the Sunbearer Trials. This competition for the children of the gods to relight the Sol Stones around their world to keep monsters locked away in their celestial prisons. Teo is just a Jade, so he's obviously not going to be chosen to compete. 

Ugh. The mythology is beautiful. The pop culture woven through is hilarious! I love a fantasy novel with a heavy dose of technology and social media. The queerness is next level and I am here for it! Again....when is the next book coming?!?

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

It Goes Like This

                     

Title: It Goes Like This

Author: Miel Moreland

Published: Feiwel & Friends, May 18, 2021

Pages: 348

Genre: LGBTQ Young Adult

Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they've been though a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair.

But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens' band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste's starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Gina and Celeste step further into the spotlight, Steph disappears completely, and Eva, heartbroken, takes refuge as a songwriter and secret online fangirl...of her own band. That is, until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they'll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.

I think I may have burned myself out on YA books this month. I definitely burned myself out on YA audiobooks this month. There's a certain tone that it seems all audio narrators use to signify "adolescent woman" that sounds very much like...."ultra whine" to me. As this was a book about 3 adolescent women and their non-binary bandmate....the whine was STRONG. And it did greatly impact my enjoyment of the story.

Steph was by far my favorite part of this book. But there was a running theme in this book of people choosing to martyr themselves for no apparent reason. Blegh. I know that people in the entertainment industry tend to grow up really fast, but this was wild. It slapped me in the face a few times just how young they were. Like...you got time babes! 

In saying all of that. It's a cute queer pop band story. And I did like the growth that I got to see in all of them and especially in their relationships to one another!

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Our Wives Under the Sea

                    

Title: Our Wives Under the Sea

Author: Julia Armfield

Published: Flatiron Books, July 12, 2022

Pages: 227

Genre: LGBTQ Horror

Leah is changed. A marine biologist, she left for a routine expedition months earlier, only this time her submarine sank to the sea floor. When she finally surfaces and returns home, her wife Miri knows that something is wrong. Barely eating and lost in her thoughts, Leah rotates between rooms in their apartment, running the taps morning and night. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. As Miri searches for answers, desperate to understand what happened below the water, she must face the possibility that the woman she loves is slipping from her grasp.

By turns elegiac and furious, wry and heartbreaking, Our Wives Under the Sea is an exploration of the unknowable depths within each of us, and the love that compels us nevertheless toward one another.

This is so beautifully written. It's extremely poetic and haunting. There's a level of detail and commitment to the language choices that I find really satisfying. 

It also scared the life out of me. It's not a particularly long book, and I was expecting to read it rather quickly. But there was too much going on that mirrored real life and so I had to put it down and take more breaks than I anticipated. I've never been a huge fan of the deep-sea exploration trope. Part of me finds it baffling that we know more about space than we do about the depths of our own planet. And yet, there's another part of me that feels it would be better if it stayed that way. If we disturb things in our ocean depths...they're a lot closer to home than light years away. 

So was this a book about exploring the depths of the seas or the depths of human relationships? Yes. It was that. Both of them simultaneously. Maybe to mirror just how little we understand about human connection? I don't know, but I think it did it well. How far will you go to get back to the people you loved and the life you knew? How hard do you work to honor connections and love that are changed and twisted into new shapes that you may not recognize? 

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Loveless

                   

Title: Loveless

Series: Osemanverse

Author: Alice Oseman

Published: HarperCollins, July 9, 2020

Pages: 433

Genre: LGBTQ Young Adult

This is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating plus sex equals love. It's not until she gets to college that she discovers the A range of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum - coming to understand herself as asexual/aromantic. Disrupting the narrative that she's been told since birth isn't easy - there are many mistakes along the way to inviting people into a newly found articulation of an always - known part of your identity. But Georgia's determined to get her life right, with the help of (and despite the major drama of) her friends.

Self-discovery can be hard to read about. It can be beautiful and hard and affirming and jealous-making. It's typically inspiring though. Whether you want it to be or not. Sometimes self-reflection is the last thing you're looking for from your fiction, but sometimes it sneaks up on you anyway.

It felt like it snuck up on Georgia. She was just living her life, wrapping up high school, and preparing to start university with her two best friends. Then all of a sudden she's confronted with the idea that her love of romance may not correlate to actual romantic feelings for other people. What does that mean for her? Well read the book and find out! 

Ultimately, just because Georgia may not have romantic feelings for anyone, doesn't mean she doesn't have love in her life. And it's those relationships that she chooses to focus her love and energy on that enrich her. And my experience with this book, honestly! Alice Oseman writes such lovable, relatable characters. 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Ben and Beatriz

                  

Title: Ben and Beatriz

Author: Katalina Gamarra

Published: Graydon House, August 2, 2022

Pages: 315

Genre: LGBTQ New Adult Romance

There’s nothing like falling for your worst enemy.

Beatriz Herrera is a fierce woman who will take you down with her quick wit and keen intellect. And after the results of the 2016 election worked hard to erase her identity as a queer biracial woman, she’d be right to. Especially if you come for her sweet BFF cousin, Hero. Beatriz would do anything for her, a loyalty that lands Beatriz precisely where she doesn’t want to be: spending a week at the ridiculous Cape Cod mansion of stupid-hot playboy Ben Montgomery. The same Ben Montgomery she definitely shouldn’t have hooked up with that one time… The things we do for family.

White and wealthy, Ben talks the talk and walks the walk of privilege, but deep down, he’s wrestling with the politics and expectations of a conservative family he can’t relate to. Though Beatriz’s caustic tongue drives him wild in the very best way, he's the last person she'd want, because she has zero interest in compromising her identity. But as her and Ben’s assumptions begin to unravel and their hookups turn into something real, they start wondering if it’s still possible to hold space for one another and the inescapable love that unites them. 

Wowzers. I was not ready for this book. Ben and Beatriz are exceptional characters. Ben is not the person his parents want him to be, and totally unsure how to not be the person they want him to be. Beatriz is only ever going to be exactly who she is. Neither of them are looking for a relationship. Especially with someone they've already hooked up with and then proceeded to hate for the last 3 years. 

Best laid plans and all that. I know that there are people out there who love to fight. They antagonize as a past time, and they get off on it. It could not be me. But it IS Ben and Beatriz. They are both so aggressive with one another for no reason. Not physically, but definitely with their words. There were times where it really made no sense to me until they started working it out that that was what was making them hot for each other. Even then, it was a lot for me. 

Reading about their relationship and how they grew to trust one another was great. And there were definitely some other elements that were important, but I was not ready for. Specifically, all of the talk about the 2016-2020 presidency. I should have looked up my trigger warnings because this is one of them! 

The racism and specifically colorism in this book was so well done. The differences in the way that Beatriz and her cousin were treated because of the difference in their skin tones was ROUGH. I had never really considered what passing might do for someone's experience though. 

The audio was good. But I do believe that it impacted my enjoyment a bit. There were times when the characters were passionately talking about their feelings, and it sounded whiney on the audio. And from the words, it didn't feel like whining. But the vocal tone really impacted how some of the more passionate moments came across, and I almost wish I had just read it myself.

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Spice: 2/5

We Could Be So Good

                 

Title: We Could Be So Good

Author: Cat Sebastian

Published: Avon, June 6, 2023

Pages: 383

Genre: LGBTQ Historical Romance

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.

Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.

Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.

The most magical friends to lovers story with no magic! 

Nick is this perpetually paranoid grump of a reporter. Andy is the boss's oblivious golden retriever of a son. Nick is a gay man in the late 50s who is constantly aware of just how dangerous that is. Andy is living in Nick's guest room because he hates being alone. And watching him lust after Nick without even acknowledging for awhile that that is in fact what's happening, is hilarious!

Watching Andy figure out that he is lusting after Nick is even better. His bi-awakening is so wholesome and cute. The wholesome factor may come from the fact that Andy is a mega prude and just adorable anyway. But his growth during and after discovering his attraction to men is so well done. 

Nick's growth is not anything to dismiss either. The character work in this book is top tier. And watching Nick learning how to trust people and be himself is really beautiful. 

Also, I listened to the audiobook for this one, and the late 50s New York accents were EVERYTHING!!

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 2/5

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

                

Title: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

Series: Mead Mishaps #3

Author: Kimberly Lemming

Published: Orbit, May 23, 2023

Pages: 278

Genre: Fantasy Romance

When a spirited young woman with a penchant for adventure finds herself locked away in a dragon’s tower, she realizes that fate has a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to her romantic prospects in this laugh-out-loud fantasy rom-com, perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes and The Dragon's Bride.

All children are told fairytales. Some are epic adventures with high stakes and exciting twists but others are tales of pitiful princesses trapped in boring towers pining for their Prince Charmings to come and rescue them. But one young woman always hated those stories. Why didn't they get up and rescue themselves? Little did she know that her own fate would take a similarly ironic turn. Because now, here she is. Stuck. In a tower. Turns out, when a dragon holds you hostage, he doesn't just let you get up and leave.

Who knew?

And just when she thinks she sees hope on the horizon, that hope is smashed to bits by—you guessed it—another damn dragon.

**spoiler alert** 

This series brings me so much joy. I am ravenous for all of the side characters to get their HEAs. 

There's just something about a high fantasy book that reads like a contemporary that works so well for me. Anything that makes dragons more accessible is going to be a win in my books! 

I have a lot of feelings about poor baby Gideon. There's grief and then there's kidnapping a woman and holding her hostage on your secluded island for 5 years. But after spending those 5 years with a dragon who wouldn't speak to her, I love that Cherry's first thought after seeing someone new is....let me drug him and manipulate him into getting me outta here! Manifest your own dreams, Cherry!! 

I'm really interested to see how Boohail is going to handle two territorial dragons hanging around. Sounds like we're going to have a mass migration of demons to the south? And they deserve it after being locked away in constant winter for centuries. Come get your tans, bebes!

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 5/5

Pageboy

               

Title: Pageboy

Author: Elliot Page

Published: Macmillan Audio, June 6, 2023

Pages: 288

Genre: Memoir

“Can I kiss you?” It was two months before the world premiere of Juno, and Elliot Page was in his first ever queer bar. The hot summer air hung heavy around him as he looked at her. And then it happened. In front of everyone. A previously unfathomable experience. Here he was on the precipice of discovering himself as a queer person, as a trans person. Getting closer to his desires, his dreams, himself, without the repression he’d carried for so long. But for Elliot, two steps forward had always come with one step back. 

With Juno’s massive success, Elliot became one of the world’s most beloved actors. His dreams were coming true, but the pressure to perform suffocated him. He was forced to play the part of the glossy young starlet, a role that made his skin crawl, on and off set. The career that had been an escape out of his reality and into a world of imagination was suddenly a nightmare. 

As he navigated criticism and abuse from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood, a past that snapped at his heels, and a society dead set on forcing him into a binary, Elliot often stayed silent, unsure of what to do, until enough was enough. Full of behind the scenes details and intimate interrogations on sex, love, trauma, and Hollywood, Pageboy is the story of a life pushed to the brink. But at its core, this beautifully written, winding journey of what it means to untangle ourselves from the expectations of others is an ode to stepping into who we truly are with defiance, strength, and joy.

I can't recommend this book enough. I know that I fall pretty exactly in the target demographic for this book. (queer millennial) But if you've ever felt uncomfortable in your own skin or about who you love, this book is for you. If you've ever wondered what it feels like to feel uncomfortable in your own skin or about who you love, this book is for you. And if you've ever felt hatred toward the people who feel uncomfortable in those ways....boo on you, and keep your mouth shut.

Be gentle with yourself while reading. I listened to the audio, and it's a pretty intimate experience to listen to someone read their memoir to you. Because of that perceived intimacy, listening to him describe his hard moments is tough. So check your trigger warnings and take care of yourself. But if you have the spoons, again, I highly recommend.

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Yellowface

              

Title: Yellowface

Author: R.F. Kuang

Published: William Morrow, May 16, 2023

Pages: 329

Genre: Suspense

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable. 

Let me start by saying that I am very unsure about how best to convey my thoughts about this book. I need to start with saying that I don't know much about R.F. Kuang beyond her author bio. I have read quite a few reviews of this book. Not to filter my thoughts through the opinions of others, but to gain some perspective on the cultural response.

What a response. I certainly can't say that I'm surprised that this book seems to be polarizing. That's one of the main drives of satire, right? To make people uncomfortable. To take relevant social topics and present a caricature that will entertain and hopefully make people think. This book did that job very well, in my opinion.

It definitely made me uncomfortable. But in a time when there are actual laws being written to silence the critical race theory conversation, I think this book is important. At times it felt like I was walking through the hall of mirrors in a fun house. Where your reflection gets distorted and sometimes it's so exaggerated that the differences are obvious and hilarious. But sometimes it is just a regular mirror or the distortion is so small as to be nearly imperceptible. Like June would start rationalizing something. It would start off recognizable. But then she would twist it and turn it into something rotten.

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Godly Heathens

             

Title: Godly Heathens

Series: The Ouroboros #1

Author: H.E. Edgmon

Published: Wednesday Books, November 28, 2023

Pages: 400

Genre: LGBTQ YA Fantasy

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.

But even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else.

When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem – or at least who Gem used to be - hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide.

I'm so in love with how utterly queer this book is. Maybe I'm in love with precisely *how* the book is queer. Queerness is this theme that carries you through the larger story of these gods from another reality, the Ether. 

The mythology and world-building is so interesting. I still have so many questions!! Edgmon has fully embraced the art of teasing out the world-building over the entire course of the novel, and leaving you wanting more at the end. I mean, not to mention the GINORMOUS cliffhanger. 

Gem Echols is our narrator. They are a nonbinary Seminole senior in high school. They spend every day working toward getting the heck out of small-town Georgia, and most nights having nightmares about "their demon." Gem is a very sympathetic narrator for me. I struggle to call them a protagonist though. For the sake of story structure, they absolutely are. But when you consider the connotation of the protagonist being a *hero* they are definitely not. 

But that leads into another of the huge themes of this story. It really explores the nuances of the ideals of justice, fairness, morality, and balance. It made me think about all of the ways these ideas are similar, and it kind of lives in the subtle differences between them. 

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

I Wish You All the Best

            

Title: I Wish You All the Best

Author: Mason Deaver

Published: PUSH, May 14, 2019

Pages: 339

Genre: LGBTQ Young Adult

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.

Reading this was intense. I didn't see any trigger or content warning lists before starting the book. I'm sure they're out there, but I didn't search it out. However, there are a few things that I believe deserve a warning. Namely: parental abuse, getting kicked out, depression, and anxiety. 

Ben had the experience with coming out that is the reason coming out is so scary. Well not the only reason, but it is definitely one of the biggest fears when coming out. Ben was lucky in the fact that they had a sister to call. And not just to call, but a sister willing to take them in and help them in all the ways they need. This book really explored all of the ways that family can be your hell and your haven. You face the reasons why giving family members a bit of grace and love can be a blessing, and the reasons why sometimes they don't deserve second chances. 

While dealing with their family, Ben is also just trying to graduate high school. After coming out to their parents went spectacularly bad, they choose not to come out to their new school. With everything going on in their life, their sister encourages them to see a doctor. Watching them go through their journey was tough at times. But also just very...relatable. 

Sometimes, found family is the thing that's going to get you through. Whether that be the sister that you haven't seen in years, the friends that you meet at your new high school, or the influencer that helped you through your self-discovery. Ben's found family is a beautiful thing. 

Ultimately, this book was good. But it was tough to read at times, and frustrating at others. The main character is a teenager. So some of the choices they make are....youthful. It fits for the book for sure, but it was frustrating. 

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

     

Title: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

Series: Gentle Art World #1

Author: KJ Charles

Publisher: KJC Books, February 24, 2021

Pages: 288

Genre: LGBTQ Historical Romance

Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces. 

Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury's heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn't impressed by good looks, or fooled by false charm. He's sure Robin is a liar - a fortune hunter, a card sharp, and a heartless, greedy fraud - and he'll protect his niece, whatever it takes. 

Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care - more than either of them thought possible. 

But Robin's cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?

KJ Charles does not disappoint. Robin and his sister, Marianne, are making a splash in London. Where were they before London? Unclear. What do they want from the good people of London? Very clear. Marriages and reliable income. Well....reliable income is what they want. Marriage is the easiest way to secure that. And if Marianne gets a coronet out of the deal, well, that's the gilded cherry on top!

Robin has set his sights on Alice, niece of Sir John Hartlebury. Hart takes umbrage with this choice. He doesn't trust Robin with his niece and he is out to prove Robin's ill will. Which proves easy to do considering Robin's frequenting the gaming hells around town, and his inability to pay debts. How they agree to settle their score is what proves most interesting!

Alice is definitely one of my favorite parts of this book. You would think that as a target of a fortune hunter, she would be the innocent victim in all of this. But she never way. She is a smart, independent young woman who just wants to go to Germany to study mathematics. If she has to marry Robin to gain access to her inheritance, she's willing to do that. Robin just gives her a better way to do that, without needing to tie herself to someone who may respect her, but doesn't love her. 

Then there's Hart. He's so grumpy and it's so cute! He just wants to brew beer and protect his family. And maybe find a friend to blow off some steam with along the way. When he does blow off some steam, it is hot!

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

BONUS:

Title: A Thief in the Night

Series: Gentle Art World #1.5

Author: KJ Charles

Publisher: KJC Books, April 14, 2023

Pages: 91

Genre: LGBTQ Historical Romance

Toby never meant to be a highway robber, but needs must. He didn’t plan to impersonate a top London valet either, but when the chance comes to present himself as the earl of Arvon’s new gentleman's gentleman, he grabs it. Unfortunately, the earl is the man he seduced and robbed on the road to get here. Oops.

Miles, Lord Arvon, is not impressed. But he’s faced with a tumbledown home and lost family fortune, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Toby—shameless, practical, and definitely desperate—may be just the man he needs.

To steal back a priceless bracelet, that is. What else were you thinking?

This was exactly what I needed this afternoon. A brief jaunt to distract me just enough that I could get through the last few hours of my workday without totally crashing!

This was really cute, really quick, and very satisfying. Miles and Toby are adorable. Though I am a little miffed that I still don't know if Toby is his real name. Maybe that just adds to the allure. I've been meaning to check out K.J. Charles stuff, and this feels like a perfect introduction. Maybe I'll actually read that book I purchased last year... One can hope!

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Spice: 4/5

In the Lives of Puppets

           

Title: In the Lives of Puppets

Author: TJ Klune

Published: Tor Books, April 25, 2023

Pages: 417

Genre: LGBTQ Fantasy

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

*swoon* This book made me swoon for many reasons. It's this really interesting take on Pinocchio with robots. It makes you question what makes a person, what makes a soul, what's your purpose? Those are really big questions! Typically, I don't like an existential crisis as a side item to my fictional escapes. But this one was so uplifting and funny that I didn't even mind.

Anyway, this book was beautiful. You have this fairly innocent, curious young man, Victor, and his 2 bestie robots that he's restored. Rambo is this neurotic vacuum cleaner, and Nurse Ratched is a psychotic nurse machine. If I took nothing else away from this book, these 2 would have made the whole thing worth it. They are so hilarious and ridiculous. Victor is just living life, and inventing things, and restoring machines. Watching old movies and listening to music with his besties and his dad, Giovanni, who is also a robot. 

Then Victor finds and restores Hap. Then the Terrible Dogfish comes to their forest and takes Giovanni back to the City of Electric Dreams. So Victor, his 2 best friends, and their new...friend?... Hap travel to rescue GIO. Along the way they meet the Coachmen and the Blue Fairy. They become exhibits in a museum and have to cuddle together in tiny crates to sneak into the city. And Victor might be asexual, as Nurse Ratched likes to remind us, but he sure does like to hold Hap's hand. All the while they're exploring how much of a person is based on predetermined programming, choice, and memory. It's incredibly moving.

And I have to mention the audio production. I started this as an ebook from the library and had to switch to the audiobook because I wasn't finished by the time the loan was due. Daniel Henning is so talented! The robot voices were so spot on! Bravo!!

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Not All Himbos Wear Capes

    

Title: Not All Himbos Wear Capes

Author: C. Rochelle

Publisher: October 30, 2022

Pages: 400

Genre: LGBTQ Action Adventure Romance

Xander

Big City is supposedly the place where dreams come true. As someone just trying to live my life, I can tell you, it’s more like a recurring nightmare where dreams get c*ckblocked at every turn.

Especially if you’re a supervillain like me.

The irony is that I have zero powers, despite coming from purebred villain stock, but try telling that to Big City’s beloved hero, Captain Masculine.

This himbo is ruining my research, and if his firepower doesn’t kill me, the sight of him in Lycra surely will. Luckily—or unluckily, in my opinion—my bestie just signed me up for the Bangers dating app and found my perfect match.

If this isn’t the start of my villain arc, I don’t know what is.

Butch

It’s hard feeling like I have to wear a mask every day—that the only value I bring to the table is the sparkling image others have created for me.

Such is the life of being Captain Masculine, Big City’s greatest superhero. This is the existence I was destined for, and I will gladly defend this city against every threat to its people.

Except Doctor Antihero.

I’ve seen countless villains come and go, but something about Antihero intrigues me more than the usual hero-villain encounters should.

It’s because of him that I impulsively signed up for a dating app, hoping a meaningless fling with a local normie will help get my head back in the game. The truth is, what I really want is someone who sees me—the man behind the mask.

But that’s a luxury no superhero can afford.

There is something about superheroes. Comics, graphic novels, cartoons, movies, spicy as heck romance novels. You name it, I'm into it. 

Captain Masculine is Big City's beloved superhero. His favorite supervillain to fight is Dr. Antihero. Does he have a crush on him? Maybe. But he's a villain! Gross! And Captain Masculine is a hero. He can't be gay. Right? Well, he joins the dating app Bangers. He finds out. Heroes can definitely be gay!

Dr. Antihero just wants to minimize the carbon footprint of the stupid humans and supes in Big City. The oceans are filthy, the planet is burning, and then his stupid neighbor signs him up for a dating app! But Butch Hawthorne is the hot himbo of his dreams. So what could a date hurt? Absolutely nothing when Butch Hawthorne ends up being even hotter in person, and a surprise sub. 

When this book gets spicy, it is SPICY! And it doesn't take much time at all. I am not usually here for a Daddy, but Xander (Dr. Antihero) is definitely Daddy. Ultimately, this has everything I want out of a superhero story. HOT guys, super powers, saving the world, and making sure we all remember what actually makes someone a hero or a villain.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 5/5