queer_bookwyrm's reviews
507 reviews

4 ⭐ CW: bullying 

"Once you get past the fear of being seen, you can get to the part where you know you're not alone."

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore is a YA standalone magical realism story featuring two Mexican-American, nonbinary, neurodivergent characters. This is the second book I've read by this author, and it is stunning. The cover is stunning , and the words inside are equally beautiful. 

We follow Bastián, a nonbinary kid with ADHD, who sees a world below the surface of the lake in their town. They are the only one that can see the lake come alive and entire into the world below. Until they meet Lore. Lore is a nonbinary kid with dyslexia, who has just moved to town after an incident at their old school. Lore can also see the world under the lake, and it doesn't take long for Bastián and Lore to find each other. 

Bastián has been making alebrijes to help cope with the things they can't stop thinking about. Whenever they have a bad day or feel like they failed at something, they make little paper mache animals and then release them into the lake where they come alive. Not long after Lore moves to town, the world under the lake starts to find them on land and encroach upon them in strange ways that are unsettling. Lore keeps hearing eerie laughter and voice they can't get away from along with the colors of the lake invading them. All of this is happening as they both are trying to figure out how to live with neurodivergent brains. 

This story is really about learning to accept all parts of yourself, the good and the bad. They have to learn that the ways their brains work may be frustrating and difficult, but it also makes them who they are, and that isn't all bad. Lore and Bastián accepting these things about each other helps them accept these things about themselves. We also see the acknowledgement of the thin line they have to walk as a trans person of color. 

This was a sweet character driven story. It's so nice to see this kind of representation that has a happy ending. I'll definitely keep reading this author. 

4 ⭐ CW: violence, transphobia/trans misogyny, homophobia/homophobic slurs, deadnaming, child abuse (verbal and emotional), death

Dreadnought by April Daniels is book one in the Nemesis series. This is a YA sff superhero novel that is somewhere between The Avengers and The Boys. We get a transfeminine lesbian superhero! 

We follow Danny (Danielle) Tozer, a closeted transgirl in the Pacific Northwest in a world with superheroes and villains. When Danny witnesses the death of Legion hero Dreadnought at the hands of new villain with a new dangerous weapon, she is given his mantle. When Dreadnought gives Danny the mantle, not only does it give her Dreadnought's powers, it also gives her the body she's always wanted. Which is great until she realizes she has no choice but to come out to her family and everyone else. As you can imagine, it doesn't go so well. Her parents, especially her father are deeply transphobic and want to find a "cure" for Danny's transition. Her relationship with her best friend David also changes, and she struggles with her self-worth along with her new found powers. 

Then Danny teams up with teen vigilante Calamity, and they start caping outside the Legion's permission. They are set on finding Utopia, the villain who murdered Dreadnought, and stopping her. Danny learns that the Legion isn't all it's cracked up to be. They ignore a lot of bad things, and have a TERF on their team. Danny has super strength and is bullet proof, but still can't stand up to her abusive father. 

Danny is such a great character. It was so hard to read her being so hard on herself and repeating the awful things her father has said about her. When you've been abused it's hard not to believe the horrible things they say about you. You internalize them, and we see Danny struggle with that throughout the book. Calamity is an amazing kickass character. She uses an old West cowgirl persona, and also has special abilities. I ship her and Danny so hard. Doc Impossible is also great. 

There was a twist I didn't see coming, and I thought the villain did a good job of setting us up for the next book. I'm excited to see where this goes! A great first read of the year! 

5 ⭐ CW: Homophobia/transphobia, discussions of violence, discussions of AIDS/HIV, suicide mentions, discussions of racism 

Country Queers: A Love Letter by Rae Garringer is a nonfiction collection that is the culmination of a multimedia oral history project.  I was lucky enough to attend a book event being hosted in my tiny rural town, where I got to meet Rae, hear their story, and listen to audio clips from a few of the interviews they did for the project. This was a book I didn't know I needed, and reaffirms how important the work I do with Downeast Rainbow Alliance is. 

Rae came from the country in West Virginia, and never really saw or talked about queerness until they moved away. Many people, including myself, who grow up and live in very rural areas never heard of queerness being talked about, and therefore didn't know it existed.  Country Queers was a way for Rae to find these people that very much do exist, and get their stories and perspectives. So much of queer representation and conversation happens in cities, and it can make those of us living rurally feel like we are alone. That we are the only ones. Country Queers shows us that that isn't true. 

Rae interviewed many people between 2013-2023 about their lives and experiences. I love that this wasn't just a book about queer suffering and how hard it is to be queer in a rural place. It showed how much joy there is in living in the country and among people you've known your whole life. There was such a love of place in this book. Rae also sprinkled in full color photos of people and landscapes along with bits of ephemera from their travels. It was so raw and emotional what these people shared. The ups and downs and mundanities of life. 

Rae was also honest about their own biases as a white documentarian. They made sure to acknowledge what they didn't know and what blind spots they had, and the inherent power dynamics therein. I thought this was handled with such respect and dignity. Though most of the people interviewed are from the rural South and southwest, and I am from Maine, I have never felt more seen. I would love to see more rural queerness depicted. We don't all live in cities, and we all don't want to move to cities. 

I highly encourage queer people to pick this book up, especially if you are a rural or country queer. I also encourage those that aren't queer to pick this up, especially if you think queer people don't exist or can't exist where you are. What a great book to end the year on. Thank you Rae Garringer. 

For more information on the oral history project, buy the book, or to listen to the Country Queers Podcast, visit https://www.countryqueers.com/ . 

4 ⭐ CW: violence, murder 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is book one in the Murderbot Diaries. This was a quick scifi novella that I have heard a lot about and been meaning to read, and I'm glad I finally did! I've been reading more novellas lately, and they are great for end of the month goals. 

We follow a SecUnit that calls itself Murderbot. Murderbot has hacked its governor module that gives it orders and punishments, so it's basically a free agent, but still works on contracts. Murderbot is on contract with a group of humans who it actually likes, and works hard to keep them alive when another company tries to murder them. 

Murderbot loves watching serials and other media, doesn't like making eye contact or talking much to humans. It just wants freedom. You can't help but love it and how awkward it feels most of the time (relatable). I like how the author casually sprinkled in polyamory and other relationships for the human characters, but the story was mainly from Murderbot's pov. 

I'm interested to see where Murderbot goes moving forward in the other novellas. 

3 ⭐ CW: panic attacks, sickness, quarantine 

Within the Cosmic Darkness by Bethany Thompson is book two of the Starlit Skies series. I got these books out of a desire to support a Maine author writing scifi. I did enjoy book one, but this one fell a little flat for me. 

This time we follow Marika Sussin-Thomas after the events of book one. The Sapphire Sky is missing a good chunk of its crew, but is still determined to continue to explore new worlds. Marika is still reeling from her ex-boyfriend's actions, and she finds it difficult to relax and let anyone close to her, despite the efforts of the very charming Luca Lascano. 

This story was a bit slow, and it was mostly a teen workplace drama for the majority of the book with the only conflict being command telling the Sapphire Sky to come home before they are ready. It isn't until we're 65-70% of the way through the book that the major conflict comes into play with a microbe from a planet inflecting everyone on board, and they have to find a cure. It's mostly character focused on Marika and her growth over the course of the book. 

This was a little simple for me. Both books are definitely targeted toward younger teens and is great beginner scifi, but this one in particular just didn't do it for me. 

4 ⭐ CW: violence, death, blood, death of a parent, immolation, death of a child 

"So we blessed the few." 

The Boy With Fire (AKA The Phoenix King) by Aparna Verma is book one in The Ravence Trilogy. This was a special edition book I got in a book box before it was acquired by Orbit and the title and cover got changed. This was a great fantasy/scifi story that was a retelling of the Indian Ramanaya myth. It also gave me Fire Nation vibes a la ATLA. 

We follow three povs: Elena, princess and heir to Ravence a desert Kingdom; Yassen Knight, a half Ravani half Jantari man defecting from the terrorist organization Arohassin; and Leo, the current king of Ravence who is hell bent on burning out the foretold Phoenix Prophet who will burn his kingdom to the ground. Elena has been training for her role her entire life, but doesn't have the ability to hold fire, necessary for the ruler of Ravence. To strengthen her claim, she is betrothed to the Landless King, Samson, who brings his army the Black Scales to her aid. Yassen struggles with a mistake he made during his last assassination attempt that left him burned and ill, and the sins of his past. He only wants freedom, but his loyalty waivers. Leo is obsessed with finding the prophet, and slips into madness with every sin he commits. 

I really enjoyed this story, and definitely couldn't predict what was going to happen. I didn't predict the twist at the end. We get a lot of fire and desert imagery. I liked Yassen as a character. He was flawed, but you root for him. Elena is a badass woman, and makes for a great FMC. I wanted to learn more about Samson and his army. He seems more than he is. We get a lot of references to mythology at the beginning of each chapter. 

I'm looking forward to book two, I just hope that I haven't missed anything important with this older edition. 

4 ⭐ CW: Homophobia, child abuse, bullying 

Luvian Code by Hailey Gonzales is book one in the Battalion Cupids series. This was a great little novella about different types of cupids representing the seven different kinds of love. It was a sweet story. 

We follow Theodosious, a Philautia cupid (Philautia is self-love). When a fledgling Eros cupid (cupid of romantic and sexual love) cuts in on his turf and shoots a human with an Eros arrow against the luvian Code, Theodosious is saddled with Kai's mentor to get him on the right path. In the process, he finds out about a larger plot by another cupid trying to bring back a more chaotic time. 

Theo teaches Kai about the importance of the different types of love, and how romantic and sexual love isn't better or more important than any other. He helps Kai with a lot of healing too. I love that the author normalized asexuality and aromantic identities in this story, and respected that about the humans. 

This is my second Hailey Gonzales book, and her books are always so sweet and have great acespec and arospec representation. I definitely will read other books by her. 

4 ⭐ CW: Descriptions of large spiders, death, substance use

The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman is book three in The Invisible Library series. I just love how fun these books are with the over the top fantasy elements and wonderful characters, and an enigmatic villain. This series is great if you are reading to escape. 

We pick up with Irene and Kai after the events of the last book. Someone is trying to kill Irene, and she ends up trusting a fae she probably shouldnt. Just like any good villain, Alberich doesn't stay dead, and he's back at it again and has it out for the Library. Unfortunately, Vale is suffering the consequences of going to a high chaos world, and has plunged into a depression and has gone back to using drugs. 

Alberich has set his sights on destroying the Library, while trying to convince Irene to join him, saying that the Library shouldn't be a neutral force, but a uniting one. He's definitely got megalomaniac vibes. I really love all the characters we see more of in this book. The fae are so fascinating, mostly because they are archetypes, and as a reader we recognize that. We also learn that Kai's servant, Li Ming, is a trans man, and that dragons just believe people when they say what their gender is. I also love getting to travel to different alternate worlds to see how they are all different. We are starting to see more of a development of a love triangle between Irene, Kai, and Vale. Personally I'm rooting for polyamory there. 

This is just a fun read with all the elements of fantasy we all love. We also get the start of themes around questioning authority and the status quo. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes over the next books.

4 ⭐ CW: violence, death, blood, suicide mention, death of a parent mention, self harm, discussions of various mental illnesses 

Imposter Syndrome by Mishell Baker is the final book in The Arcadia Project series. I have loved every book in this series! It's so underrated, I never see it on Instagram, but it needs to be talked about. We have a bisexual FMC with borderline personality disorder and a physical disability, and many other mental illnesses are represented. This is a great urban fantasy with some solid themes. 

We pick up with Millie after the events of the last book. The Arcadia Project has split into two factions, with LA and New Orleans being on the side of not enslaving spirits in spell work, and everyone else clinging to the status quo they have been indoctrinated into. Millie feels like she is in an impossible situation trying to get everyone to see reason, and trying to make alliances with various Seelie and Unseelie fey. We get a heist! A couple of heists actually, but naturally, nothing goes the way it's supposed to, and things get a lot worse before they get better. 

Millie gets a lot of personal growth in this book, and I love that the author lets us see how Millie interacted with the world as a disabled borderline without making it the central plot. Millie is constantly fighting her borderline dysphoria and the imposter syndrome that she isn't able to actually do something good. Magic never 'cures' Millie. The ending was kind of bittersweet, we don't really get to see a happy ending for Millie personally. We get to see more of Brand the manticore, which I loved. He's such a great character. I also loved seeing more of Elliot and the new spirit friend, Caveat. 

If you're looking for an urban fantasy with fey, portals, magic, spirits, and a revolution,  with lots of diversity and queer characters, pick up this series. 

4 ⭐ CW: violence, self harm 

Saint by Adrienne Young is the prequel to Fable in The World of the Narrows series. I really enjoyed Fable and Namesake, so I'm glad this one didn't disappoint like The Last Legacy did. 

We follow Saint, Fable's father, and Isolde, Fable's mother before the events of the first World of the Narrows book. We get to learn more about Saint and how he ended up where he was, and more about why Isolde ran away from her mother in Bastian. We get to see them fall in love. It was nice to get more background on The Narrows and see how their Guild Trades became what they are and why the people there hate Saltbloods. 

This book did give a lot of context to the mysterious characters we learned little about in Fable and Namesake, including the antagonist Zola and the criminal Roth family. However, there wasn't much in the way of tension or suspense since we already know what is going to happen with all of the characters. I liked the character moments we got, and that's mainly what this book was for. Establishing fan favorite characters and giving more life to Isolde. 

I do quite enjoy Adrienne Young's writing, so I'll keep coming back to her even when the romance tends to fall short. I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoyed Fable and Namesake and wants to get to know Saint better.