Tag: LGBT

E-ARC REVIEW; IN THE SILENCES

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“When did life get so dangerous? Kaz Adams just wants to read comic books with her best friend, Aisha Warren. And maybe get up the nerve to ask her out, if Kaz turns out to be a gender that Aisha’s into. Kaz figured she’d be the target of violence for her gender nonconformity, but a fatal police shooting thirty miles from their town opens her eyes to the realities of racism. She watches as pressures at school and in their social group mount against Aisha. Kaz would try to stop a bullet for Aisha if she had to, but she has no idea how to stop the waves of soul-crushing disapproval and judgement. When she talks to the other white students and adults in her area, they don’t seem to understand what she’s talking about. Aisha has helped Kaz find a place in the world, but that was about Kaz’s gender expression. Kaz can’t magically change the world for Aisha, but something has to change in their school system or she’ll lose the girl she loves.”
4/5 stars.

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MONSTROUS REGIMENT & THE BI-BLE!

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Hey everyone, I am BACK. Okay, I’m well aware that I’ve been APPALLING as far as updating my blog over the past month, and my reading habits have been at an absolute ALL TIME LOW. I also know that I owe my monthly recap, which is all drafted and ready to go, but for now I wanted to prioritise today’s post, in which we’ll be talking about Monstrous Regiment Publishing’s The Bi-ble.

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REVIEW; COFFEE BOY BY AUSTIN CHANT

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“After graduation, Kieran expected to go straight into a career of flipping burgers—only to be offered the internship of his dreams at a political campaign. But the pressure of being an out trans man in the workplace quickly sucks the joy out of things, as does Seth, the humorless campaign strategist who watches his every move.
Soon, the only upside to the job is that Seth has a painful crush on their painfully straight boss, and Kieran has a front row seat to the drama. But when Seth proves to be as respectful and supportive as he is prickly, Kieran develops an awkward crush of his own—one which Seth is far too prim and proper to ever reciprocate.”
4/5 stars.

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WLW RECOMMENDATIONS!

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Hey everyone! So, as some of you may already know, last month I took part in F/F February. The aim of the game, basically, was to help myself branch out a little and read more WLW reads, both for the theme of the month, and as a way to contribute to some of my reading resolutions that I set for the year! I managed to get through three LGBT+ books, bringing my WLW reads this year up to four out of nine so far. It’s really great setting challenges like this and branching out and reading things that you wouldn’t necessarily prioritise, but I also wanted to do this as a general rule, regardless of month, as I think it’s so incredibly important for LGBT+ stories to be given more attention. And, as well loved as the Simon Spiers’, Elio Perlmans’, Alec Lightwoods’ and Loras Tyrells’ of the world are, I think we need to step away from merely focusing on white boys being our only, or at the very least most celebrated, form of LGBT+ rep. I can never reiterate enough how important I think it is to keep reading LGBT+ lit, but to never place yourself in a box and allow yourself to fall into habits of hyper focusing on the white, cisgendered, male aspects of the LGBT+ community when there are so many other genders, sexualities, and people coming from varying cultural and social backgrounds to be represented.

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REVIEW; SUMMER OF SALT – KATRINA LENO

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“A magic passed down through generations . . .
Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.
An island where strange things happen . . .
No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask.
No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm.
No one questions the (allegedly) three-hundred-year-old bird who comes to roost on the island every year.
A summer that will become legend . . .
When tragedy strikes, what made the Fernweh women special suddenly casts them in suspicion. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, of love, of salt—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.”
4/5 stars.

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REVIEW; THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY – MACKENZI LEE

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“In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor—even if she has to scheme her way across Europe to do it. A must-have for fans of Mackenzi Lee’s extraordinary and Stonewall Honor-winning novel.
A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.
But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid.
In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.”
5/5 stars.

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REVIEW; DARE ME – MEGAN ABBOTT

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“Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy’s best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they’re seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls — until the young new coach arrives.
Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach’s golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as “top girl” — both with the team and with Addy herself.
Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death — and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain.
The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as “total authority and an almost desperate intensity,” provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.”
3/5 stars.

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F/F FEBRUARY & BEAT THE BLACKLIST!

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I’ve been using this blog sporadically over the past month, and I know how it must look. Like all I do is post challenges, but when do I ever actually read? I’ve read three books over the past month, and while my fourth is enjoyable, i’m in a teensy bit of a slump right now due to life and general stress. All the same, I do read, and these challenges are just meant as a fun way of putting a spin on the way I go about taking down my TBR pile this year!

So, below, I’ll be talking everyone through two of the challenges I’ve decided to take a crack at this year: F/F FEBRUARY and BEAT THE BLACKLIST!

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2019 CHALLENGES AND RESOLUTIONS!

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Okay, so, admittedly we’ve already reached the very end of the first month of 2019, but is it ever too late for some resolutions? Now, at the end of 2018, and at the start of 2019, my friends and I were contemplating which books we’d like to get around to in the new year, and any challenges we’d like to set ourselves within our reading. Naturally, one of the most consistent issues that came up is that we all agreed we’d like to be a little more diverse in our choices. While I’ve definitely tried to broaden my horizons by way of genre over the past few years, I think that anybody with a little sense can see that all forms of media – be it literature, television, movies, etc – are severely lacking by way of good representation. Last year I was lucky enough to read some really excellent books featuring an array of different LGBT+ characters, as well as some seriously gorgeous pieces like Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, which not only featured a black leading lady, but also tackled some incredibly important issues such as racism, police brutality, and so on.

**full disclaimer** i’m deeply sorry for the length of this blog post. I absolutely had no intention of blathering on for so long, but here we are!

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