Tag: LGBTQIA+

“The Spirit Bares Its Teeth” Review

Jen

The cover has a young person standing in the middle of it facing forwards but with their head turned to the right. Their skin is very pale white with brown hair and they are wearing a purple dress and holding a broken shard of glass that is also purple. Behind them is a sky in purple with white clouds. They're framed in an oval shaped image with other images of violet eyes all around the cover. The authors name is at the top and the title is at the bottom on a ribbon that is wrapped around the picture frame. Written by Andrew Joseph White
Published by Peachtree Publishing Company, September 2023
381 pages
Completed July 21, 2024

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.

This was such a good book with a lot of great characters besides Silas. While it doesn’t have quite as much gore as the other’s other book, there is some, all with a medical focus this time. I really enjoyed how Silas struggles to work everything out while dealing with everything else going on for him. The plot is very dark and disturbing but I really like how everything plays out. Certain things were not a surprise while others completely were and I really enjoyed it all. And I was really glad a particular plot point was resolved the way it did. The ending is a bit open ended but I think it makes sense given the storyline.

Be sure to take note of the authors warnings at the beginning of the book. Also be sure to read the authors end notes because while this story is fantasy the ugly truth is people always been sent a way because they were deemed unfit by society and many have been experimented on throughout history.

“Gideon the Ninth” Review

Jen

Gideon the Ninth book cover showing a person standing holding a sword in one hand wearing all black with red hair and face painted as a skull. They are surrounded by parts of many different skeletons on a black background. The Title of the book is at the bottom with the author's name on top. Written by Tamsyn Muir
Published by Tor.com, September 2019
464 pages
Completed June 27, 2024

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

I read this for one of my Discord book clubs and it’s ultimately not my cup of tea. I tried to give it a fair chance but the personalities of the main characters and the writing style made it harder to get through than I like. I also ended up needing the Wikipedia for the book series to keep track of all of the characters. All of the characters were referred to by first name, last name, nickname, or sometimes only a description, depending on who was talking and some had similar names, which made it hard to keep track. That said there were some interesting parts, the world building seemed interesting if not fully described, and I did like how the relationship between Gideon and Harrowhark developed despite my frustration with them in the beginning. I don’t believe I’ll continue the series at this time, but you never know.

“Loka” Review

Jen

The cover shows a person and a small machine that looks somewhat like a dog in a valley between cliff sides with large patches of green up the sides. The two figures are in the distance standing on a rock looking upwards at the blue sky visible outside of the valley. The book title is written from top to bottom one letter at a time and the author's name is at the very top.Full Title: “Loka: The Alloy Era No. 2”
Written by S. B. Divya
Published by 47North, August 2024
367 pages
Completed June 4, 2024

Akshaya is the hybrid daughter of a human mother and an alloy, a genetically engineered posthuman―and she’s the future of life on the planet Meru. But not if the determined Akshaya can help it. Before choosing where her future lies, she wants to circumnavigate the most historic orb in the universe―the birthplace of humanity: Earth.

Akshaya’s parents reluctantly agree to her anthropological challenge―one with no assistance from alloy devices, transport, or wary alloys themselves who manage humanity and the regions of Earth called Loka. It’s just Akshaya; her equally bold best friend, Somya; and a carefully planned itinerary threading continent by continent across a wondrous terrain of things she’s never seen: blue skies, sunrises, snowcapped mountains, and roiling oceans.

As the adventure unfolds, the travelers discover love and new friendships, but they also learn the risks of a planet that’s not entirely welcoming. On this trek―rapturous, dangerous, and life-changing―Akshaya will discover what human existence really means.

This was a great book. It was a very quick read and I enjoyed reading Akshaya and Somya’s adventure around the world. Akshaya is a very typical teenager who wants to be able to make her own choices about everything and not feel forced to conform to what her mother wants for her. Both she and her mother have a lot to learn and do so throughout the course of the book. I really enjoyed the additional aspects of how disability was used. Like her mother Akshaya has sickle cell anemia and must figure out how to work with it on Earth where it’s more disabling than it would be on Meru due to different conditions. The entire story is about self discovery and figuring out where you belong in the universe.

While this book is a sequel to the previous book “Meru” – Akshaya’s parents are two of the main characters from that book – “Loka” works well enough as a standalone novel. I think anyone could read it without having read the first book. Though some plot points might be helpful to know for additional context.

Thank you to NetGalley, 47North and S.B. Divya for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Tell Me How It Ends” Review

Jen

The book cover is a drawing of a person sitting behind a table with a set of 5 tarot cards that are face up on the table. Everything is various shades of purple. Written by Quinton Li
Published by Quinton Li Editorial, April 2023
326 pages
Completed April 7, 2024

Iris Galacia’s tarot cards do more than entertain gamblers. With the flip of her fingers she can predict the future and uncover a person’s secrets. But under the watchful eye of her mother, she is on thin ice for pursuing a passion in the family business, and then cracks start to form until she eventually she falls through. She is given an ultimatum — a test to prove her worth: earn a thousand coins or leave the business, and the family.

Enter Marin Boudreau, a charming young person who can scale buildings and break off door knobs, who comes for her help to rescue a witch who’s been falsely imprisoned in Excava Kingdom. And Marin is willing to pay a high sum for her talents. But saving a prisoner from royal hands isn’t easy, nor is leaving home for the first time in eighteen years.

Now Iris must learn to trust in herself, Marin, and this new magical world, while racing the clock before the royals decide the fate of the witch, and before any secrets catch up to her.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book because a lot of my issues with it can be explained by it being both a “cozy fantasy” and young adult. I did enjoy some things about it – the characters were interesting and all that. However, conflicts that should have been more serious are resolved almost instantly and with more compassion (from villains) than seems reasonable for anyone. Even the ending of the story with Iris making a choice about what to do next was too easy. Without spoiling too much, Marin never really proves themselves to be trust worthy and Iris feels too sheltered and naive to really be reliable in picking what she should do next. There’s a lot of reasons why she should escape her current life but it doesn’t feel like the found family she found is all that safe either. That said – how I feel about the ending of the book might be more about my personality (and age), along with the genres, than the story itself. One thing I did like was the way the Tarot cards were used in the story – there were a lot of good details about how they worked and how they helped Iris figure out what to do next. Not a series I’ll continue, but honestly if you like cozy fantasy with found family where things are resolved easily it might be more your cup of tea than mine.

“Light from Uncommon Stars” Review

Jen

The majority of the cover is a view of space with stars and patches of nebulas in lighter blue. there's a spaceship flying across the top of the cover and the title of the book is written in large font across the middle of the cover with the authors name at the bottomWritten by Ryka Aoki
Published by Tor Books, September 2021
372 pages
Completed March 29, 2024

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

This was a very cool and very strange story. Other reviews have said it felt like multiple stories being told at once and that’s sort of true. But really it feels like multiple lives intersecting in a time and place in various complicated ways and we’re just going along for the ride. Which is how life works. Books usually focus on one story but this one was a bit more realistic to life with multiple people and their stories connecting. It’s also multi-genre in that it’s a bit science fiction and a bit fantasy and a bit coming of age general fiction for one of the characters. And I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters – even Shizuka Satomi and her complicated history. Some would say she’s evil but it feels more complicated than that. There’s a couple places where I think things could have been explained a little more bot overall everything was great about the book. Hopefully all continues to go well for everyone!

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” Review

Jen

The cover is taken up by hills and fields with drones flying over head and a dark brown sky. There is a person standing in the front center of the cover holding a container with a cake inside and wearing a respirator mask. They're wearing brown clothing and red boots. The title is across the top and the authors name is near the bottom right corner. Written by Sim Kern
Published by Android Press, August 2022
206 Pages
Completed March 25, 2024

A collection of short stories by Sim Kern, REAL SUGAR IS HARD TO FIND explores intersections of climate change, reproductive justice, queer identities, and family trauma. Whether fantasy, science fiction, or terrifyingly close-to-home, the worlds of these stories are inhabited by flawed characters whose lives are profoundly impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.

Arranged in a progression from dystopian to utopian worlds, the stories chart a path from climate despair towards resilience and revolutionary optimism. Even in the bleakest of futures, however, Kern offers reasons to hope, connect, and keep fighting for a better world.

This was a great collection of stories! I enjoyed all of them though there were a couple I did want to know more about what was going to happen next. That said most of them did feel complete and even the ones that didn’t ended in a way that made sense for what was being told. As the description says even with the darker stories there was always a sense of possibility and hope. I’d read anything by Sim Kern at this point.

“Breakout” Review

Jen

The cover is a view of space with several colors purple, blue, green among the stars. There is a planet at the bottom of the core with two visible moons and a space ship over the planet. The title is at the top of the cover with the author's name. Full Title “Breakout: The Altayih Chronicles 1”
Written by Alek L. Cristea
Self published, February 2023
324 pages
Completed March 24, 2024

Malek dreams of owning his own ship and escaping the prison he’s been unjustly held in. When his escape plan collides with the agenda of a Shinarian girl, he must choose between trusting her and going alone. Trystan, on the radical colony Eden One, discovers his father’s involvement in a terrible project and must decide whether to act despite risking everything. Làhn, a skilled thief, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and must piece together his past to clear his name. Together, they must confront Berik Corp, a powerful entity threatening the galaxy’s stability.

This was a fun and exciting read. I really liked that along with the Trans / Queer representations there were various disability and mental health representations as well. The characters are great and I really enjoyed learning about them. Each of the three main characters has their own group of friends that are going along for the journey which makes things more exciting. The book ends in a way that makes it feel like a pilot episode for a tv show with a long story arc but will have standalone episodes along the way to completing the arc. Definitly a lot of story possibilities! I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

“This Arab Is Queer” Review

Jen

The cover has a white background with the title in the center in outlined letters "This Arab is Queer" and the subtitle is in solid black with the editors name below it. Around the top and bottom are shapes in rainbow colors - red at the top ending with purple at the bottom Full Title: This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers
Edited by Elias Jahshan
Published by Saqi Books, January 2022
216 pages
Completed March 23,2024

This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer Arab writers — some international bestselling, others using pseudonyms. Here, we find heart-warming connections and moments of celebration alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab.

From a military base in the Gulf to loving whispers caught between bedsheets; and from touring overseas as a drag queen to a concern in Cairo where the rainbow flag was raised to a crowd of thousands, this collection celebrates the true colours of a vibrant Arab queer experience.

This was a great collection of stories. Each one felt important to read and understand as the individuals told their stories. As the introduction explains being Arab and Queer can be difficult for a number of reasons and each person has had to deal with a lot because of where they come from. There are also other issues they have to deal with as well. There was a range of different queer topics that were good and informative. Some stories were harder to read than others – with different issues happening to the individuals. I’m glad I read this book and I’ve already looked up the authors to learn more about them.

2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon

Jen

Information graphic announcing the read a thon and the dates March 22nd through 29th and my two goals to raise money for OUT MetroWest and to read at least three books. The covers for the books are displayed in the picture and are also named in the text of the postThe 2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon has begun and this year I am fundraising for OUT MetroWest located in Framingham, Massachusetts!

“The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual call to action to readers and book lovers in support of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31st.”

My Fundraiser for OUT MetroWest

More information about the Trans Rights Readathon

I will be reading the following books this year:

“This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers”
Edited by Elias Jahshan

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” a collection of short stories by
Sim Kern

“Breakout” – first novel in new series by Alek Cristea, described as a “space-opera/cyberpunk adventure featuring queer teens in space fighting back against oppression.”

Previous books I’ve read with Trans characters or written by Trans individuals include:

“The Thirty Names of Night” by Zeyn Joukhadar

“Seeds for the Swarm” by Sim Kern

“Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction” by K.M. Szpara et al.

Other books written by or with Trans individuals

“Lakelore” by Anna-Marie McLemore

“Depart, Depart!” By Sim Kern

“Hell Followed With Us” by Andrew Joseph White

“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir” by Samra Habib

“VenCo” by Cherie Dimaline

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” by Maya MacGregor

“The Wicked Bargain” by Gabe Cole Novoa

“The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will” by Maya MacGregor

“The Free People’s Village” by Sim Kern

“The Gilded Ones” trilogy by Namina Forna


“The Merciless Ones” Review

Jen

The cover is red. There is a young dark skinned woman on the cover facing forwards holding a sword up in the area with log black hair tied in braids with several gold claps holding it. She is also wearing a short sleeved gold and green tunic and necklaces in various colors. She has gold designs on her cheek and a gold earring. The title is near the bottom of the cover across the woman.Written by Namina Forna
Published by Delacorte Press, May 2022
432 pages
Completed March 10, 2024

It’s been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster.

But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There’s something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can’t command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can’t even understand them when they speak.

Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol–something merciless–that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka’s powers are only getting stronger…and her strongest weapon could be herself.

This was a great sequel to the first book. A lot of things were happening and Deka and her friends were learning a lot of truths about their world. I really enjoyed how everything played out and the way the relationships developed. There was a lot of information dumping but it felt necessary for the plot and everything that was going on. Plus it is also the middle book in a trilogy and that’s what usually happens. Overall it was a great book and I’m excited to read the conclusion.