rocrown

[rocrown]

welcome to @batty.about.books! 🦇💜🦇

hi there, my wonderful, supportive bookish bats! If you're new here, welcome! this is my space for all romance, queer / sapphic, and fantasy books; a space full of acceptance, love, magic, and a little mayhem.  🦇

my goal here is to help YOU find the perfect book; a story that speaks to you, resonates with you, represents you. for some of us, that's difficult to find. growing up as a queer / bisexual Muslim Middle Easterner, I rarely saw myself reflected on page or screen. I don't want anyone to feel that way; invisible, when all the intricacies of who we are as individuals make the stardust we're made of shine a little brighter. ✨

when did you start your bookstagram? ✨ 

January 13, 2023 🦇 

what made you start your account? ✨ 

I've been posting bookish content on my personal account for years, but I wanted a space where I could properly share my love of books, connect with other book lovers, and interact with authors. now I have a space where like-minded (amazing) bookish bats understand my ramblings. 🦇 

what inspired your handle? ✨ 

bats are misunderstood, stereotyped creatures. they’re perceived as creepy & dark when they actually provide vital ecosystem services (pest control, pollination, seed dispersal, etc.). have you seen a bat eat a strawberry, though? they’re adorable. growing up as a queer Middle Eastern, I always felt a little misunderstood, too. 🦇 

favorite thing about bookstagram? ✨ 

I've made so many amazing connections since creating this account (readers, authors, & members of the publishing industry). I could ramble for hours about how amazing, supportive, and welcoming this community is. 🦇

[rocrown]

DREAD DEATH BY RO CROWN

SUMMARY:

Sword at the ready!

The dread will make you want to die. Only your humanity will save you.

Alessia Valcyn is The Mageslayer, buff, brilliant and badass. As the champion of the goddess Kadasana, she is the vanquisher of the undead, slayer of necromages, and charmer of ladies, a lone drifter with a sword and an attitude.

The story begins here!

FOR FANS OF: Dimension 20, Not Another D&D Podcast, Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

LINKS

Amazon Kindle Itch.io Goodreads Ko-Fi Linktree

[rocrown]

One reason the books in the Millennium series following the original trilogy don’t work for me is because I don’t feel like David Lagercrantz hates misogynists and fascists enough.

He very well may really hate them but it doesn’t come through in his writing the way it did with Larsson.

Stieg Larsson’s loathing was so explicit and so immense that I knew more than anything he really really despised misogynists and fascists. And the sequels lack that. They get bogged down in techno thriller and lame Marvel references and making Lisbeth a more palatable heroine, which misses the point for me.

Lisbeth is rage manifest: against a misogynistic and fascist society, its systems and institutions. She does the work she wants. She follows a rigid moral code of her own. She dresses how she wants. Goes where she wants. Associates with who she wants. Fucks who she wants. And if people don’t like that she dresses like a goth, hangs out with communists, is bisexual, is an abrasive unfriendly unsmiling woman, and punishes those who deserve it, well that’s too bad. She is rebellion against misogynistic conventions and expectations. She exists despite the fascists in her own government. And she hates them all. She is a storm Larsson set loose on his fictional but very real enemies. She is the embodiment of his hatred, made manifest to destroy and seek retribution in fiction in ways women like her rarely get to in real life.

I don’t get that from the other books. They’re too interested in the cyber aspects and too plot focused. They’re conventional thrillers and that’s where they fail. I didn’t want a conventional thriller with the characters from the Millennium trilogy because they lack the soul. The beating heart of Millennium. It’s about justice—a righteous and furious justice, a kind of wish fulfilment in which women best their abusers and defy misogyny, and our heroes defeat fascists within their neoliberal governments.

Lagercrantz likely did what was asked of him. He wrote a thriller continuing the stories of these characters. You can’t fault him for that especially with the rising popularity of the series. He met the brief. It’s broader and has the rougher edges filed off. In that way they were successful. But in doing so they lack the character and tone of the originals. You could hear Larsson screaming Fuck You to misogynists and fascists on every page, just as abrasive and blunt as Lisbeth. That’s missing. And it’s a shame.

[rocrown]

gadzooks! my game? It be'eth changed!

[rocrown]

I didn't mean for this to be a way to advertise my novella. I can only promise you this was a sincere effort to show my appreciation. When I was writing a buff character who gets covered in mud and blood, swings a sword, and crushes skulls with her bare hands, basically a sapphic Witcher, I got a lot of inspiration from you, Xena: Warrior Princess and Holga Kilgore from D&D: Honor Among Thieves. This is what someone who can fight monsters and wizards in the cemetery all night and also make all the ladies swoon should look like.

Hi! I wrote a novella with a tall buff warrior woman with underarm hair who swings a sword and kicks ass, and you were a major inspiration. The ebook came out today! Thanks for being a big buff badass inspiration.

Hahahaha oh. ….. my heart………… :��))))))))

[rocrown]

DREAD DEATH BY RO CROWN

SUMMARY:

Sword at the ready!

The dread will make you want to die. Only your humanity will save you.

Alessia Valcyn is The Mageslayer, buff, brilliant and badass. As the champion of the goddess Kadasana, she is the vanquisher of the undead, slayer of necromages, and charmer of ladies, a lone drifter with a sword and an attitude.

The story begins here!

FOR FANS OF: Dimension 20, Not Another D&D Podcast, Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

LINKS

Amazon Kindle Itch.io Goodreads Ko-Fi Linktree

[rocrown]

Sometimes i randomly remember "who are you? I love you too" and have to have a little cry about it

[rocrown]

REVIEW: Trauma Dump With Lou Wilson – Episode 1 (Spoilers)

"I think you manage to have thousands and thousands of people looking at you and nobody seeing you."

Trauma Dump with Lou Wilson is a wild experience for fans of the actor from Dimension 20 and Worlds Beyond Number. It’s got that element of cringe in which the character’s behaviour is incongruous with the tone as we're introduced to "Lou Wilson".

Lou, the character, is boisterous, vapid and obnoxious as he obsesses about things like his status and popularity while lacking humility and empathy as he shills Lou-themed products and self-engrandizes. Wearing his sunglasses during the legally not a therapy session adds to this effect because they hide his eyes and act as a barrier between him and Paul, his sincere co-star and therapist. Lou’s constant movement, whether it’s swivelling in his chair or waving his hands around, is emblematic of his mind state as he bounces unfocused from one idea to the next. He’s talking a lot but he’s saying very little, and that in itself says a lot.

What Lou has done here is a comedic acting masterclass. He is so utterly this character, a version of Lou Wilson I have never seen in the better part of a decade that I’ve been a fan. This is the first time I’ve seen him play a character that feels shallow and soulless. This Lou entirely lacks or at least refuses to show any depth. Whereas Lou Wilson the person could be a mental health champion, Lou Wilson the character, who keeps saying he’s a mental health champion doesn’t have it in him.

He’s entirely facade. Everything the character does is a performance. His lack of humility, earnestness and insight will be jarring for fans. We’ve listened to Lou improvise stirring monologues that pull pain and fury and glory from his character’s heart and verbalize it in beautiful speech. We’ve seen him find the humanity of other characters in a scene and greet them with warmth and compassion. That is not an experience you will have watching Trauma Dump.

Despite the discomfort of watching this, you get more than just an incredible performance. It’s not just that sense of secondhand embarrassment that makes you laugh because it’s so awkward. Lou lobs some incredible jokes our way. One of my favourites involves Paul asking serious questions about being avoidant and Lou repeatedly saying he isn’t avoidant or putting walls up just to take out his phone, turn away and deliver the line, “My private chef is asking me what I want for dinner.” Or when Paul explains something to him and Lou nods and agrees, only for Paul to follow up with, “How do you understand what I just said?” To which Lou asks, “Can you say it again?” These moments are laugh out loud funny. And let you know that the comedic genius of Lou Wilson is at work here.

What is this show? Co-created with Bri LeRose (co-writer of The People's Joker) Trauma Dump With Lou Wilson is a comedy show and character study that leans into awkwardness and cringe similar but distinct from the work of Nathan Fielder, Eric Andre and Tim Robinson. The character of Lou Wilson won't say anything meaningful, but the show is saying something honest. It legitimately discusses mental health and addresses real issues, taking aim at the Lou character’s behaviour.

Near the end of Episode 1 Paul asks, “How do you hope you keep developing in your life?” Lou’s answer is insufficient, materialistic, and exploitative. He’s doing this to better himself as a brand. I’m willing to bet that all unravels in future episodes and we see facets of Lou we haven’t seen before.

[rocrown]

Please don’t pirate books at least while the author is alive. I’ll make an exception for actual billionaires and wildly expensive textbooks you cannot afford yet need to complete your studies. I can’t make an exception for assholes, because we’re all considered assholes by someone.  I don’t know how many people realise how many writers who created successful, beloved stories and characters still die poor while other people get rich off the same work. I don’t think people realise that in the UK the current average yearly earnings for an author has nosedived over the last fifteen years to £10,500. That obviously is forcing people to quit writing. It increasingly means writing is a job for people who’ve inherited money or have wealthy spouses who can support them. I don’t know if people realise that in general, writers are poor and getting poorer. I’m sorry, but if you think widespread sense of entitlement to free books has nothing to do with that … you’re just wrong. 

I say I don’t think people realise - the truth is I hope they don’t, because the alternative is that they don’t care. That’s certainly the impression I’ve got from Twitter, where a truly horrifying number of people are arguing that copyright on  all books should expire after thirty years, and you should be able to acquire books for  free after that. This … would not just mean that everyone gets free books. It would mean if you write a book at 30, not only do you lose any royalties from it at 60, but Disney can take it, make a franchise out of it, Scrooge McDuck it up in a pool of money while you starve because writers don’t get workplace pensions.

Some threads on the unintended (?) consequences of this. I can’t go over it all again. John Brownlow NK Jemisin Michael Marshall Smith Me Marina Lostetter Kari Dru and others William Gibson and others

There are plenty of others. It’s not that this actual idea will actually happen, but I do think it reinforces the idea that it’s not only okay, but sometimes actually virtuous to search for ways to enjoy writers’ work without paying for it. Like it’s somehow a step towards a better world. Not just at the reader end, to be fair, at the employer end too. And I do see a lot of people here too who are all about supporting workers unless the workers are writers in which case fuck’em. 

Like. If you want to radically change society in such a way that mass-media conglomerates don’t exist and so can’t exploit us and we’re supported to make art in some other way than fine. But can you start the revolution with actual rich people please, not ask us to live right now, in the society we’ve got, without the money we need to survive it. Finally, a plea: I really, really, do not want to debate this. This whole thing genuinely makes me feel tense and shaky and sick. If you’ve got to disagree - unfollow me, block me, vagueblog somewhere I can’t see it. The Twitter version of this already has me feeling like I’ve been kicked in the gut. I didn’t want to write this post. I just felt I wasn’t going to have any peace until I did.

[rocrown]

DREAD DEATH BY RO CROWN

I'm happy to announce the release of my fantasy novella Dread Death, coming to Amazon Kindle, Ko-Fi, and itch.io on June 17, 2025.

SUMMARY:

Sword at the ready!

The dread will make you want to die. Only your humanity will save you.

Alessia Valcyn is The Mageslayer, buff, brilliant and badass. As the champion of the goddess Kadasana, she is the vanquisher of the undead, slayer of necromages, and charmer of ladies, a lone drifter with a sword and an attitude.

An evil necromage has brought death, destruction and despair to the city of Corindale. It’s Alessia’s job to stop him. With her companion Kestra, a squire on the cusp of knighthood, The Mageslayer will battle undead monsters, combat a necromantic aura called The Dread and confront the greatest evil the realm has seen in centuries. In this clash of the living versus the undead, Alessia and Kestra will discover new horrors and uncover terrible world-threatening revelations.

Dread Death is the debut novella in Ro Crown’s The Mageslayer Series, a LGBTQ+ dark fantasy series set in the world of Premori. Enjoy the first story in an expansive universe of magic, monsters and mythology, deities and fairies, knights and monarchs, heroines and villains. The story begins here!

FOR FANS OF: Dimension 20, Not Another D&D Podcast, Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

LINKS:

Amazon Kindle (Pre-order available now!) Itch.io (Pre-order available now!) Goodreads Ko-Fi Linktree

[rocrown]

wish there was a non rude way to be like “I understand your criticism, I don’t even necessarily disagree with it, but I am doing these things on purpose, because I like them and I want to, and therefore your opinion has no value, because you might think me painting a room entirely pink is tacky, but I did it on purpose”

[rocrown]

You can fight AI in indie publishing by leaving reviews.

Seriously.

Ai-generated garbage is flooding the self-publishing market. It works as a numbers game- put out ENOUGH fake crap and eventually someone’s aunt will buy them the ebook as an unwanted gift, and you’ll have made two dollars. This tactic works at SCALE, which means real independent titles are now a needle amongst a haystack of slop.

If you have read a book this year that has less than 5 reviews, your rating is an algorithmic spotlight on that needle.

A one sentence review helps. Really. A star rating helps if you really can’t think of anything to say, but if you can muster up even “I laughed at the part about the tabby cat” you are doing indie authors a favor like you cannot believe.

(Also if you left a review on one of my books this year I am kissing you so softly on your forehead and I adore you)

[rocrown]

🌈 What's COMING OUT (pun intended) this June? Which books are you excited for? Which books are you adding to your TBR? Any other queer releases you know of?

Check out our fully linked version on our website:

We do our best to screen books for AI usage and do not include books with covers that are made by generative AI, or books written by generative AI. If there was a mistake, please let us know.

Note: Some dates may have changed. We haven’t read all of these books, so please check reviews for more details on queer identities represented and The StoryGraph for content warnings!

ID: A post of eighteen slides. Background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow for each slide. Slide 1 has a white square which reads "204 queer books coming out this Pride Month!". The 204 is in matching horizontal rainbow stripes and Pride Month is in rainbow text. Text between the number and month are all caps black font. Slide 2-18 features a white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in white over a blue rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. End ID.

Books listed above their respective graphics.

1

The Stolen Kingdom (The Queen & the Heiress Book 2) by C.C. González

Rubies & Revenge (A Cardinal Families Novel) by Lexie A. Lynn

Hounded Ashes to Ashes (Hounded Book 2) by Quinn Cameron

Letters from my Dead Ex-girlfriend by Emily M. Syn

2

Dumpster Kid by Cameron James

Where There's Smoke…: A Small Town Sapphic Romance by Aricka Alexander

When In Erebus by Vivian Paris

3

Devils like Us by L.T. Thompson

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales

That Devil, Ambition by Linsey Miller

Emerge: 2024 Lambda Literary Anthology edited by monét cooper

Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told by Jeremy Atherton Lin

Angel Eye by Madeleine Nakamura

Be Gay, Do Crime: Sixteen Stories of Queer Chaos edited by Molly Llewellyn & Kristel Buckley

I Can Fix Her by Rae Wilde

All This Can Be True by Jen Michalski

Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

Black Salt Queen (Letters from Maynara Book 1) by Samantha Bansil

Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally by Lee Wind, Kelly Mangan (Illustrator)

Your Final Moments by Jay Coles

Pioneer Summer (Pioneer Book 1) by Elena Malisova, Katerina Silvanova, Anne O. Fisher (Translator)

Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness by Michael Koresky

Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter

Tramps Like Us by Joe Westmoreland

He’s to Die For by Erin Dunn

So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All by Leisha Hailey & Kate Moennig

Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

A Song for Wildcats: Stories by Caitlin Galway

The Lure of Their Graves (The Cursed Crown Book 1) by Laura R. Samotin

Now She’s Dead by Roselyn Clarke

It’s Not the End of the World by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle

The Uncertainty Principle by Joshua Davis & Kal Kini-Davis

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare

Castle Swimmer Volume 2 by Wendy Martin

Songs of No Provenance by Lydi Conklin

Boyfriends Volume Four by refrainbow

Dan in Green Gables A Modern Reimagining of Anne of Green Gables by Rey Terciero, Claudia Aguirre (Illustrator)

The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age of AIDS by Martin Padgett

What Is Queer Food?: How We Served a Revolution by John Birdsall

Fight AIDS!: How Activism, Art, and Protest Changed the Course of a Deadly Epidemic and Reshaped a Nation by Michael G. Long

I’ll Pretend You’re Mine Tashie Bhuiyan

A Queer Case (The Selby Bigge Mysteries Book 1) by Robert Holtom

Bond Strength (Brannon Boys 2) by Katherine McIntyre

In the Absence of Men by Philippe Besson

The Slip by Lucas Schaefer

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

Daughter of Doom by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem

Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants by Erik Piepenburg

Gaysians by Mike Curato

Lovesick Falls by Julie K. Drake

Teacher of the Year (Teachers in Love Book 1) by M.A. Wardell

Dyke Delusions: Essays & Observations by Samantha Mann

There Are Reasons for This by Nini Berndt

A Place for Us by Patricia Grayhall

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan E. O’Keefe

All (Dead) Girls Lie by Piper L. White

Running with the Alpha’s Son (The Alpha’s Son Book 3) by Penny Jessup

Winging It (Lucky in Love Book 2) by Jen Desmarais

Chocolate Chip City by Be Steadwell

Star Fruit by Kamryn Kingsberry

Veiled in Argent (Once & Forever Kings Book 2) by Jonathan Hawker

Maybe We Can Fake It by Tammy Sabia

By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology

Secrets of Elyron by Sierra Covey

Teach Me K-Pop by Kaenyn King

Holy Water Hurts: A Vampire's Guide To Vampire Hunting (Sanguine and Clover) by Gabryel Grimm-Goretez

Marigolds & Murder by A.K. Ikezoe

I Was An Abomination: A Memoir of Trans Survival in Conservative America by Sheryl Melanie Weikal

The Dragon Next Door by Vanessa Ricci-Thode

The Tenth Muse: A Sapphic Anthology edited by Sarah Mesh

Love is All: A Charity Romance Anthology Vol 8

Starman: A Gay 70s High School Love Story by Will Forrest

4

Sub-Rosa by Charlotte Mill

5

Masquerade by Calum McSwiggan

Run Away with Me by J.L. Simmonds

Summer of Love by Lily Easton

Firerend by Emma Kennedy

Love Beneath the Guillotine by W.H. Lockwood

Kill Me Quick (QuickSilver Book 1) by Josie Jaffrey

The Woman from the Waves by Roslyn Sinclair

The Iron Ghost (The Copper Cat Book 2) by Jen Williams

6

Yugen (Pebble Stone Chronicles Book 2) by Huckleberry Rahr

A Wistful Symphony by Mandy C. Rodrigues

Flare & Bind (Synchronists Book 2) by Lillian Zenzi

7

A Kiss of the Ocean’s Breath (Dark Depths Book 2) by E. A. M. Trofimenkoff

9

Demaris: Protocol by Brian David Randall

10

Epsilon Nine (Twin Suns Duology Book 2) by Olive J. Kelley

Moments to Treasure by Ali Vali

Six Wild Crowns (Queens of Elben Book 1) by Holly Race

Flight of the Fallen (Magebike Courier Book 2) by Hana Lee

Don’t Drag This Out by Emery Lee

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

Love, Misha by Askel Aden

Ancestors (Grievers Book 3) by adrienne maree brown

Vesuvius by Cass Biehn

The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses (The Investigations of Mossa & Pleiti Book 3) by Malka Older

If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel

Finding Prince Charming by Jamar J. Perry

The Stolen Girl (A D.I. Jo Shaw Mystery) by Cari Hunter

A Marvelous Murder by David S. Pederson

We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon

Kingdom of Wings & Scales (Wyverealm Chronicles) by K.F. Starfell

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

Florenzer by Phil Melanson

A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell

Solo Stan by Talia Tucker

Winging It with You by Chip Pons

Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski

The Next Chapter by Camille Kellogg

Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben Vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

The Incorruptibles by Lauren Magaziner

Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive

Midnight at the Cinema Palace by Christopher Tradowsky

Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler

Human, Animal by Seth Insua

Whisked Away (Jewels of the Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Enola M. Douglas

O mundo que habita em mim by Luca Guadagnini

A Magnificent Disturbance by Lee Lynch

Charity Case by Jean Copeland

Big Corpse on Campus by Karis Walsh

A Conflict of Interest by Morgan Adams

As We Bloom: Wisdom from Extraordinary Everyday Women and Gender Nonconforming People by Mia Bolton

Days of Light by Megan Hunter

11

Wars in Wonderland by E.J. Pepino

12

Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion by Kevin Guyan

Cage of Starlight by Jules Arbeaux

Tempting Tara (Confessions Book 3) by Cozy DuBois

13

Bite Marks & Broken Hearts (The Killigrew Street Case Files) by TJ Rose

Damsels & Dinosaurs by Wren Jones

Maddening Mast Cell Mathematics: A Chronic Illness Calculus by Sarah Klein

Luxuries of Lust by Nik Knight

14

Perfectly Matching Again (A Novella for All Seasons) by Milena McKay

15

Unstable Orbits by Anthony Camber

16

Hate To Haunt You (Afterlife Incorporated Book 2) by Alli Temple

17

If We Survive This by Racquel Marie

Beyond the Planet of the Vampires by Ulrich Baer

Senpai is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate 1 by Pom

The Other Side of the Ocean by J.D. Netto

America’s Not-So-Sweetheart by Blair Hanson

The Ripple Effect by Maggie North

Last Dance Before Dawn (Nightingale Mysteries Book 4) by Katharine Schellman

Holly Jolly July by Lindsay Maple

Hermaphrodite Logic: A History of Intersex Liberation

Bad Creek by Peyton June

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie

Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee

The Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman

Shout Loud, My Heart by Youga Rayri

Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell

The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow

Work Nights by Erica Peplin

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes

The Mercy Makers (The Moon Heresies Book 1) by Tessa Gratton

Green-Eyed Monster (Court of Chains Book 3) by Rawnie Sabor

The Ice Moves for No One by Arlo Z. Graves

A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen by Julie Harthill Turner

Alphas on the Rocks (Werecreatures vs. Shifters Book 1) by Jem Zero

Love You a Latte (Stone Ridge Book 1.5) by Corina Bair

The Redemption of Alex Cade by Ali Ryecart

Cursebreakers (The Cursebreakers Series Book 1) by Madeleine Nakamura

18

Enemies to Enemies by Ash Kreider

A Light From the Nether by Molly Dowd Sullivan

Fall Into You by Dylan Morrison

A Question of Sincerity by Sabrina Blaum

19

About Bliss: Fighting for My Trans Son's Life, Joy, and Fertility by Cristina Olivetti

Kickflip Vol 1 by L.D. Lapinski & Logan Hanning (Illustrator)

The Last Soldier of Nava by Yejin Suh

My History, My Gender, Me by Cassandra Jules Corrigan

It’s a Gang by Katrina Cross

20

27 by Victoria Kinnaird

23

Reflections of Lilje Damselfly by Natalie Kelda

Lust and Found by Sylvie Helstaff

24

A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love & Peace by Emily Skrutskie

The Lost Heirs (Arcana Book 1) by Sam Prentice-Jones

The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic edited by Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane

A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek

Peerless Vol 4 by Meng Xi Shu

Viscounts & Villainy (Roaring Twenties Magic Book 3) by Allie Therin

Bed & Breakup by Susie Dumond

Queer Lens: A History of Photography edited by Paul Martineau and Ryan Linkof

Journey to Lavender: Embracing Gender Identity with Love, Learning, and Acceptance by Josee Amiel-Perez

Incendiant by Virginia Black

Party of Three (A Sapphire Cove Suite Secrets Novella Book 4.5) by C. Travis Rice

Dessa’s Crossing: A Novel and Other Stories by Atanas Radenski

Punch Drunk Love Vol. 3 by Moscareto

Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander

Killjoy (Starhawk Book 2) by Adrienne Lothy

More Than A Friend by Daisy Wren

Black Ice: Volume 2 by Bradford D. Smith II

25

Nightly Dreams by Hannah Phillips

Goldheart (Foxgolve & Feud Book 1) by Tess Carletta

Run with the Devil by M. Anderson

26

The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings

One Last Try by Jemma Croft

Painted Flock (Val-de-mer Book 2) by Claudie Arseneault

16 mm by N.R. Wolfman

27

Devoted by Van R. Som

28

The Thief’s Familiar (Familiar Mates Book 12) by TJ Nichols

30

Run Like Hell by Eira Brand

Love & Other Atrocities by R.H. Linehan

[rocrown]

💜 Batty About Books' May Reading Recap

❓ What was your favorite book for May?

🦇 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! May rushed right by! I had a few too many two-star reads, unfortunately, but I have my fingers crossed for a stronger June. Tell me all about your month's noteworthy reads!

📚 May reads included: ✨ Kiss Me Maybe - Gabriella Gamez ✨ She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan ✨ Come As You Are - Dahlia Adler ✨ Done and Dusted - Lyla Sage ✨ Fangs - Sarah Anderson ✨ Nobody in Particular - Sophie Gonzales ✨ Ready to Score - Jodie Slaughter ✨ Heir of Storms - Lauryn Hamilton Murray ✨ Worth Fighting For - Jesse Q. Sutanto ✨ Backhanded Compliments - Katie Chandler ✨ If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You - Mae Marvel

🦇 That makes 61/100 books for 2025 so far!

💜 What book are you looking forward to reading most in May? Here's to another month of heartfelt, entertaining, and wow-worthy reads!

[rocrown]

After 2 years in silence, my band Fangbanger is finally back with a new song - Stay Away! 🌀 Available on all platforms!

[rocrown]

bookish propaganda i’m not falling for: ⤵

tagging authors in negative reviews ❌ sharing AI art/covers/writing ❌ following to unfollow ❌ not considering chick lit "real" books ❌ judging others by what they read ❌ not DNFing books ❌ rushing to read over-hyped books ❌ buying every special edition of a book ❌

babe, no! why do that when you could use Booklr to: ⤵ promote your favorite authors (they deserve more love!) ❤ show off your favorite books (they're so pretty!) ❤ follow and forge authentic connections with like-minded readers ❤ make lasting friendships ❤ read what you want to read, when you want to read it ❤ not judging other readers for their tastes ❤ only spending money on my favorite books ❤ enjoy every second of being part of this community ❤

[rocrown]

i'm currently 75% of the way through "legends and lattes" and i really like it, but i do find it hilarious that i've heard this book described (both by fans and detractors) as "no plot just vibes" when a not insignificant portion of the book concerns the main character being shaken down by the fantasy mafia. like this is very much a cozy slice of life for the most part, but it's less "pure coffee shop au" and more "coffee shop au with a mafia subplot and also a side character invents the electric guitar in the background"