#Bookrecs

[ladymoonstardust]

“How gay can you make your book?”

“yes” : Love, and to be loved was above anything else in this world. To trust that fragile organ on one that would truly cherish it. To be met with the person who not only wished to keep the darkness away from it, but would willingly steal the light of the stars to reignite it if the candle of it merely just flickered.

[aquila1nz]

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Little Thieves - Margaret Owens

A Goose Girl retelling from the perspective of the imposter... and easily my favourite book I read last year!

Vanja has a plan: take the place of the princess who was once her friend, steal from the nobility who consistently underestimate her, and run away with her money to start a new life — she will never again be anyone's servant, not even her (literal) God-mothers: Death and Fortune.

But everything goes wrong when she accidentally steals from a Low God, who places a curse on her as punishment. Now she must contend with the junior prefect investigating her thieving alter-ego, the inconvenient return of her (or rather, the princess's) brute of a fiancé, the pressure from her godmothers to choose between them, and the ticking clock of the curse that will take her life if she doesn't find a way to 'make things right.' Whatever that means.

There's a lot on her plate and everything at stake.

This story is masterfully told, 10/10 no notes, I loved everything about it! This is a perfect book.

Little Thieves series: Little Thieves | Painted Devils | Holy Terrors

More fairy tales

[coldsaturn]

I read your tw list for icos and oh gosh. That's one heavy book. I'm not even sure it's for me. Is there, like SOMETHING that is not terrible in these books? A good msg or a happy ending? Anything that would make me want to live and not put me in a depression?

I think the best thing I can do is tell you that I don't do tragic endings. I'll swim in whump superhell and like it, but the end has to be pointing up. 99.99% of the stories I rec end pointing up, with the OTP still together. Sometimes I just enjoy seeing them hurt a bit or a lot before they get to that point lol

ICoS is a very long (especially if you go for the original version) story, and it gets so dark in such vivid and extensive details that it can be very uncomfortable, but all the characters are incredible survivors. Even the ones that are straight up antagonists. It ends up being a story of resilience, survivors, hope, finding meaning and connections even when every single odd is stacked against them, choosing to put one foot in front of the other again and again. You have a hopeless post-WWIII nuclear dystopia, and still characters fall in love, despair, try to protect one another, laugh, mourn, get hurt, hurt others, hurt themselves, live.

I didn't have the word for it back when I read it the first time, but ICoS shares quite a few traits with the grimdark genre, only to thread it together with the slowburn + angst-with-happy-for-now-ending* tags. And it works. It worked so well ICoS still comes to mind whenever I think about masterclass examples of dystopian worldbuilding.

*Happy-for-now because it's still a dystopia at the end of the day

[ladzwriting]

Author of WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT and the forthcoming WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT @aninkwellofnectar calls The Fealty of Monsters "short, punchy, and brutally effective"

You an get the grimdark retelling of the Russian Revolution with queer vampires for $1.99 all month long. Get it here.

You can preorder WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT on her payhip.

[maayaainsworth]

Carmilla | RESENHA?

Carmilla é um livro INCRÍVEL!!

Quando falamos sobre vampiros na literatura, Carmilla é uma obra que não pode passar despercebida. Desde que li, essa história se tornou meu “Império Romano” — aquele pensamento que aparece quase todos os dias, não apenas por que o ser vampiro seja algo que me fascina, mas sim a figura que ele também representa.

Para entender Carmilla, é preciso voltar àquela época em que a história estava sendo escrita. A Era Vitoriana (1837-1901) foi um período de transformações sociais profundas, com o capitalismo e a revolução industrial consolidando o poder da burguesia e afastando a nobreza. Apesar das mudanças significativas, essa época também foi marcada pela repressão, especialmente para as mulheres, que eram confinadas ao espaço doméstico e vistas como símbolos de pureza e fragilidade.

A literatura vitoriana, incluindo os romances, desempenhava um papel fundamental na propagação desses ideais, muitas vezes moldando as expectativas sobre comportamento feminino. As histórias eram verdadeiros tratados de moralidade, criando modelos como mãe, filha, virgem pura e mulher demoníaca. Era um reflexo de uma sociedade que tentava controlar todos os aspectos da vida, incluindo principalmente a sexualidade das mulheres.

Carmilla, ao inserir uma figura monstruosa como o vampiro, oferece uma oportunidade de explorar esses desejos reprimidos e medos ocultos, desde que, a figura do vampiro masculina é vista como uma figura poderosa e transgressora, a figura feminina do vampiro é representada como bela, frágil, destruidora de lares e sexualizada ao extremo.

Carmilla, uma vampira nobre, com uma aura sombria e uma identidade monstruosa, representa uma ameaça ao patriarcado. Sua presença é uma afronta direta às expectativas sociais da época, onde as mulheres eram vistas como frágeis e puras. Ela desafia essas normas e se torna uma figura que deve ser combatida e moralizada.

O relacionamento entre Carmilla e Laura é carregado de uma dualidade onde há amor, desejo e repulsa, o que reflete a repressão sexual que era tão predominante na Era Vitoriana. Carmilla não é só uma vampira que bebe sangue; ela representa o que é proibido e desejável ao mesmo tempo. Sua figura, assim como seu desejo por Laura, são indicativos dos sentimentos que a sociedade tentava suprimir.

A ambientação gótica de Carmilla também é um destaque. O cenário — castelos sombrios, florestas enevoadas e um silêncio inquietante — cria um ambiente perfeito para o mistério e a tensão que permeiam toda a narrativa. É um mundo onde o medo e a sedução se encontram, e onde cada movimento é carregado de possibilidades.

No final, Carmilla é mais do que uma simples história de vampiros. É uma outra visão sobre os desejos reprimidos, sobre como a sociedade vitoriana tentou suprimir qualquer tipo de liberdade pessoal, seja emocional ou sexual. É uma narrativa que desafia convenções, não sendo atoa que se tornou um clássico, e questiona o que realmente significa ser livre. Para mim, foi uma leitura inesquecível, uma leitura que mexeu profundamente comigo, com todo o romantismo e a sutileza que existe naquele livro.

Se você é apaixonado por literatura gótica, Carmilla é uma leitura essencial. É impossível ler Carmilla e sair ileso — e, na verdade, quem gostaria de sair?

Fonte/Material Utilizado para escrever esse post:

Artigo | VAMPIRISM AND LESBIANISM IN CARMILLA BY JOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU por Marília Milhomem Moscoso Maia

[aci25]

American History RECS

The Warmth of Other Suns is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

[mydarkgothikana]

Hello, loves! I'm in search of some sapphic and other queer books. I need to get lost in a soul consuming love and live out my dark romantic fantasies through the written word. I'm looking for adult books specifically. While I like YA books, the stuff I'm looking for can't really be found there.

My favorite genre is fantasy, I love the escapism that comes with it. Give me all your recs! Dark, dirty, sexy, dangerous, monsters, creatures, obsession, questionable content - I want it all. 😈

[peterrsthomas]

Book Review: All Systems Red

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first instalment of the Murderbot Diaries, published in 2017. So, yes, I’m a little late to the party.

This is my first Murderbot read, and my first Martha Wells read, too. And I loved it. This is short-form sci-fi at it’s best. The main character, Murderbot, is an endearing mixture of insecure, anti-social, and self-effacing. Murderbot is part machine, part organic, but wholly constructed as a security unit. And it is able to hack into its ‘governor module’, the part of its circuitry that forces it to abide by external commands and protocols, and become self-determining. 

Despite its best efforts, Murderbot, who would rather watch endless serials from the entertainment feeds, becomes attached to the human scientists who have rented it from the ‘Company’, a corporate entity who supply subpar supplies and materials for interplanetary exploration.

To keep the book short and accessible, the world-building is fairly light, focusing around familiar themes of rogue robots and hacked computer networks, in a universe dominated by corporations and corporate interests. This works well, and the reader is able to focus on the characters and their relationships to one another—Murderbot, of course, as our perspective character, but the others, too: the calm leader, the sceptic distrustful of Murderbot, the empathetic scientists keen to draw out Murderbot’s emotional side. Through their interactions with Murderbot, we get a window into their different personalities. We also explore our protagonist’s anxieties and struggles—showing that, despite being a SecUnit, Murderbot could be just as human as the scientists it’s protecting. Throughout, the robot bounces between analytical and emotional, detached and invested.

At the heart of the plot is a mystery that unfolds at a steady pace across the pages. It thumps along with a steady staccato, with revelations at each stage that keen the reader interested. The unraveling of the mystery is satisfying and helps flesh out the broader world that Murderbot and the scientists are operating in. So, in learning more about the mysterious forces at play, we learn more about how the corporate universe works—an effective use of words in a short novel!

This series came recommended to me by a number of people, and I am deeply thankful for that. The novel takes familiar sci-fi elements (AI, corporate dominance of space) and views them through the lens of an engaging and relatable protagonist. I am happy to pass on the recommendation to anyone who hasn’t yet read All Systems Red!

[thatlovequeerauthor]

Extensive Queer Book Rec List

This is going to be an extensive masterlist of books representing every Queer Identity I can find. I'm going to try to be as thorough as possible and I will be consistantly updating it. If you know of any, especially indie authors, feel free to recommend some in my dms, the comments, or my askbox! Created: 5/10/24 Last Updated: 5/15/24

Achillean: Cemetery Boys We contain Multitudes The Sun and The Star The Taking of Jake Livingston Proxy Bloodraven Red, White and Royal Blue Hell Followed With Us Aristotle and Dante Simon Vs The Homosapien Agenda Coffee Cake House in the cerulean sea History is all you left me They both die at the end

Sapphic: Faeblood Unbroken Radio Apocalypse This Gilded Abyss Crier's War Malice The Jasmine Throne She Drives Me Crazy She gets the girl Delilah Green Doesn't Care Imogen, Obviously The Stars and the Blackness between them Last night at the Telegraph club Gearbreakers Contract bound The Truthspoken Heir The Honey Witch Aromantic Spectrum: Baker Thief The Last Chronomancer Dread Nation Asexual Spectrum: Where the River Meets the Soul This Golden Flame The Sound Of Stars (Demisexual) Love letters for joy Let's Talk about love Transgender: Stay Gold (FTM) Melissa (MTF) Lily and Dunkin (MTF) Gracefully Grayson (MTF) Symptoms of Being Human (Genderfluid) Good King Lyr (Genderfluid) Mask Of Shadows (Genderfluid) The Sunbearer Trials (FTM) Zenobia July (MTF and also Neopronouns rep) The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (FTM) Most Ardently (FTM) Felix Ever After (FTM) If I was your girl (MTF) Magical boy (FTM) Look Past (FTM) Polyamorous*: Iron Widow Ariah MOGAI: Smogg: Origins (Side character that uses it/its) Objectum: Viscera Objectica The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Traveller's Gate Hitty, Her First Hundred Years Christine

[p3ndr4gn]

i'm not typically a fantasy/series reader but i really enjoyed the mirror visitor quarter and ofc the howls moving castle series...im looking for similar series if anyone knows of any :,)

[queerbookmasterlist]

Sapphic books perfect for Valentine's Day 📖

How many have you read? Which ones will you be adding to your TBR?

Roses are Red, Violet is Dead: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

Redacted for #SpeakUpSMP: 5/5⭐

Knotty Valentine: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

The Romance Recipe: 4/5⭐

Everyone's Thinking It: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

Tell Me What You Want: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

Delilah Green Doesn't Care: 5/5⭐

Poisoned on Valentine's Day: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

The Perfect Match: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

Charm City: ?/5⭐ (TBR)

DISCLAIMER:

I have not read all of these books so I cannot attest to their quality or the issues that may arise in them. I have tried to note which I have or have not read. It is also highly recommended that readers check trigger warnings to decide if a book is right for them.

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells

My library hold for All Systems Red finally arrived, and now I know why everyone loves Murderbot so much!

Murderbot is a SecUnit, a part-robot part-human construct designed to prevent humans from getting killed or killing each other, a walking weapon with strict protocols to follow and orders to obey. But this particular SecUnit is unique: it has hacked its own governor module, so now it doesn't have to follow orders anymore. It is free to do whatever it wants.

What it wants is to binge hours of media. If only the humans would stop putting themselves in dangerous situations so it wouldn't have to spend so much time saving them.

(Well, it doesn't have to save them. No governor module means it could just leave them alone and go back to its favourite show...)

(It's gonna save them.)

After that first hold came in, the rest of the series arrived surprisingly quickly so I read it all in a few weeks. Now I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms. ☹️ Most of the books are relatively short novellas so they're really quick and easy to read. Except for Network Effect, which is a full-length novel about twice as long as the other books and is my favourite of the series so far! They're sarcastically funny, action-filled, with a surprising amount of heart and even a bit of philosophy as they question what it means to be human vs. what it means to be a person.

I cannot recommend them highly enough! And I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red | Artificial Condition | Rogue Protocol | Exit Strategy | Network Effect | Fugitive Telemetry | System Collapse

[coldsaturn]

Bookrecs 2024

Ok I received an ask requesting bookrecs, and I realized I haven't added anything in years to this blog. Truly tragic.

The thing is, the past few years have been hellish enough that my reading habits changed from "hunger for literature" to "desperate coping before sleeping". So we're talking about a lot of Jikook fics and gorgeous videogames (which I tend to equate to books and movies etc. in terms of ability to deliver a compelling narrative), but not that many books, let alone the indie ones I used to hunt for fun.

But. That doesn't mean I am empty-handed, so here a few titles that still hadn't turned up in my tag. I'll add a TW next to the titles that IMO contain sensitive topics (I don't differentiate between positive/neutral/negative depiction), so mind where you walk.

Contemporary

Circe

I am a sucker for Greek mythology always and forever, so this didn't have to try that hard to be a win, but I was still left pleasantly surprised. It wasn't earth-shattering or anything, but I really appreciated the character-driven slow pace of it, the way we follow a woman finding herself and then discovering others through herself. One doesn't need to know about the mythological events we encounter to still follow along with the journey, but if you catch all the references, the POV is a nice twist. The end-game pairing is also the sweetest <3 Just good vibes all around.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things TW

Intro: Back when the anti-shipping wave truly hit social media and equating fiction with reality became the norm, I started making a list out of spite. Every time some random fan on tumblr.com screamed against another fan because their fanfiction or ship would bring the end of our society, I added one more title to the list. It's published books they wouldn't be able to fathom they exist, so utterly convinced they are that the only way to deal with problematic fiction is by writing on ao3 and then being cancelled for it.

All the ugly and wonderful things is an incredible journey. I deeply respect books that challenge the reader into stepping out of their comfort zone, and this one demands to see the greys, asks you to sit with your discomfort and shut the hell up if you want to keep on reading. Many didn't. It's one of those stories where people give 1 star and DNF not because of how it's written, but because of what is written. If you stick to the end, you're rewarded with a story of humans being humans, in all their ugly and wonderful sides.

Flowers in the Attic (the entire Dollanganger series actually) TW

Another title on the list. This one is a Classic for older generations as it was a school read for many. Back when school reads were fun, apparently. You keep on reading, book after book, not exactly because of its writing style, but because it's a delightful trainwreck, and you just keep on sticking around to see where the characters end up after that absurd (and amazing) premise. If "this might as well happen" was a book.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

This was just a genius idea. Full on "I hate I didn't think of this first" I don't have many books where the very opening line forces me to stop and stare at it for 20 minutes because of how brilliant it is writing-wise, and how successfully it immediately sets the tone for what you're about to read.

"I forget everything between footsteps."

I assure you in Italian it somehow manages to sound even better. They did a fantastic job with the translation. This was such a fun read I took two whole weeks to finish it, even though I really could have done it in 2-3 days. But I liked what I was reading so much that I deliberately slowed down, savoring every word. What a fun experience.

Only downside: I didn't like the ending, it wasn't where I would have gone with it. Still, incredible job, double thumb up.

Classics

The Age of Innocence

I wasn't really expecting this, but I was vibing so much. I was sending screenshots to friends screaming about how scandalous our pompous, self-important protagonist was acting in certain parts. Like fellas is it proper to touch the naked wrist of the woman you have a crush on, when you're all in theater and your fiancée is sitting a few feet away? Things like that. Absolutely delightful. If not for the ending where I was screaming because of course it's 1921, what was I expecting.

Les Liaisons dangereuses TW

Well I can't defend Age of Innocence at all because this was 1782 and it delivered so hard. Really this book had no business being this fun. I read it because of a book club here in my city I join every now and then, and I had sectioned the amount of pages I needed to read daily to arrive at the date of the meeting with a finished book. I ended up reading it in less than 2 days. I could not put it down. I strongly suggest finding a good translation because with classics (especially ones not in your mother tongue), translations will make or break the book for you. I looked around reviews and blogs before I selected the Italian translation that I knew would match my vibe, and oh my god. I was giggling and gasping and "no way!!!!"ing my way through the entire thing. Instant fav.

Jane Eyre

This one I had already read when I was a teenager, but decided to give it a fresh, more adult spin on it by rereading it after a careful dive. I rediscovered the pleasure of studying what gets a book to be created in the mind of the author and its place in the literary trends of its time, as much as getting to know its story. The more I grow, the more I find out that no, mum, it wasn't just a phase, I'm really a sucker for everything gothic.

The turn of the screw

Another classic that I had already read and studied in high school, but that I decided to rediscover through a more mature lens. I decided to follow the advice of the Hardcore Literature book club about reading it in the original installment order and pacing, and it absolutely paid off. This was already a story that I loved because hello - horror and goth and psychological damage and if you take a certain way to read the events you'd need to add a TW to the title, and it was really beautiful to discover how I could still make it new and dive deeper into it by simply changing how I approached the text as a reader.

Self-publish

Underland

Have you ever played Bloodborne and hoped you could find a book that gives you the same lovecraftian gothic vibes? Well, look no further!

I have a love/hate relationship with RR and the dudebro high-brow stories in it, but occasionally I find something that catches my attention and also manages to keep it. Great worldbuilding, and a very nice ability to portray it by the author. Of course, being a serialized story on RR, sometimes it drags and/or indulges a bit too much in the vibes rather than in the actual juicy part of the story where things happen. Bloodborne sits undefeated in story and lore and everything in between, but this was still a nice experiment by the author.

As writing paradigm, we are diametrically opposite fanfictions. Which makes it a very interesting read even just because of that.

[evasgrimoire]

Ritual or psychotic kill, based on a blood moon? With a ragged ex-divorced detective with the last name Bowie (like a knife)? & very determined in all the voodoo aspects of the kills, a young and promising TV producer of a true crime show? Hell yes, I will enjoy every second of this book.