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whatbettyread · 6 months ago

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Pulling Swords from Stones: What's the matter with YA King Arthur Retellings

I have read a lot more this year than I have in a long time, and basically read anything someone recommended me. I tried to stay in the umbrella of queer, indie, and diverse voices. Unfortunately, that means I never want to be mean! I don't want to kick diverse voices or smaller creators, and I don't want to discourage those creatives. On the other other hand, I appreciate people being bitchy, especially when it's about a book that I was interested in. So I'm splitting the difference-- overly positive on goodreads, with my negative comments here, where nobody will read them.

I know part of the Cait Corrain (sp?) drama was that she was reviewing indie authors and friends positively but being negative on alt accounts, and I hope that's not what I'm doing here. I think both of these books are relatively big, and I don't know the authors personally, but I also think they're small enough the creators might come across the reviews. Hopefully they're smart enough to avoid reading reviews.

This is about the following books:

Once and Future

Gwen and Art are Not In Love

Probably needlessly negative, which is why it's under a cut, but:

Once and Future is the only book I definitively DNFed this year. It should be a slam dunk for me: I love sci fi, I've had "Arthur comes back as a marginalized person" as a concept in my head for decades, I love queer characters and characters of color taking the lead. Once and Future has all of these things!

Once & Future, by A.R. Capetta, Cory McCarthy, is billed as a "bold, sizzling YA retells the popular legend with the Once and Future King as a teenage girl -- and she has a universe to save." The protagonist is a plucky teenager, a woman of color, and queer-- sapphic, even-- living with her brother and on the run from a spacefaring megacorporation.

Even setting aside the Arthur of it all, I had a few issues with this book from the jump. Capetta and McCarthy both seem uncomfortable with writing a woman of color as their protagonist-- one of the authors is part Lebanese, but there still seemed to be a lot of discomfort with how they wrote those characters. You could feel the difference between how they write Ari and how they write Merlin: Merlin is immediately a comfortable point of view.

The introduction of Merlin into the story is actually where I fell off. Merlin is The Merlin, from the Arthur Times. He wakes up in the far future and misgenders someone, and then is corrected. He immediately apologizes and becomes Woke.

And this made me feel crazy! Because it was simultaneously too easy and not easy enough. Merlin is The Merlin from Arthurian Times, who Wakes Up Every Few Hundred Years and Updates His Knowledge. So... he has never met a single nonbinary person for thousands of years? He is not held to any sort of social norm from the Arthurian time period, or does he just update his understanding super quickly once corrected? There's no bafflement from the protagonists-- who have only existed in a world where gender is fluid-- why someone would struggle with the idea of nonbinary people. And then Merlin explains that he is from the past and has outdated ideas!

Third genders and nonbinary genders were on Earth during the Arthurian era, just outside of England-- did Merlin just keep all his vast knowledge confined to the British isles?

It felt like a handwave: a way for Merlin to stay "outdated" and to address the changes in time, while also showing that he's a good dude who will update his ideas immediately when confronted. It felt too easy-- and if you want it to be easy, why not have him interact with nonbinary people at a previous time? He is specifically written to be The Merlin, but the authors seem like they don't want to tackle what having a dude from the 5th century running around would actually be like.

Similarly, Gwen and Art are Not In Love wants to split playing with the time period with having things be Easy. The novel doesn't commit to a time period, so the extent to which homophobia existed is hard to pin down. We are in generic middle ages time period, maybe after the 12th century: the references to Arthur are about cycles, rather than a true retelling. This is the story of Gwen and Art, who are betrothed, but Gwen is in love with the Only Lady Knight, and Art is gay. They fake date to get people off their backs.

Unlike Once and Future, Gwen and Art is mostly just trying to be a good time. It really reads like fanfiction. I enjoyed it! Really. But the second I turned my brain back on, the ramifications. The rammies. The book is interested in some of the history and politics, but is fearful of making any institution seem truly flawed. There is a civil war coming, but we aren't shown why people might want to fight against their ruler: Gwen has a servant she mistreats, but they're actually friends its fine. Once you have a rebellion: people who are unhappy under a ruler-- one has to start asking questions.

I don't tend to like stories about royals. I'm originally from the UK: I don't like the idea that magic blood makes someone better than me. But I can deal with this for a story written well: either one that explores what royalty means, or one that ignores it.

I think a lot about Bridgerton in terms of this. The race-blind casting in the show is fantastic and the actors are brilliant and beautiful-- and then they explain it by saying George III married a black woman and it... ended racism? And I didn't need an explanation! I didn't want one. But once you say that, I start thinking about the period being built on the slave trade, the British Empire built on the stolen wealth of Africa and India, and George III being mad, and how he would never be allowed to marry Charlotte, and if he used his royal power to do that-- would the colonies revolt sooner? I mean, think about what the west did to Haiti--

You see what I mean?

Both books try and straddle between "legitimate retelling" and "don't worry about it." But I'm going to worry about it if you bring it up!

The Goblin Emperor is a book that is very concerned with the morality of Empire. It doesn't shy away from the idea that Empire itself is a toxic thing, even when led by a good ruler, and that even a good ruler will struggle with the machinery of empire. The Twelve Kingdoms tackles the idea of royalty differently: the Royal in charge of a Kingdom is actually tied to the well-being of the land and its people. Many of the snapshots we get are to see how different rulers manage-- or don't manage- their kingdoms. You are King as long as you serve your country-- and emphasis on Serve.

Additionally, they seemed to suffer from the "fujoshi's curse"-- something I say fondly, as a sufferer myself on occasion, but still a detractor.

The fujoshi's curse is this: you are more interested in your male characters than your female ones, even as a woman or as a queer person ostensibly writing about multiple genders of character. Both this and Gwen and Art suffer from this: the authors seem to struggle to enjoy the female protagonists, or to understand their attraction to women. In Gwen and Art, Gwen is implied to be demisexual: this is fine and good! But since she's the only queer woman whose interiority we're invited into, we get the vibe that her attraction is only to this particular Lady Knight. When her attraction is described, it doesn't feel comfortable for the writers. In Once & Future, once Merlin is introduced, he is immediately the writers favorite.

Both books seem to feel like wlw relationships are an obligation, something you need to avoid people telling you that you're just fetishizing mlm relationships. They feel flat. Gwen has been in Love With Lady Bridget, but also kind of wants to be Lady Bridget. The writers keep adding elements to their relationship as though adding hooks will find something to keep them interested. But Lady Bridget, and Gwen, are somewhat superfluous to the story. They are given things to do that seem plot important, but the narrative exists primarily for Gwen's brother and Art.

Gwen is punished by the narrative for her cowardice, without the narrative leaving any room for why a woman might be more cowardly than a man at that time period. Gwen is portrayed as being in the wrong for caring what other people think: her arc is her being brave and breaking the rules and maybe being nicer to servants.

What is the point of a King Arthur retelling? What is the point of taking a story about Kings and Royalty and the Inevitable Good of The Ruling Class and rewriting it with members of the underclass? Gwen and Art say: everyone else gets a fun middle ages romance, in the system of middle ages royalty, so we queers get one too. Once and Future says: you think you like the inevitable power of the ruling class? Well this is a brown, queer woman from the underclass, and she has been gifted this power. They do not go beyond that. They do not ask more questions.

At one point, in Gwen and Art, Lady Bridget, the only female knight, the only character of color in the book, lifts the sword from the stone and wields it in battle. What are the consequences of this? A few jokes. When she is at tourneys, some people talk about it, but she doesn't like it. Gwen's brother, Art's boyfriend, becomes the King. The Good King. And he Makes Gay Marriage Legal.

We know there are flaws in the kingdom, in the system. We know that, in Once and Future, the Evil Corporation infects everything, is galaxy spanning and all powerful. But the problems are fixed, in both, without violence. Violence comes from outside: from the violent members of a cult. Their invasion is repelled, and the system is fixed by the royals from the inside. In Gwen And Art, the Good King rising to the throne brings about a period of liberal niceties and wokeness, but with the King. In Once and Future, paperwork and a marriage Fix the galaxy.

Both books tackle Class with characters from different ends of the system, but both conclude with remarkably similar ideas. The rise of liberalism, and a 20th century moral outlook, brought about by the Right People Being in Charge.

What do the villains want? In Gwen and Art, they want to be in charge, because they're part of an Arthurian cult. In Once and Future, they're a fascist neoliberal government corporation. But it never feels like the enemy is an ideology or a people: the enemy is an obstacle we need to get past, but it doesn't come from anything.

I'm not just a killjoy: like I said, I enjoyed Gwen and Art well enough when I was reading it. But both retellings seemed to stop at "we are recasting with diverse characters." Why? What does it say? What does it mean? What are the themes, and how are they challenged by these changes? Royalty, empire, corporate oligarchy, the existence of Kings: all of these things are parts of oppressive systems, and the stories we tell about them are about those oppressive systems.

Secret royalty stories have existed forever: the pauper who is a prince is a classic tale. Those stories say: royal blood always floats to the surface. Subversions, too, have something to say. But you have to figure out what.

#what i actually read #negative #book review

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solitaireobsessed · 1 year ago

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BOOK REC:

Name/Authors: Once & Future, by A.R Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Summary (from inside cover): Ari Helix has been running her whole life. A fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer Corporation, she's always had to hide who she was. Until now. When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the forty-second reincarnation of King Arthur.

The wizard Merlin has been waiting for centuries for a king who can break the curse that's aged him backwards into a teenager. He's trained dozens of Arthurs over the centuries, but never a girl. Could Ari finally be the one?

Ari wants nothing to do with Merlin's talk of quests and knights and dragons. She just wants to use her new power to find a way home. But the Mercer Corporation has been hiding a terrible, world-destroying secret--and it will do anything to stop her from uncovering the truth.

My review: This book was so good. The characters/story were interesting, and kept me fully immersed in the world of the book the whole time. The representation in the book is truly perfect, and makes the story so much richer. Overall, I rate this book 10/10, and I highly recommend it.

(NOTE: A.R. Capetta will show up as 'Amy Rose' on the book cover, and the name/pronouns are outdated! Just letting you know)

#book rec #book recommendations #once & future #book review #go read it #it's so good #books

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queer-ragnelle · 1 year ago

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if i could add a retelling to your list: once & future and sword in the stars by a.r. capetta and cori mccarthy. thank you sm for your work

Hi anon!

You’re so welcome. I love helping people find Arthuriana to read or watch. :^)

In regard to your suggested books, I’ll add them to the list! But rather than PDFs, it will be links to purchase. When authors are still living and earning from their works, I advise anyone interested to go to their favorite bookseller or borrow from the library! But including them on the list will make people aware of them regardless, so I’ll do that.

Have a nice day!

#arthurian legend #arthurian legends #arthuriana #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #once & future #sword in the stars #a r capetta #cori mccarthy #ask #anonymous

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cleopatras-library · 1 year ago

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23 in 2023 Wrap-Up

So I made a list at the beginning of 2023, and did actually try to read most of the books on it! Results were mixed, but I did read a lot of books I'd been meaning to get to for some time, and made peace with many others. I won't be doing the same for this year because I genuinely don't have that many books I plan on reading. So here they all are:

Books that didn't come out this year:

Alecto the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - I was very optimistic, but there was not in fact an official release date and there is not one now. I did read the new short story though, and it was very good!

Books I didn't start:

De Profundis, Oscar Wilde - Too stressed for something so soul-searching. Maybe this year?

Lord of the Flies, William Golding - I decided I wasn't going to put myself through this one again and let go of all my guilt about it.

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy - Similarly, I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm not particularly interested in reading War and Peace right now.

Books I didn't finish:

Once & Future, A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy - Very YA, the humour was clearly targeted at a younger audience than me.

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, Janet E. Cameron - NOT in fact the lighthearted read its cover makes it out to be.

Beirut Hellfire Society, Rawi Hage - Not as interesting as the title.

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - Might have the prose I liked least all year. The authors were telling everything, which made it very heavy-handed.

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel - Too dark for me :) I regret starting this book. The prose was also a bit heavy-handed.

Books I finished that were Bad:

After the Victorians, A. N. Wilson - Written in 2005, and you can tell, because Wilson's opinions are stale as fuck. I can't really trust much of what he wrote because of that, though the chapter on crosswords was interesting.

Der Dunkle Schwarm, Marie Graßhoff - Dystopia with weak worldbuilding, and I found myself noticing plot holes, which isn't something I typically do.

Books I finished that were mediocre:

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald - 200 pages of Nick feeling uncomfortable and also some commentary on the american dream that has become common knowledge in the intervening century. This book is for someone else.

Ships of the ‘45, John S. Gibson - Exactly what it says on the cover.

Company Town, Madeline Ashby - Interesting worldbuilding, dull mystery plot (why is it that so much interesting fantasy/sci fi gets saddled with the dullest of imaginable mystery plots?)

Books I finished that were good:

Blood Like Fate, Liselle Sambury - I liked this a bit less than the first book, but it was still interesting and unique YA sci fi! The romance was also well-written.

Legendborn, Tracy Deonn - Honestly I was mostly reading this for the (enjoyably) messy love triangle, and I would continue the series if it looked like my preferred pairing was going to become canon.

Worlds of Ink and Shadow, Lena Coakley - Wittier than I remember it being!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote - Different, but just as good as the movie.

Love After the End, edited by Joshua Whitehead - An interesting short story collection. My thoughts were very much provoked.

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich - Literary fiction I found satisfactory upon reading that has somehow stuck with me over the last few months.

Books I finished that left me Changed:

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - AAAAAHHH (highly recommend, this literally changed everything)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt - This book makes me think maybe I should be reading more thrillers? Or at the very least more dark academia, regardless of how cliche it seems for the rest of my personality.

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, Megan Gail Coles - The best literary fiction I read this year.

In conclusion, go read The Locked Tomb.

#23 in 2023 #bookblr #wrap up

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honeyxmonkey · 5 months ago

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Merlin every other hour: HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID TO NOT FUCK WITH THE TIMELINE???

Ari and Friends: ... mult-

Merlin: Yes! Multiple! And what have you guys done???

Ari and Friends: ... Fucked with the timeline?

Merlin:

#hes big mad #i love him #theyre constantly getting shouted at by this (now) 13 yr old wizard 😭#once & future #once & future a.r. capetta #a.r. capetta #sword in the stars #once & future book series #merlin once & future #ari azar once & future #ari once & future #ara azar once &future #lam once & future #gwen once & future #val once & future #jordan once & future #this is my current take away from sword in the stars

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lgbtqreads · 5 years ago

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Fave Five: Coauthored Novels This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Once & Future…

#A.R. Capetta #Adam Silvera #Amal El-Mohtar #Amy Rose Capetta #Anna-Marie McLemore #Becky Albertalli #Cori McCarthy #Cory McCarthy #Max Gladstone #Miss Meteor #Once & Future #Robin Stevenson #Tehlor Kay Mejia #This is How You Lose the Time War #Tom Ryan #What if it&039;s Us?

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geshertzarmeod · 5 years ago

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10 & 14 for the book asks!

10) What was your favorite new release of the year?

Sword in the Stars by A.R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy! It’s the sequel to Once & Future, about futuristic space (and pansexual woman of color) King Arthur and her “round table” including backwards-aging gay teenage Merlin with a crush. And the sequel hijacks the original myth and says “fuck you pop culture, it was whitewashed and straightwashed, there were queer and trans people of color and strong women there the whole time.” Which is like, my favorite thing to find in media, and a big part of why I love Xena so much. It’s like revisionist history to make it better except it’s actually probably true in ways. Anyway please read these books but also be prepared for an absolutely absurd and wild ride.

14) What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

The book I want to finish before the year is over most is Legendborn by Tracy Deonn because I know I’m going to love it but I haven’t felt in the mood to read it, I want to be able to fully focus because I feel like it’s gonna be lowkey life changing from what I’ve heard about it. In the meantime I have a lot of books I have time-based pressure for so I made a TBR:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (I’m midway through and it’s excellent)

Once & Future by A.R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy (which I’ve obviously read but I need to reread ASAP for my book club)

A Meeting of Two Prophets by Judah Tasa (I have an ARC)

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (I have an ARC)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (borrowing it from @arborescent-shadows)

Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson (I have an ARC)

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson (borrowing it from @arborescent-shadows)

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft (I have an ARC)

Send me numbers for the end of year book ask!

#im-the-punk-who #sword in the stars #once & future #a.r. capetta #cory mccarthy #human interaction #i wrote a huge paragraph about sword in the stars and then accidentally pressed notifications and then everything disappeared #so now its just this but! maybe i'll make a separate post about it if i havent already #books #miri reads once & future #thank you for asking!!#i am not going to get through all 8 books. i will maybe get through the first 3

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sapphicbookclub · 2 years ago

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Sapphic Books List: Witches

Gather your coven and familiars and dive into magical worlds 🧙‍♀️

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

Now She is Witch by Kirsty Logan

The Scapegracers (trilogy) by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Payback's a Witch (series) by Lana Harper

These Witches Don’t Burn (duology) by Isabel Sterling

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

The Circle (Engelsfors trilogy) by M. Strandberg & S.B. Elfgren

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

The Lost Coast by A.R. Capetta

All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

Witching Moon by Poppy Woods

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

The Reluctant Witch (trilogy) by Kristen S. Walker

The Sting of Victory (series) by S.D. Simper

Not Your Average Love Spell by Barbara Ann Wright

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu

Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate Scelsa

Walking Through Shadows by Sheri Lewis Wohl

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

#sapphic books #queer books #witchy books #wlw books #lgbt books #sbl

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blurrypetals · 4 years ago

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Once and Future by A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy - blurrypetals review

originally posted aug. 6, 2019 - ★★☆☆☆

This one is a really unfortunate victim of DNF Day for me. This book actually proves there is such a thing as too much representation.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about representation of any sort, but the rep felt incredibly forced and stale and dead on arrival. Rather than working in characters' identities as the story went on it was as if each character was obligated to state their name, the Arthurian character they were based on, their sexual orientation, and their race the second they were introduced.

It's weird and inorganic and it was instantly off-putting in every way. I want to read stories from LGBTQIA+ voices that feel authentic, like what Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli do, or what Sarah Rees Brennan did in In Other Lands, where the world is beautiful and fantastical and our main character also just so happens to be bi. This feels like a fun, great concept that was ruined by bad fanfiction.

#once and future #a.r. capetta #cory mccarthy #2019 #goodreads mirror #blurrypetals

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thisqueerlove · 3 years ago

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My list of Queer books.

Now my labeling only has to do with the main protagonist, except for the books labeled "Queer" some of those the main protagonist is not Queer but the book has lots of Queer main and side characters. I only included the first books to make it easier but some of these are series.

The problem with making lists for books is that there's So. Goddamn. Many! New ones are being released every single day so all I can really do is add as I go. I also take recommendations so let me know of books I missed (specify what category they go in please 😊). I could also add specific Sexualities and Genders but right now I'm just doing basic categories because this is going to take time.

MLM:

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

In Deeper Waters by F.T Lukans

So This Is Ever After by F.T Lukans

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston

The Taking Of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

Zachary Ying and The Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

The Disasters by M.K England

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

And They Lived... by Steven Salvatore

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzalez and Cale Dietrich

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

The Song Of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

WLW:

A Lesson In Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

The Unbroken by C.L Clark

The Black Veins by Ashia Monet

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling

The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Deliah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

She's Too Pretty To Burn by Wendy Heard

You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson

One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston

The Girl From The Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker Chan

Polyamorous:

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (F/M/M)

The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare (F/M/M)

A Dowry Of Blood by S.T Gibson (F/F/M/M)

The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin (F/M/M)

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton (M/F/M)

She Whom I Love by Tess Bowery (F/F/M)

Knell, Mr. President by Lauren Gallagher (F/M/M)

Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylvester (F/F/F)

Midnight At The Orpheus by Alyssa Linn Palmer (F/M/F Poly V)

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (Multiple Interlinked Poly V's)

The Fell Of Dark by Caleb Roehrig (M/M/M)

Books Of Raksura by Martha Wells

Lifelode by Jo Walton (M/M/F/F)

The Elemental Logic by Laurie Mark (6 person polycule)

The Tale Of The Five by Diane Duane (Group Polycule)

In The Ravenous Dark by A.M Strickland

Lead Me Astray by Sondi Warner

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Queer (Books that have characters of many different identities):

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

A Song Of Wraiths And Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin

The City We Became by N.K Jemisin

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (everything written by them is Queer)

Chef's Kiss by T.J Alexander

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

The Backstagers and The Ghost Light by Andy Mientus and Ryan Sygh

Once & Future by A.R Capetta and Cory McCarthy

Nimona by N.D Stevenson

Trans/Non-Binary/GNC:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

The One True Me And You by Remi K. England

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M Johnson

When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callander

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore

Aro/Ace Spectrum:

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Bardger

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire l

Tarnished By The Stars by Rosiee Thorr

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Hazel's Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

The Sound Of Stars by Alechia Dow

Thaw by Elyse Springer

The Ladies Guide To Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee

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thatmexisaurusrex · 3 years ago

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Just Some Queer Books I Love

Just some queer books I love:

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Once Upon a Princess by Clare Lydon Harper Bliss

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Powers

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Perfect Rhythm by Jae

The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristen Lambert

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee

Snapdragon by Kat leyh

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Rock and Riot by Chelsey Ferundi

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Colthurst

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

The Night by May Archer

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone

Spell Hacker by M.K. England

This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Court of Lions by Somaiya Doud

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

The Afterward by E.K. Johnston

A Study in Honor by Claire O'Dell

Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

The Disasters by M.K. England

Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

Once & Future by A.R. Capetta

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

A Phoenix Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell

Crier's War by Nina Varela

#book recs #queer books #lgbtqia #just some queer books i love

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strugglinguist · 2 years ago

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January's Books

I've been thinking it might be fun to do a month-by-month look at the books I've read and thoughts about them. I read a whopping 12 books in January! This is a mix of winter break energy plus getting lots of Audible credits for Christmas.

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

Martyr's Promise by Elizabeth Hunter

A Catalogue of Catastrophe by Jodi Taylor

Paladin's Kiss by Elizabeth Hunter

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy & A.R. Capetta

Sword in the Stars by Cory McCarthy & A.R. Capetta

Doing Time by Jodi Taylor

Hard Time by Jodi Taylor

White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo

A Psalm of the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Saving Time by Jodi Taylor

About Time by Jodi Taylor

I've provided in-depth thoughts below :)

I finished a re-read of Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St. Mary's series. This is one of my all-time favorites, and it was a joy to read again. Also on Audible, the voice actor who reads them is one of my favorites. Hands down. She does great voices for each of the characters. By the end of the first or second book in the series, she has them down so well that you know who is speaking immediately.

I then read the the 2nd and 3rd novels in the Elemental Covenant series by Elizabeth Hunter. I'm really digging this new series and cannot wait for the next one to release! Elizabeth's world building is amazing, and I have read every single book in her Elemental world. That's 17 books, 8 novellas, and a short story, by the way. Can't recommend her work enough. She also has a few other series that I love like The Irin Chronicles and The Cambio Springs Series.

On the recommendation of my girlfriend, I picked up Once & Future and Sword in the Stars by Cory McCarthy and A.R. Capetta. They were a really fun sci-fi/fantasy YA experience about a reincarnation of the Arthurian legend. Arthur as a lesbian in space plus time travel? It was queer and nerdy and all around wonderful. I loved it!

I then dug back into Jodi Taylor's writing with her spin-off series about the Time Police from the St. Mary's world. The four books were seriously wonderful. I loved learning about each of the main characters. Jodi is also very good at getting me invested to the point that I find myself openly weeping over her stories. I really hope more books come out in that series.

Two more books! I read White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo. Well... most of it. I still have about an hour of listening. I definitely did a lot of chewing on ideas and reactions to this one. She does well as encapsulating the stumbling blocks to genuine conversations about race because of how White people are socialized. I think it's worth reading as a White person, which is the intended audience, but I think a Black American or other People of Color would find it elementary and waste of time for them.

Finally, a college friend recommended A Psalm of the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers and sent me a Kindle version. It is such a beautiful story about what it means to be alive and worthy. It's a sci-fi book about a future where robots have become sentient and chose to leave humanity behind to learn about the world, and humans have made due without that technology since. A human and a robot meet and go on a journey together learning about one another and life. It hit me right in the feels several times!

#reading #reader #January books #sci fi #fantasy #YA books #Elizabeth Hunter #Jodi Taylor #Cory McCarthy #AR Capetta #Robin DiAngelo #Becky Chambers #book review #book recommendations #books

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