#queer mcs

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour and ARC Review: By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter

Welcome to my stop on the By Any Other Name book tour with Colored Pages Blog Tours. (This blog tour is also posted on my wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Book info:

TITLE: By Any Other Name AUTHOR: Erin Cotter PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers RELEASE DATE: October 10, 2023 GENRES: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy PAGES: 464 REPRESENTATION: Queer MCs

Goodreads StorygraphBlackwellsAmazonBarnes & NobleBookshop USOther Retailers

Synopsis:

A down-on-his-luck actor and an English lord reluctantly team up to solve the murder of Christopher Marlowe in this Shakespearean-era young adult romp perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens and Mackenzi Lee.

London, 1593. Sixteen-year-old Will Hughes is busy working on Shakespeare’s stage, stuffing his corsets with straw and pretending to be someone else. Offstage, he's playing a part, too. The son of traitors, Will is desperate to keep his identity secret—or risk being killed in the bloody queen’s imperial schemes. All he wants is to lay low until he earns enough coin to return to his family.

But when his mentor, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Will’s plans are hopelessly dashed. What’s worse, Marlowe was a spy for the queen, tasked with stalking a killer rumored to be part of an elusive order of assassins, and his secrets and untimely death have put Will under a harsh spotlight. And so, when Will unwittingly foils an attempt on the queen’s life, she names him her next spymaster.

Now, to avoid uncomfortable questions, prison, or an even more terrible fate, Will reluctantly starts his new career, which—yes—will secure him the resources to help his family…but at what cost? Adding insult to injury is the young Lord James Bloomsbury, Will’s new comrade in arms, whose entitled demeanor and unfairly handsome looks get under Will’s skin immediately.

Together, the two hunt the cunning assassin, defend the queen’s life, and pray to keep their own...all while an unexpected connection blossoms between them.

Author Bio:

Erin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.

Author Links:

Goodreads WebsiteInstagram

My Rating: ★★★★

*My Review, Favorite Quotes, and Tour Schedule below the cut.

My Review:

I can’t give this five stars because I didn’t love it and I definitely wouldn’t read it again, but it absolutely deserves four for how very much I didn’t love the setting - purely a case of personal preference - and at the same time how much I loved the characters. It takes skill to pull such a visceral response of dislike from me and at the same time endear the characters to me so strongly.

The thing I like least about this book, and the thing that makes me admire the skill of the author the most, is the rawness of life in this medieval world. These characters live in filth. They are accustomed to it. Humanity here, from the aristocrats to the peasants, is only a step away from animals. Life is unpredictable, brutal, full of disease and filth and crassness and betrayal. And no one bats an eye.

It reminds me of Catherine Called Birdy (a book I still vividly remember viscerally hating when I had to read it for school all those years ago) in the way it portrays a world of casual brutality and scrabbling in the mud for a life. Honestly it’s probably at least in part a bit of germaphobia that makes me hate this world so.

Will and his friends go through so much over the course of the novel, and there are so many plot twists, that I was constantly surprised by events and by their tenacity and determination to survive. I never saw a single thing coming in the course of the assassination and murder investigation. I could see, after each piece had fallen into place, exactly how it fit, but not how it got there.

The characters and events were melodramatic and sometimes strained credulity, but it all fits with the underlying theme of plays and players. Shakespeare and Marlowe are even characters. Will begins as an actor playing girls on stage in Marlowe's plays, and he keeps all of those actor characteristics to his personality throughout the story.

Will is likable no matter his selfishness and many faults, and i found myself continually rooting for him and his star-crossed love. And I came away loathing the nobility, especially Elizabeth. Her court was rotten and she was the worst of them all.

The way the story played out was very satisfying and wrenched a lot of feelings from me. Not least of which was the conviction that I absolutely positively never want to visit this world.

Seriously though, James' sister Catherine deserved so much better. Her part of the story is the one thing that really disappointed me.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Colored Pages Blog Tours, and Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Goddamn it. I’ve been trying not to let these two become my friends, but they became my friends anyway.

---

Whatever lack of experience Bloomsbury claims he has, his inspired performance as the most vexing person I’ve ever met is certainly coming from somewhere.

---

To hell with Marlowe and Bloomsbury and all the other people who tug me into their dark intrigues and give me no lantern to light my way. I am tired of being left in the dark.

---

“We don’t need your coin!” Maggie snarls. “’Tis coin. We always need coin,” Inigo amends in a small voice.

---

Should I fail, the stakes are dire; impersonating a man of the noble class is a crime punishable by death. Though to be fair, most of the crimes in England are punishable by death.

---

’Tis a brave and dangerous thing to go about this world having dreams. A dream is even more fickle and fleeting than a life.

---

“So we’re not here to have fun?” I say, to be cetain I’m understanding Foxwell correctly. Because it very much appears as though we’re in the midst of fun.

---

’Tis Reamonn, the swashbuckling pirate lad. He prickles with knives like an adorable, bloodthirsty hedgehog.

Tour Schedule:

October 4th

@monikasbookblog - Review + Favorite Quotes

raavenreads - Review Post

October 5th

Yourlocalbookreader - Review + Reel

@monarchsandmyths - Review + Favorite Quotes

October 6th

_perpetualpages_ - Review Post

Whimsical Dragonette - Review + Favorite Quotes

October 7th

ofpagesandprint - Review + Reel

@moyashi_girl - Review Post

October 8th

@poatic.library - Review + Reel

@gingerly_reading - Review Post

October 9th

Readreviewcoffee - Review + Favorite Quotes

Spacey Ghost - Review Post

October 10th

​​@rubyraereads - Review Post

Bangalimeyreads - Review + Reel

[apollonia4]

☆ Walk the runway! ☆

MC is a famous model in the human world - how do they act about it? ((Older brothers version))

Genre: fluff, not like tooth rotting though.

Pt.2

Ever since you were young you knew who you were. You always adored picking your own outfits thoughtfully, looking through fashion magazines and designing your own clothes. You were born into a family of artists and as soon as you could understand the things happening around you, you were in awe. Art was your refuge. Scattered clothes here, dirty canvas there and music blasting around in the house. It was all so chaotic and messy. But above it all it was comforting. Being a teen, you managed to sign your first ever contract with a modeling agency and the industry turned out to adore you, opening many many doors for your career.

And now you are more succeful than you could've wished. The people you met in the Devildom don't know this. You figured it's not necessary, you didn't feel the need to be a star everywhere you go.

LUCIFER

☆ He knew that you were a model since the start of the exchange program, it was mentioned in your files which he looked through personally. He didn't mention it in the beggining though since there were more urgent matters to attend to.

☆ You had to leave for the human world because you were doing a show in a few days. You mentioned it to Lucifer and he expressed an interest in going with you.

☆ He actually surprised you by securing himself a seat in the show, you thought everything would be full. Ever the pridefull demon, he knew you were gonna walk the runway for some time now - yes, he is obsessed.

☆ And when he finally saw you on the show, looking elegant, stylish and sooo..alluring. He was actually in awe. Fashion was your domain and you made it known for everyone in the room. He took in everything, from the way you walked, the way your attire hugged your body perfectly to the way you winked at him slyly while walking back. You were astonishing.

☆ He enjoyed the show, everything was so well put together, the lights, the music, the aesthetic of it all. He could see the photographers and the way they were obessed with you, capturing every moment of you on the runway. He was full of pride, his jealousy out of the way, not bothering his mind as he wanted to show everyone just how perfect you are.

MAMMON

☆ Mammon was nowhere near aware of your human world career. When you first arrived down in the Devildom he "couldn't bother" to be interested in you (he was).

☆ He found during one of his mindless scrolling sessions on the Devildom's equivalent of Insta. He had just finished his own modeling session and was only planning on lazing around when he noticed a post about a famous human world fashion magazine.

☆ Nothing could've prepared him for who was on that cover. It's you! He had to do a double, no thriple take. You were beatifull and SO hot. Mentally - he was giggling and kicking his feet. Physically - he made a run for it to your room. Paying no mind to how he startled you when he barged in with no warning he started ranting about why you didn't tell him?

☆ Mammon loves you and he loves fashion. Seeing the two things he adored fused together makes his head spin. From this point forward he insisted on taking him with you when you did photoshoots or shows. It was your little thing, you watching him, him watching you. The way you were shining when you stepped down the runway was almost identical to the way Mammon's eyes shined when he watched you.

☆ Sometimes you'd both pull a couple of strings to do a shoot together or have Mammon walk in the same show as you. Your hard work actually inspired him to try and become a runway model too, seeing as he only did photoshoots before.

LEVIATHAN

☆ Leviathan didn't really fancy engaging in human world's social media so he had no bussiness in knowing what you were up to there.

☆ He found out about you being a model when he was doing a stream, thanks to one of his viewers. They'd asked him to introduce them to his model friend and Leviathan in question, couldn't be more confused. Which friend? Surely not Henry 2.0..

☆ He did his research after he ended the live. You really had a whole career out there. Your demon boyfriend was fanboy-ing like never before. However cool he thought you were before, his opinion on you just skyrocketed. How does someone get so cool?!

☆ He's very curious, once he musters the courage, he starts asking you all sorts of things. How is it backstage? What was the craziest outfit you wore?? Do you not get anxious?!?!

☆ You didn't mind his enthusiasm and answered all his questions with a smile on your face. From this point forward whenever you went to the human world for the purpose of your job, he always asked you to send him pictures or vlogs from your stay here and your work. He'll rarely go with you cause he doesn't like crowds but everytime he sees you he has to resist the urge to squeal.

I'm like experimenting with some prompts so if you want me to continue something or write anything else then yall know where to go ♡♡♡.

[celebrityiconsnmore]

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

[beauvandalen]

Sadly trans authors are too often questioned, shamed and harassed until they are either outed (like I was) or decide to stop publishing their work.

I have known trans authors who decided not to write trans books SOLELY because they did not want to be harassed for their rep—we are missing out on so many amazing trans stories because of this behaviour.

Harassing and excessively questioning trans creators over their trans rep is NEVER okay.

We need trans books. We need trans voices. We must make this a safe space for all trans authors, and celebrate our differences instead of shaming trans authors for writing the rep they want to write, so that all voices can shine through.

[ahshititsarobyn]

This came to me in a vision (also Pinterest)

[pheexblack]

It's almost time!

Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week is barely a month away, can you believe it? I wanted to do something fun in the meantime so let's do a tag game shall we?

Tell us your favorite LGBT Hogwarts Legacy character or couple, tag their creator (if applicable) and tag 5 friends that may want to participate. Feel free to tell us why they're your favorite (and even mention more than one)!

This is pretty tough because I've met so many wonderful LGBT characters but I might have to say my roleplay ship Garreth & Ombeod Black. I already headcannon that Garreth is either bisexual or pansexual. @ombeodblack and I have created such an in depth story with them that I'm biased. But I also adore Sebinis and Garrinis (could you tell?).

No pressure tags: @celestial--sapphic @espressoristretto-patronum @gideonstrix @cuffmeinblack @leaswhum @eternalremorse @raenegade-accio @rypnami

Follow @hogwartslegacyprideweek for more info and for questions!

[mirrorcatcreditcard]

I know that the fandom is mostly female because it's an otome game, but are there any queers in the fandom? And Obey Me is comforting to you?

I started the game before I knew about my identity and while I was still a minor trying to deal with the whole repressed, Christian BS + religious trauma, and Obey Me really helped me accept myself and feel alive. I mean, they're just some demons (+ plus non-demoms) who do not have any care for sexuality or a gender presentation and are so unhinged themselves that they would accept any type of MC that's thrown their way. They might be written for a "female gaze," but the fandom is completely accepting and very nice to people regardless of how you present or identify.

So, I'm curious if any queers (yes, it can be gender, sexuality, romantic preference, or a mixture of the above) find comfort in this game too?

[crowesfairmaiden]

Won’t you be my prom queen ?

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

A lyrical, queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet as a locked-room thriller. Hayden Lichfield’s life is ripped apart when he finds his father murdered in their lab, and the camera logs erased. The killer can only have been after one thing: the Sisyphus Formula the two of them developed together, which might one day reverse death itself. Hoping to lure the killer into the open, Hayden steals the research. In the process, he uncovers a recording his father made in the days before his death, and a dying wish: Avenge me… With the lab on lockdown, Hayden is trapped with four other people—his uncle Charles, lab technician Gabriel Rasmussen, research intern Felicia Xia and their head of security, Felicia’s father Paul—one of whom must be the killer. His only sure ally is the lab’s resident artificial intelligence, Horatio, who has been his dear friend and companion since its creation. With his world collapsing, Hayden must navigate the building’s secrets, uncover his father’s lies, and push the boundaries of sanity in the pursuit of revenge.

[daily-sanford]

Day 60: Prideford

No edit version

[python-nebula]

Do you see the vision

[apollonia4]

How do they..kiss!

(Demon brothers edition)

SFW || Fluff¡sliiightly suggestive(blink and miss it)

☆ ☆

Lucifer:

☆ Affectionate and sensual.

☆ Almost never rushes (except for when he's especially worked up). Holds you close, firm but gentle, hands on your waist or wrapped carefully around your neck. He's always eager to kiss you, greedy for your reactions and flushed expressions.

☆ Regardless of whether the kiss is quick, a share of affection between the chaotic events of the day or longer, more intimate he likes to plant a kiss on your neck aswell just to tease you. And believe me he adores it when you do the same.

Mammon:

☆ Eager and thrilling.

☆ Let's be honest, this man has expirience and is not afraid to demonstrate he does once he gets comfortable with letting his emotions show. He loves kissing you whenever, wherever. His hands like to roam but they usually settle entangled in your hair or on your waist. There's no guarantee that he won't just throw his arms around you and bring you as close as possible though.

☆ He's a one small kiss, pulling away for a second then devouring eachother type guy, he just can't stay away from you, so...greedy♡♡.

Leviathan:

☆ Shy and yearning.

☆ I'm not saying he's totally averse and oblivious when it comes to kissing, but let's be honest he's not the type of guy to just dive in. When he wants to kiss you, he almost always waits for your reassurance whether it be a welcoming glance or encouraging touches. He's not too intense at first but can get heated if you give him enough time.

☆ Guy legit can't open his eyes for a few moments afterwards, the things you do to him..

Satan:

☆ Passionate and intense.

☆ Physicall affection with you is a great tension and stress reliever for him so he's always up. When it's more casual he'll wrap a hand around your waist or your shoulders and bring you close for a quick peck. When he's more in the mood though his whole body clings desperately to yours, foreheads touching and his brows furrowing slightly.

☆ To calm him down you can add an additional kiss to the forehead or cheek, maybe jaw if you flirty. He can never lash out when he's close to you.

Asmodeus:

☆ Loving and teasing.

☆ It is knownnn he loves kissing. Even more when he's kissing YOU. Asmodeus has been surrounding himself with affection and lovers for such a long time but he still melts with you. No matter the type of kiss, he always makes sure to put the passion in. To let you know all his emotions. He's intense, letting his whole body curl into yours.

☆ His hands are nosyyy, he adores pulling all the gasps and hums from you. He makes sure to throw in a little "I love you" between the everyday affections.

Beelzebub:

☆ Hungry and engulfing.

☆ In his opinion, your kisses beat any meal he's ever had, they're just tooo good and work perfectly for the tormenting void inside him. He's not the one to surprise attack you, he makes himself known, cups your face and holds you firmly as he kisses you. He tried not to go too wild but when he's feeling particulary hungry, he'll leave you breathless.

☆ Whether or not you're actually tall or no, he's guaranteed to be taller and bigger than you and he likes when you try to reach his lips, only being able to plant kisses on his neck or jaw.

Belphegor:

☆ Idle and needy.

☆ He's a very slothfull demon so he's also not the one to jump you. You'll find him "napping" in his room, just laying there waiting for you to come and give him the attention he needs. When you get close enough he'll grab your wrist and pull you down for a kiss. His hands are on your lower back, trapping you so you can't get away so easily.

☆ When he catches you off guard because you're thinking he's actually asleep and you let out that delicious noise of surprise he will smile through the kiss.

[h4rl3qu1n-r4t]

HAPPY PRIDE, GAY-MERS

I've always wanted to do some pride art (seasonal art in general, but before I know it the month is over). Expect some more queer art from me >:3 (all my art is queer though)

[dandelion-jester]

Not only does my main character cause problems for every other character in the story, she is also an absolute pain in the ass for me, her writer.

[beauvandalen]

Happy to reveal this beautiful artwork of Sol and Yohan, from my cozydark romantasy book TO WIELD THE DARKEST NIGHT featuring a trans man apothecary who falls for his handsome cursed knight 💕✨🌸🏳️‍⚧️

Art by the wonderful @vita-divata !🌙

[girl-named-matty]

Poppy & Imelda: *newly dating, on their 3rd date*

Meanwhile across the street: *Blair and Ana being extra af*