Neurodivergent femme lesbian and autistic trans demi lesbian best friend make a summer love pact to find romance and end up finding each other. It wasNeurodivergent femme lesbian and autistic trans demi lesbian best friend make a summer love pact to find romance and end up finding each other. It was just as amazing as that one sentence makes it sound.
I will say this book is the most allo book I've read in a very long time. As someone who is demiromantic and asexual I feel like I had some whiplash from our main character's constant crush having ability. Like she immediately imagines herself with these people and it blows my mind that people actually experience that.
I've seen some reviews talk about how some of these labels feel forced but I think a lot of that is stemming from our own inability to grasp what teenage hood looks like now. Most of these reviews have been from adults and I know that a decade or two ago a friend group of mostly queer people who are out and loud and proud was non-existent and so to read stories about it are both heartwarming and heartbreaking for me personally. I love it though. I love knowing that kids now are able to know themselves in ways we could only dream of when we were their age. I love seeing all of the neurodiversity and acceptance of ADHD and autism and gender and sexuality and it just makes me so happy.
This book is the definition of queer summer joy and I relished it....more
This was fun! Also this is part of a series. If you haven't read the other two go do that first. I've seen people say you can read it as a standalone This was fun! Also this is part of a series. If you haven't read the other two go do that first. I've seen people say you can read it as a standalone I genuinely believe that you cannot. You're going to be confused as hell about Carrigan's and all of the relationships etc.
Anyway, I did like this one. The second book is still my favorite but this one was fun too. All three books in this series are very different and that somehow works. I kind of like that we get different vibes from each book. The first one has that underlying grief element as well as a kind of enemies to begrudging friends to lovers. The second one is best friends to lovers to exes to lovers. And this one we get a fake dating scheme.
I feel like I say this at least once every time I do my roundup of reviews for that moment in time, but I really have to write my reviews sooner rather than later because I don't remember a whole lot about this book in terms of details. I do remember that I didn't love the way the last 25% happened but as a whole I think this was a fun book and technically a holiday book since it takes place in December but it's not overtly holiday-y....more
So this one falls into the category for me where the book is good but the narrators did not work for me. So I actually liked one of the narrators but So this one falls into the category for me where the book is good but the narrators did not work for me. So I actually liked one of the narrators but because I didn't like the other one I had to speed this narration speed up and that made the narrator that I did like too fast. But the narrator that I didn't like talk to slower and so I needed her voice to be faster. I realize I could have gone in every time the narration changed and changed the speed of my book but that just does not work with the way I listen to audiobooks. I tend to listen to them at work and I am always busy so pausing to change the speed is not something that's feasible and I decided to just suck it up and deal with it.
I ended up liking the book itself for the most part. I didn't love it but I did like the organic growth of their relationship and how both characters had their own things to deal with with their family and their own mental health and physical health. I feel like some of the really important conversations were left off page by the time they got into a relationship but I'm not super mad about that. I think my main critique for the book itself is that it's too long. And I think some of that is based on my own dislike of the narrators and the fact that I felt like I was listening to this for days.
Anyways, take my review with a grain of salt. If you like a rivals to lovers sapphic romance, you will probably enjoy this one. There are a few explicit scenes on page but you can skip them without missing anything. I actually skipped one of them and it didn't seem all that important. That's my own issues with body dysphoria and vaginas but if you are a fellow person who struggles sometimes with explicit content, just know that you can definitely skip them without it ruining the book or taking too much away from the book.
Black lesbian MC with depression, Black Bisexual MC with carpal tunnel...more
Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect with this but I LOVED Here the Whole Time so I was excited when I saw Vitor Martins had another book released anHonestly I wasn't sure what to expect with this but I LOVED Here the Whole Time so I was excited when I saw Vitor Martins had another book released and translated to English.
This book is about a house on Sunflower Street and those that lived in it. It's told from the houses perspective and we get three different decades of inhabitants.
First theres Ana in 2000 who lives there with her dad and is navigating being queer and how to tell her dad she's queer in the new millennium. Then there's Greg in 2010 who is sent to live with his eclectic aunt and work at her video rental store that's located in the garage. While doing so, he starts to fall for the cute delivery boy. Lastly there's Beto in 2020 who is stuck during COVID lockdown with his mom and older sister and trying to find his own place in the world.
Another reviewer said this book has quiet power and I wholeheartedly agree. It kind of just sweeps you up and brings you along. This isn't a romance or a even a very plot driven book. It's a character driven book and I really really loved it. Vitor creates these characters that are so realistic. All three MCs are queer and there is fat rep as well. Everything is emotional and raw and just such a wonderful slice of life book....more
I'm not sure if it is just this series or this author in general but their stories are good but they're not memorable. They are fun stories to escape I'm not sure if it is just this series or this author in general but their stories are good but they're not memorable. They are fun stories to escape into for a little bit but that's it and there's nothing wrong with that but that doesn't equate a five-star read for me.
I really was looking forward to this book after reading the first two and I did like it and I would bet money that one of the MCs is autistic and that was awesome but I didn't love it. It's a good book. It's cute and romantic but there was nothing gripping about the characters or their relationship that held my attention or care....more
So I only had a couple days left on my Libby loan for this book and I was not in the mood for nonfiction in any way shape or form but thisPhenomenal.
So I only had a couple days left on my Libby loan for this book and I was not in the mood for nonfiction in any way shape or form but this book told me that I didn't know what I wanted to read because almost as soon as I started it I needed to finish it. This is such a captivating memoir and one that I think would benefit so much of the general population. I especially believe that this book belongs in the hands of queer people and Muslim people. There is so much conversation within the queer community itself about religion and religious trauma and finding religious queer people isn't very common and so there's become this stigma around the very concept of being both religious and queer that I think we really need to tackle as a community and hold space for.
I obviously won't speak for the Muslim community but I just looking at some of the reviews for this memoir lead me to believe people were not paying very close attention when they read....more
This cover does not match the vibe of this book. The cover is so fun and cutesy and I love it so much and then you get into the book and it is heavy. This cover does not match the vibe of this book. The cover is so fun and cutesy and I love it so much and then you get into the book and it is heavy. There are so many homophobic and lesbophobic slurs as well as just a general hatred of anyone who is not cishet, white, thin, able-bodied. There is a lot of fat phobia even though the main character is not fat from what I can tell. There is a lot of racism and an absurd amount of homophobia. I get when we're trying to depict these terrible small towns but I don't know it was a lot.
That being said I actually did like this book even though it was difficult to read at points. I really liked Anne and Berry . I have not read the original Anne of Green gables and so I have no idea how this compares to that or how well it does as a reimagining. I'm sure people will be pissy because it's queer but whatever....more
I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure I was in quite the right headspace for a historical book but I did end up enjoying this. It is Queer as hell and I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure I was in quite the right headspace for a historical book but I did end up enjoying this. It is Queer as hell and very much a "fight the power" book. I really loved the main characters and the age gap and their relationship. All of it was really great. Overall it's a pretty solid read and I will be continuing the series but I got to get myself into the right headspace for more historical first....more
Wow. This was phenomenal. I honestly had no doubts that I was going to love this because I adored We Deserve Monuments and this book is so different yWow. This was phenomenal. I honestly had no doubts that I was going to love this because I adored We Deserve Monuments and this book is so different yet just as amazing.
It follows a biracial lesbian main character, her girlfriend, and her best friend as they try and get into this elite sorority group for black women.
Blake is an alcoholic but that's not acknowledged until almost the end of this book and a big hunk of this book is her partying and drinking and abusing alcohol to the point where it starts to ruin her relationships and her friendships. She is peer pressured into drinking constantly during this pledging process and her girlfriend is super problematic. There is a wealth difference between Blake and her girlfriend and that is discussed pretty in-depth. I really loved Blake's relationship with her best friend and overall this book is incredibly important. It's engaging and you're going to get sucked in and it's gonna end up as a favorite for you too....more
Ahhh this was great!! I just wanted it to be longer. It's a historical graphic novel with a trans femme MC and Latine lesbian MC.Ahhh this was great!! I just wanted it to be longer. It's a historical graphic novel with a trans femme MC and Latine lesbian MC....more
I don't really know how to talk about this book. It is so much more than a sapphic road trip romance and I loved it so much.
Logan and Rosemary are ex I don't really know how to talk about this book. It is so much more than a sapphic road trip romance and I loved it so much.
Logan and Rosemary are ex best friends and when their former English teacher requests to go on a death trip to Maine, the two of them decide to grant his last wish and set forth on the road trip of the summer. Logan is very visibly queer and a self-proclaimed fuckboy. She doesn't really form attachments and has a history of hooking up with any available sapphic in her vicinity. Then we have Rosemary who is also a lesbian but is more straight passing. She is super femme and has the opposite history of hookups as Logan meaning she hasn't had any.
The two of them had a falling out when they were in high school and now that they're in their 30s, they are forced to confront all of the big feelings they didn't deal with as teenagers.
Let's talk briefly about Joe. Joe is in his 60s and has pancreatic cancer and it's going to die. He is out and proud and has been the entire time he's known the girls. He was their English teacher when they were in high school and has kind of served as an adoptive parental figure for both of them. They both maintained very close relationships with him after high school even though they themselves didn't have a friendship. Joe's last wish is to go to Maine to his house and he inlists Logan and Rosemary to drive him there. So they figure out a vehicle and they load up Joe and his dog Odysseus and they set out.
What's a road trip without some detours right?
This book is so much more than a rekindling of a sapphic romance. It really is a testament to living life while you have it and embracing the relationships you do have. It's about leaving life with no regrets and fostering a sense of community. It's about self love and how to empathize and embrace your own feelings and experiences.
I was a bit of an emotional mess at the end of this and I still feel like I'm not doing it justice with this review. Honestly go read other people's reviews cuz they were much more eloquent than I am. This book is so good.
Lesbian MC with ADHD, Lesbian Aspec MC with ADHD, Gay Latine SC, Gay Black SC.
Small amount of explicit content. It's like one scene and it's fairly tame and should be safe for those that prefer fade to black or no explicit....more
Emily Austin has become an autobuy author for me. Her books are somehow so far out of my comfort zone yet directly what I want from books. They are weEmily Austin has become an autobuy author for me. Her books are somehow so far out of my comfort zone yet directly what I want from books. They are weird as hell and all come together at the end but the whole book works still. It's just so good.
This one has a main character who has a phobia of bald men, is deaf in one ear, super hyper vigilant, probably autistic, queer as all get out, and tells her mom that she loves her by telling her interesting facts about space.
I don't know what else to say besides you should absolutely read this book....more
I want to wrap queer contemporary middle grade books up in a blanket and hold them close forever. They are one of my absolute favorite genres and I knI want to wrap queer contemporary middle grade books up in a blanket and hold them close forever. They are one of my absolute favorite genres and I knew Nicole Melleby would deliver and deliver she did.
I think this book tackles how adults sometimes, a lot of the time honestly, underestimate how many emotions the kids are feeling and how capable they are of dealing with their own emotions. We underestimate kids and their capacity for challenges or hard topics when in reality they are going through things no matter what. No matter how hard we try to shield them from our own pain, they know and hiding it only makes it harder.
Winnie's mom has pretty severe depression and it is exacerbated during pregnancy due to the fact that she's had miscarriages in the past. So when her mom is pregnant again, her parents decide that it'd be best for Winnie to spend the summer with her grandma instead of being around her mom and her depression.
The only problem with that is that Winnie's grandma doesn't know that Winnie is a lesbian and so she's been well intentionally put back in the closet. She's expected to not talk about anything going on at home and to just have a fun summer. Except that's not really possible when Winnie is aware of what's going on at home and worried. She wants to go to pride in New York City not spend her days playing cards and reading books with old people.
As the summer continues on, when he begrudgingly starts enjoying the books for book club and starts making friends with some cute girls and eventually learns how to play the card game with her grandma, but her mom is constantly on her mind. She tries to save all of her smiles and all of her laughs for her mom because Winnie knows she needs them more. As her friendships (and maybe a crush) develop, attending Pride becomes her main goal, even though it isn't likely.
This book will require some tissues and it's great for both kids and adults. I think as adults sometimes we need that wake up call that kids are always listening and are extremely capable of knowing both their own emotions and of gauging their surroundings. Shielding children from the hard things only exacerbates the difficulty.
This isn't my favorite Nicole Melleby book But I still enjoyed it a lot. It is a difficult one to get through so content warnings for forced closeting, miscarriages, and depression.
Thanks so much to Algonquin YR for the finished copy!...more
So this was good and all but all of the artwork is blurry in the ARC copy. Unfortunately that did hinder my love for it a little bit because it's almoSo this was good and all but all of the artwork is blurry in the ARC copy. Unfortunately that did hinder my love for it a little bit because it's almost like it felt like a specific choice because all of the text is crystal clear. I have no idea how anything works involving downloads and image quality and all of that but it was so weird that the text was clear but the artwork was blurry.
I'll probably flip through a final copy at some point just to see the artwork and all its glory but I don't know if I would buy it. It is a decent book but I didn't love it....more
If I had a nickel for every book I've read that has a middle grade queer main character who's magical with a resurrected goldfish I'd have two nickelsIf I had a nickel for every book I've read that has a middle grade queer main character who's magical with a resurrected goldfish I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. ...more
QUEER HORROR!! I love it. I'm such a scared cat and this is my kind of horror. It's not anything crazy scary but it's also the most terrifying becauseQUEER HORROR!! I love it. I'm such a scared cat and this is my kind of horror. It's not anything crazy scary but it's also the most terrifying because it's so realistic. This kinda stuff really happened in the 80s and 90s and it's wild.
This is technically historical because it takes place in 1996 but that makes me feel super old ...more
I have a lot of feelings about baking books as a professional baker and there are a lot of things that make it a good fictional baking book in my opinI have a lot of feelings about baking books as a professional baker and there are a lot of things that make it a good fictional baking book in my opinion. This book has almost all of those. The baking and the baking competition are front and center in this book and everything was very well done. It is very reminiscent of the great British bake off So if that is not your jam, this book's not going to be for you.
If you're slightly obsessed with the great British Bake off and all things baking, this book is probably going to be for you.
Now that I've noted how prominent the baking in this book is, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the baking has overtaken the romance. For me I was fine with this. I liked the slow burn I liked the last minute figuring out how they were going to be together and I liked that they both had things in their own lives to focus on. However, this is marketed as a rom-com which it is not. It's more like a slice of life baking competition with a romance subplot. I was here for it but if you are expecting a romance to be front center, you might be disappointed.
I really especially loved Kendra. So many women in hospitality are treated like Kendra where they are either infantilized and patronized or we are called bitchy or bossy or cold. It is in fact possible to be a badass woman in the kitchen and maybe it's people's perceptions that need to change. I cannot count the amount of times that men have told me that I am too severe and that I need to be nicer when in reality I had the same level of severity as the men in the kitchen but they are allowed to have that and be respected and women are not for some reason. So I really appreciated Kendra and her no nonsense attitude and respect for food and baking. I liked that she was able to explore a little bit of a softer side but also was shown the respect she deserved by those who mattered.
I like Tori too. I liked her relationship with her kids but she was a little bit more forgetful for me. It was fine but she wasn't my favorite character.
So in summary, I'm definitely going to recommend this book to people who like baking books but also to folks who are looking for love stories that have substance to them where the romance isn't front and center but a little bit more subtle. This book also has no explicit scenes which is something that too much of the book community frowns upon but I think books with no explicit scenes or fade to black have their home in the romance world as well and should be celebrated just the same.
Lesbian MCs in their late 30s/early 40s (I don't remember actual ages)...more
First and foremost, this book is losing a star because there's a goddamn Harry Potter reference. Published in 2022 by a queer author and you're still First and foremost, this book is losing a star because there's a goddamn Harry Potter reference. Published in 2022 by a queer author and you're still including HP? Do fucking better. It's never going to matter to me the circumstance that HP is referenced unless they explicitly call out JKR's transphobia and actively combat that but even that is a stretch. For me HP should be wiped from existence and I do not care about your nostalgia. Translives are worth more than your comfort. The reference in this book is kind of a dig at dating sites that use Hogwarts houses to match people and it tries to be funny but there is no world right now where any sort of HP reference is acceptable. Find better punch lines.
Moving on, this book probably would have been a solid four star for me but it's going to end up as a three star because of the HP reference. I really liked that we had a lesbian Asian main character and that this book doesn't have a main romance. Both are things that you don't find very often and I was here for it. Claudia works at an agency that verifies people's online presence, especially in the dating sphere of dating apps and matching algorithms. When a client goes missing and then winds up dead, Claudia cannot let the case go. She is determined to follow the lead of her favorite fictional detective and solve the case.
My favorite part of this book was the family elements. This is part literary fiction part mystery part family drama and I do think that the family drama was the most successful part of the book. The mystery and the literary fiction does work to an extent and I was interested however, if I was not someone who listened to the entirety of an audiobook in 1 to 2 days, I can easily see how someone would get bored or lose track of what's going on.
The least successful part of this book for me was the fictional detective that Claudia is obsessed with and the references to classic literature. Both kind of drew you out of the story because unless you know what she's talking about, which you literally cannot with the fictional detective, it feels a little jarring.
Am I going to give the second book in the series a shot? Probably. Am I going to have very high standards for what is acceptable from a queer author in 2024? Also yes....more
Wow. I'd like to throw this book at all the people who have a serious misunderstanding of what intrusive thoughts actually are. They aren't choosing nWow. I'd like to throw this book at all the people who have a serious misunderstanding of what intrusive thoughts actually are. They aren't choosing not to clean or eating dessert, they are genuine unwanted, usually terrifying, thoughts.
My favorite quotes:
"Car or carnival sometimes it feels like everyone around me knows something I don’t—that there was a blueprint of their identity they received at birth, and build the architecture of their life brick by solid brick while I am using Legos."
" “How do you know you’re a girl?”Sometimes my brain spits out questions like the launcher at a batting cage."
"And therefore manhood is the black box with the flaming red eyes PROTEIN TO GET PUMPED Is this where we find gender—in the boxes we buy? What happens if I buy the black box What happens if I don’t buy either What happens when womanhood is on sale $ 2 off when you buy 3 Can I buy womanhood in bulk Can I be better at this girl thing if I sign up for a Target credit card?"
"I told Rex and Ruth I am afraid of hurting the people I love but also I am afraid of the people I love hurting me, and me not loving myself enough to stop them."
I'm not sure I have really analyzed my thoughts too hard about this one besides relating heavily to the gender aspect. I really appreciate the way this book tackles all sorts of things but it's biggest strength is discussing what happens when you're intrusive thoughts are manipulated and multiplied by also having OCD. Intrusive thoughts are a symptom of OCD and can also exist on their own but they are much more extreme when happening in conjunction with another mental illness.
This is not an easy book to read. The intrusive thoughts are violence and bloody and in addition there's also unsupportive parents and more things happening beyond just the characters OCD. It's really clear to me that this was written from an own voices POV and it's one that I will recommend with the caveat that you look at the content warnings before starting.
I think my biggest problem with this book is that it's too long. It was somehow only 330 some pages but the audiobook was almost 13 hours. I listened I think my biggest problem with this book is that it's too long. It was somehow only 330 some pages but the audiobook was almost 13 hours. I listened to maybe 75% of it at 2x speed and then once they started having sex I bumped it up to 2.5 x. It's just too long. I really like the connection between the characters and I loved the concept even though it was pretty unrealistic. If you're doing a bachelor auction there's no way you're going to have to fulfill so many different dates. Anyway my only other small comment is that the doctor in the book makes a statement about how she doesn't wear a doctor's coat because she thinks it gets in the way But she doesn't like that people automatically assume she's a nurse because she's a woman but on the cover they show her wearing a white coat. I just wish that covers match the actual character descriptions please and thank you....more
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