#My dear henry: a jekyll & hyde remix

[ace-artemis-fanartist]

My piece for @rainbowcrate’s February’s book box.

Kalynn Bayron’s My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix.

[pridepages]

Henry Jekyll: How do we hide from the people who will judge us? Gabriel Utterson: We can't. We still deserve to live, Henry. We still deserve a chance to be happy.

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread  

My Dear Henry

gothic YA reimagining of Jekyll & Hyde

a gay Black boy in 1885 London trying to discover why the best friend he loves is suddenly pulling away

[the-real-dev]

i read it and. FUCKKK SHIIT OH YOGGFSG DG JSGBDKGJG FIM GOI GHK TO DIE THSY MAKE ME SOOOO ILLL 😭😭😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔 /VPOS

GANF ITS LIKE 12 AM BUT I NEED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU GIYS SOMEONE WROTE A JEKYLL AND HYDE REMIX AND.... THESE BITCHES GAY..... /VVPOS

[aurorawest]

Summer Reading Update (part 1)

Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig - 4.75/5 stars

This was a really well done retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I read another book from the Remixed Classics series, Dear Henry, and while that one was also good, it felt like it adhered too slavishly to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, so sometimes things seemed to be happening only because they happened in the original. And I haven't actually read the original book, it was just...easy to tell. Teach the Torches to Burn never felt like that, and I loved how it fleshed out so many of the characters from the play.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian - 5/5 stars

I feel like tumblr sings this one's praises enough that I don't really have to, but—everyone should read this. Everyone should read all of Cat Sebastian's books. I think I liked this one better than We Could Be So Good, but that could just be because I've found myself becoming more and more of a sucker for sports romances.

Unhallowed by Jordan L Hawk - 4.75/5 stars

Sad to say goodbye to the Whyborne and Griffin series, but I already love this spinoff!

Soul of Ash by HL Moore - 3.75/5 stars

Crow's Fate by Kim Fielding - 3.75/5 stars

The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray - 5/5 stars

I sound like a broken record re: Aster Glenn Gray, but please read her books. If you like Cat Sebastian's mid-century romances (like You Should Be So Lucky!) you like Aster Glenn Gray. This one is ostensibly a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but one where the sleeper actually sleeps for 100 years. In this case, it's a Union soldier who is put in an enchanted sleep in 1865 and wakes up in 1965 and oh my god, it's so good. It examines racism, it examines toxic masculinity, it examines homophobia, and how same-sex platonic affection became taboo. I'm pretty sure this woman has never written a bad book, but this may be her best.

Alec by Kaje Harper - 3.75/5 stars

Artemis by Andy Weir - 3.75/5 stars

Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell - 4.75/5 stars

I loved this one! There are so many books about Faerie and they can be pretty hit or miss for me, but this one struck just the right balance of otherworldly, inhuman creatures and characters I could root for. Shrike and Wren were lovely.

Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless - DNF at pg 56

Orchestrated Love by AJ Buchanan - DNF at pg 1

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby - 4.25/5 stars

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - 5/5 stars (reread)

The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J Brown - 5/5 stars

Excellent sequel about what happens after you make it to the last bastion of civilization after the apocalypse.

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai - DNF at pg 12

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

Oh man. This may have displaced the Will Darling Adventures as my favorite KJ Charles book. Wonderful MCs, A+ side character arcs, and villains you really loved to hate. I rambled on a lot about this book to my wife after I finished it.

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender - DNF at pg 156

His Lordship's Secret by Samantha SoRelle - 3.75/5 stars

Us, Et Cetera by Kit Vincent - 5/5 stars

Cinderella retelling with androids but Christ on a bike was this a painful read. Really, really well done. Highly recommended.

Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer - 5/5 stars

My 5 star rating diverges pretty sharply from the average Storygraph rating for this book, and I'm not sure why, other than maybe people thinks it's PrObLeMaTic. It was definitely not a super happy book, though it ends on a good note (that's a pun btw!). I thought it was a great book about a period that isn't often written about (1890s Paris) with a fascinating protagonist (who was a real person).

Dark Heir by CS Pacat - 5/5 stars

It's a CS Pacat book; it's the sequel to Dark Rise; obvs I loved it. I don't understand why this series is shelved under YA except that Pacat's publisher thinks more people will buy them. This series is the gay Lord of the Rings you always wanted and somehow is an even slower burn than Captive Prince.

Of Knights and Books and Falling in Love by Rita A Rubin - DNF at pg 50

Cover Story by Valerie Gomez - DNF at pg 176

Letters to Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace - 4/5 stars

[duckprintspress]

Happy Black History Month! Check Out 15 of Our Favorite Queer Reads by Black Authors

February is Black History Month in the United States, and Duck Prints Press is joining in the celebration by sharing 15 of our favorite queer reads by Black authors! The contributors to this list are Shadaras, boneturtle, Tris Lawrence, Sebastian Marie, Shea Sullivan, Terra P. Waters, and an anonymous author.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin

A Necessary Chaos by Brent Lambert

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (Remixed Classics Series) by Bethany C. Morrow

Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson

This Poison Heart (This Poison Heart Series) by Kalynn Bayron

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

How to Find a Princess (Runaway Royals Series) by Alyssa Cole

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix (Remixed Classics Series) by Kalynn Bayron

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

What are YOUR favorite reads by Black authors? We’d love to find more to add to our to-be-read piles!

Want to chat your favorite reads with us? Join our Book Lover’s Discord server!

You can view this list as a bookshelf on Goodreads!

Love reading queer books? Our Queer Book Challenge is running on Storygraph through the end of 2024. Come join us!

[bookaddict24-7]

AUTHOR FEATURE:

﹒Kalynn Bayron﹒

SIX BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Cinderella is Dead

This Poison Heart

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix

The Vanquishers

Sleep Like Death

Hook's Origin

Drasal Lands

___

Happy reading!

[fourthleafluckart]

This QBDC: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

Another one of the Remixed Classics, My Dear Henry explores an alternate version of Jekyll and Hyde where a young Black medical student in victorian London undergoes some concerning changes, and the fella who loves him is determined to find their happiness together.

Next QBDC: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron (the other side of the tarot card heheh)

[losercade]

Fellas we need to have a chat about the book My Dear Henry (THE JEKYLL AND HYDE REMIX) because I don't see ANYONE talking about it and I'm actually in love

spoilers sort of (?) under cut just incase you don't want to see anything about the book before reading it!! ^_^ (please read it. It's so good)

^ LIKE HELLO??? HOW. HOW ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS. THIS IS ADORABLE

^ ENFIELD? ENFIELD MY BOY? HES HERE. GUYS HES HERE!!!

^ LANYON GAMBILING? HELL YEAH HE'D DO THAT

Also GOD that ending was amazing! It was so adorable! It was SO well written and I cannot believe it ended. God.

Lanyons death was also so well written! Like I was so close to crying, hello?? And his funeral! They WROTE A FUNERAL. Oh my god.

The characters seem so much more fleshed out and motivations make sense and oh my God it was so amazing!

[cryptidteaparty]

Dawgs....chat....I have a revelation....

So, I'm read a remix of Jekyll and Hyde called "My Dear Henry" and it's the most doomed of all of the doomed yaois, but....it's Utterson and Jekyll, and honestly....HOLY SHIT I SEE THE VISION!!!!! Oh my God....they are so doomed, but I love them so much....

[shy-fairy-levele3]

2023 Book List

Unbelievably I read a staggering 70 books in 2023! The most ever! My only disappointment is NOT finishing Dracula Daily, I came so close...

Wolf Brother Michelle Paver

Skin-Walker Michelle Paver

Be the Serpent Seanan McGuire  

She Who Became the Sun 

Soul-Eater Michelle Paver

Nona the Ninth Tamsyn Muir 

The Girl in Red Christina Henry

As yet Unsent Tamsyn Muir   

Outcast Michelle Paver  

Leonard Cohen: On a wire Philippe Girard

Oath Breaker Michelle Paver 

Ghost Hunter Michelle Paver   

 Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life Alan Cumming

M is for Magic Neil Gaiman

Silverwing Kenneth Opal 

Last Violent Call Chloe Gong

Malice: Malice Duology #1 Heather Walter  

Pandora Susan Stokes-Chapman

A Lady for a Duke Alexis Hall                                    

Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries Heather Fawcett  

Motorcycles & Sweetgrass Drew Hayden Taylor

Conventionally Yours Annabeth Albert  

The Unbalancing R.B Lemberg  

Stone Blind Natalie Haynes

The Winter Soldier: Cold Front Mackenzi Lee 

Ruby Nina Allan

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter Theodora Goss

Husband Material Alexis Hall

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason India Holton  

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix Kalynn Bayron

The Monsters we Defy Leslye Penelope

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix Aminah Mae Safi

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman Alan Rickman

Morgan Is My Name Sophie Keetch

Threads That Bind Kika Hatzopoulou

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman Theodora Goss

Feeling Sorry for Celia Jaclyn Moriarty

Daughter of the Pirate King Tricia Levenseller

A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix C.B. Lee

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour Tee Franklin

Magic for Liars Sarah Gailey

The Story of Owen Emily Kate Johnston

The Brilliant Death A.R. Capetta

Circle of Magic: Sandy’s Book Tamora Pierce

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror Daniel M. Lavery  

Death's Detective- Malykant Mysteries #1-4 Charlotte E. English

The Salt Grows Heavy Cassandra Khaw

A Touch of Darkness- Hades & Persephone #1 Scarlett St. Clair

Mortal Follies Alexis Hall

Witch King Martha Wells

The London Séance Society Sarah Penner

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future David Attenborough, Jonnie Hughes

A Game of Fate- Hades Saga #1 Scarlett St. Clair

Immortal Longings Chloe Gong

Hooked Emily McIntire  

Foul Heart Huntsmen Chloe Gong

Signal to Noise Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Daughter of the Siren Queen Tricia Levenseller  

Starter Villain John Scalzi

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl Theodora Goss

Starling House Alix E. Harrow

A Marvellous Light: The Last Binding #1 Freya Marske   

A Restless Truth: The Last Binding #2 Freya Marske 

Thornhedge T. Kingfisher

What the River Knows Isabel Ibanez  

The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments Hadley Vlahos

Misrule: Malice Duology #2 Heather Walter

The Raven and The Reindeer T. Kingfisher

A Power Unbound: The Last Binding #3 Freya Marske

I started some series, and I finished some series. I found new favourite authors and revisited some old favourites. Please take them as recommendations, or if you have read any of the same books come talk about them with me!  

Reminder you can also follow me on The Storygraph to see what I am reading in real time, where I am simply shy_fairy   

Previous Years Reading lists can be found here: 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

[pridepages]

We can exist. And we do. We endure because we have no other choice. --Gabriel Utterson, My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

[richincolor]

With six books out this week, we've got a little something for everyone! Which of these are on your TBR list?

In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir by Deb JJ Lee First Second

Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee knows she's different. Ever since her family emigrated from South Korea to the United States, she's felt her Otherness. For a while, her English isn't perfect. None of her teachers can pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyes—especially her eyes—stand out. As the pressures of high school ramp up, friendships change and end, and everything gets harder. Even home isn't a safe place, as fights with her mom escalate. Deb is caught in a limbo, with nowhere to go, and her mental health plummets.

But Deb is resilient. She discovers art and self-care, and gradually begins to start recovering. And during a return trip to South Korea, she realizes something that changes her perspective on her family, her heritage, and herself.

This stunning debut graphic memoir features page after page of gorgeous, evocative art, perfect for Tillie Walden fans. It's a cross section of the Korean-American diaspora and mental health, a moving and powerful read in the vein of Hey, Kiddo and The Best We Could Do. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron Feiwel Friends

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expuslion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood... -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto Putnam

Chloe is officially off the waitlist at USC, and thus one step closer to realizing her dream of becoming an animator in the United States. But before she leaves home, her auntie insists on planning a traditional debut for Chloe’s eighteenth birthday (think sweet sixteen meets debutante ball). To make matters worse, her father, intent on finding Chloe the perfect escort for the party, keeps setting her up on one awkward kaishao—or arranged date—after another. But . . . why does her dad suddenly care so much about her love life? And what happens when she actually starts to fall for one of the guys, only to have to leave at the end of the summer? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia Disney-Hyperion

Fifteen-year-old Rhea and her best friends, Zeke and Malachi, are South L.A. born and raised, but a recent wave of gentrification has been transforming the place that they call home. When an eviction notice from a greedy landlord threatens to split up the crew, Rhea and her friends manipulate social media to form a fake gang in hopes of scaring off developers. Their scheme appears to work at first… until a murder is pegged on the nonexistent gang. Yikes.

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD is a love letter to communities of color everywhere, a middle finger to the destructive powers of gentrification, and a hilarious adventure about three teens who have the best intentions, if not always the best solutions. Perfect for fans of Tiffany Jackson's Let Me Hear a Rhyme and Netflix's On My Block, this is an uproarious novel about power, friendship, and what really makes a neighborhood. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Study Break: 11 College Tales from Orientation to Graduation Edited by Aashna Avachat Feiwel Friends

College...the best time, the worst time, and something in between.

What do you do when orientation isn't going according to your (sister's) detailed plans? Where do you go when you're searching for community in faith? How do you figure out what it means that you're suddenly attracted to your RA? What happens when your partner for your last film project is also your crush and graduation is quickly approaching?

Told over the course of one academic year, this collection of stories set on the same fictional campus features students from different cultures, genders, and interests learning more about who they are and who they want to be. From new careers to community to (almost) missed connections — and more — these interconnected tales explore the ways university life can be stressful and confusing and exciting and fulfilling.

Gen Z contributors include Jake Maia Arlow, Arushi Avachat, Boon Carmen, Ananya Devarajan, Camryn Garrett, Christina Li, Racquel Marie, Oyin, Laila Sabreen, Michael Waters, and Joelle Wellington. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Jump by Brittney Morris Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Influence is power. Power creates change. And change is exactly what Team Jericho needs.

Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han are the four cornerstones of Team Jericho, the best scavenger hunting team in all of Seattle. Each has their own specialty: Jax, the puzzler; Yas, the parkourist; Spider, the hacker; and Han, the cartographer. But now with an oil refinery being built right in their backyard, each also has their own problems. Their families are at risk of losing their jobs, their communities, and their homes.

So when The Order, a mysterious vigilante organization, hijacks the scavenger hunting forum and concocts a puzzle of its own, promising a reward of influence, Team Jericho sees it as the chance of a lifetime. If they win this game, they could change their families’ fates and save the city they love so much. But with an opposing team hot on their heels, it’s going to take more than street smarts to outwit their rivals. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[thenighttrain]

books read in 2023

finally continuing my yearly tradition. all rated out of 5 stars. bolded are my faves!

The Daughters of Izdihar (The Alamaxa Duology, #1) by Hadeer Elsbai ★★★☆☆

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland ★★★☆☆

Last Violent Call (Secret Shanghai, #3.5) by Chloe Gong ★★★☆☆

The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry ★★★★☆

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1) by Shannon Chakraborty ★★★☆☆

The Lies of the Ajungo (Forever Desert, #1) by Moses Ose Utomi ★★★☆☆

The Surviving Sky (Rages, #1) by Kritika H. Rao ★★★☆☆

The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1) by James Islington ★★★☆☆

Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods, #1) by Chloe Gong ★★☆☆☆

Gods of the Wyrdwood (Forsaken, #1) by R.J. Barker ★★★☆☆

To Shape a Dragon's Breath (Nampeshiweisit, #1) by Moniquill Blackgoose ★★★☆☆

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros ★★★☆☆

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley ★★★☆☆

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang ★★★★☆

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang ★★★★☆

White Trash Warlock (Adam Binder, #1) by David R. Slayton ★★★★☆

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters ★★★☆☆

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones ★★★☆☆

All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown ★★★☆☆

Fury of the Dragon Goddess (Adventures of Sik Aziz #2) ★★★★☆

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang ★★★★☆

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron ★★★☆☆

Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting (Serwa Boateng, #1) by Roseanne A. Brown ★★★☆☆

Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf ★★★★☆

Bonesmith (House of the Dead, #1) by Nicki Pau Preto ★★★☆☆

Garden of the Cursed (Garden of the Cursed, #1) by Katy Rose Pool ★★★★☆

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ★★★☆☆

Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton DNF

The Buried and the Bound (The Buried and the Bound, #1) by Rochelle Hassan ★★★★☆

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes ★★★☆☆

If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu ★★★☆☆

Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations, #1) by B.B. Alston ★★★★☆

Starter Villain by John Scalzi ★★★★☆

Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations, #2) by B.B. Alston ★★★☆☆

The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #6) by Rick Riordan ★★★★☆

The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, #1) by V.E. Schwab ★★★☆☆

The Hexologists (The Hexologists, #1) by Josiah Bancroft ★★★☆☆

Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune, #2) by Chloe Gong ★★★☆☆

Darkhearts by James L. Sutter ★★☆☆☆

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros ★★★★☆

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee ★★★☆☆

The Prince's Poisoned Vow (Infernal War Saga, #1) by Hailey Turner ★★★☆☆

The Emperor's Bone Palace (Infernal War Saga #2) by Hailey Turner ★★★★☆

Beholder by Ryan La Sala ★★★★☆

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle ★★★★☆

The Forest Demands Its Due Kosoko Jackson ★★★☆☆

Reforged by Seth Haddon ★★★☆☆

The Scarlet Alchemist (The Scarlet Alchemist, #1) by Kylie Lee Baker ★★★★☆

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White DNF

The Spirit Glass by Roshani Chokshi ★★★☆☆

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs ★★★☆☆

All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters ★★☆☆☆

Frostheart (Frostheart, #1) by Jamie Littler ★★★★☆

The Vanquishers (The Vanquishers, #1) by Kalynn Bayron ★★★★☆

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller ★★★☆☆

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea (The Gods of Night and Day #1) by David R. Slayton ★★★☆☆

Dark Heir (Dark Rise, #2) by C.S. Pacat ★★★★☆

[ohwhatagloomyshow]

screaming crying throwing up BEGGING for the day I’ll finally stop being interested in young adult novels!!

I have been so excited for the remixed classics because I love a lot of classics and I LOVE spins on classics, and My Dear Henry, the Jekyll & Hyde remix by Kalynn Bayron, was very good!! Bayron understood EXACTLY how 1880s literature was written and wrote a protagonist who is loveable but COMPLETELY CLUELESS in the best way! It was tender! The gay longing was EXCELLENT!

I am still early in the Wuthering Heights one, What Souls Are Made Of by Tasha Suri, and it’s fine so far! Loving that the covert racism of the book is made overt, it works really well! Suri is dedicated to making sure Heathcliff and Cathy sound like two VERY different narrators!

But this one…the one I am on now…Self-Made Boys, a trans retelling of Gatsby….

Why didn’t I consider that fundamentally Gatsby cannot happen to teenagers LMAO. Bayron put the characters in medical school! Suri is writing about the three years Cathy and Heathcliff are separated as young adults!

Why is Anne-Marie McLemore almost beat for beat telling the same story as Great Gatsby but aged down! It is remarkably silly! Why did anyone think you COULD age down Gatsby, which is fundamentally a novel about adulthood!

I am just feeling very silly for not recognizing immediately that Gatsby cannot be recreated with teenagers, but I was LURED IN. I have really stopped reading YA on my own this past year which is great - by that I mean no conscious effort has gone into avoiding them, I just have been - but I feel like I’m never gonna break the habit, which is annoying to think about.

[aurorawest]

Reading update

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault - DNF

I have to admit I didn't give this one much of a chance. I got it in a Rainbow Crate so I felt compelled to at least try to read it, but it's just not my kind of thing, and I DNFed at page 4. Really didn't like the writing style.

Idol Minds by KT Salvo - 2.75/5 stars

Almost DNFed this when I was about 50 pages from the end because it very abruptly lost my attention. I never really liked either of the main characters so I didn't care about their breakup or HEA. Also the sex scenes were weirdly short but also repetitive, somehow?

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse - 3.75/5 stars

I will be completely honest and admit that I could remember almost nothing of the first book when I started reading this the other day. I remembered that I really liked it, and that was about it. This one was...good?

Ok, so, let me see if I can put this into words. During the pandemic, authors kept writing, right? Especially if they were under contract to produce a series. And for some authors, that was fine. There is no discernible difference in their work. And then other authors, it's like...the anxiety brain fog got baked into their writing. There's nothing technically wrong with it. Things are happening. The characters are still engaging. And yet...sometimes it just feels like...things are happening. Like the author couldn't really process the emotions of the things happening, and thus couldn't really write feeling into the work? So it becomes just Things Happening. And I know how I should feel about it, but I'm not feeling it. Like when the dose of your antidepressant is too high, and you just have no feelings? It's sort of like that.

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton - DNF

There's nothing wrong with this book, tbh—it's well written with an interesting setting, characters with depth, and a theme that should, in theory, interest me. That said, I just wasn't feeling it. I won this book from my local bookstore and it's the sort of literary fiction that I read all the time in my teens and early twenties, even though I never really enjoyed it? I'm a genre fiction kid, as it turns out.

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron - 4/5 stars

I really really liked this, and I probably would have rated it higher, except it fell into the trap that a lot of queer retellings of classics do: in being forced to hew to a plot line from a century or more ago, a lot of story and character depth has to be jettisoned. This book did a much better job than The Henchman of Zenda by KJ Charles, but I still found myself wanting a more modern storytelling style. Overall it was really good, though.

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer - 4.75/5 stars

I hated Less for most of the time I was reading it (but it didn't bore me, so that's something). When I got to the end and realized it was a romance, I ended up loving it, but I had to split the difference in my rating, haha. This is the direct sequel and I loved it. It's laugh out loud funny (which I did not find Less to be most of the time) and melancholy, but at its heart is also a love story.

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain - 4/5 stars

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars (reread)

I loved it even more on the reread. I would die for Edwin and Robin. I'm crazy excited for A Power Unbound.

Hoarfrost by Jordan L Hawk - 4.25/5 stars

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda - 3.5/5 stars

I never know how to rate thrillers because honestly, they aren't my genre. This was part of the batch of books I won at trivia from my local bookstore. It was good in that it held my attention and was entertaining (and a bit creepy), but like, I don't know that I'll tell people that they simply must read it. But yeah, I read it in a day, so it's a quick read.

Spell Bound by FT Lukens - DNF

Ugh. Reads like my fantasy epic I was writing when I was 14 (see also: TJ Klune's Verania series). When I'm mentally editing the book as I'm reading, you know that's a bad sign. The first chapter could have been like, 2 pages (instead it was 18). Here's how Chapter 3, which introduces the other main character begins: Summer was such a waste of time and effort. Spring was okay. Autumn was the best. Winter wasn't bad.

Okay???? Great??????? Why do I care? I read for another page after that. Lukens is an author I really, really want to like, but the last two books I've read by them are just obnoxious. I could forgive The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic because it was one of their first books (it might have been their first?), but this...is not their first book, yet that's what it reads like. I suspect this is a manuscript they wrote a while ago, shelved, and brought it back out now that they're having success.

Heart of Dust by HL Moore - 5/5 stars

You know when you read a book that's so good, and you can't figure out why the hell you had to stumble across it by going down some algorithm recommendation rabbit hole? This is one of those books. Gritty and unique sci-fi setting, a backdrop of labor rights, aching gay mutual pining? Please read this.