#The only light left burning

[tokutziu]

Quickest Fanart I've ever made

I'm still figuring out how to draw these characters but I love them so very much

[cupids-fiction]

i take everything erik j brown says as gospel because he’s just so *right*.

because if there was an apocalypse, the only people to survive would be gays, children, and old ladies, and all of them would leave their old lives and get cool ass names like Rocky Horror (no last name)

[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

[ghost-in-a-trenchcoat]

I made stickers and a bookmark of the lads for my friend's birthday :)

[quillandqueer]

Interesting New Releases ✨

Dreadful: high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, evil wizards and a garlic festival - all at once.

Evocation: queer, poly romance with secret societies and a deal with the devil

Housemates: Two young housemates embark on a (queer!) road trip to discover themselves in a fractured America

The Only Light Left Burning: The highly-anticipated sequel to the queer genre-bending dystopian romance All That's Left in the World.

The Safekeep: twisted tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961

Twelfth Knight: a grumpy/sunshine YA romantic comedy and coming of age story about taking up space in the world and learning what it means to let others in

[schinkennudeln]

[slaughter-books]

My beautiful July, 2024 book haul! 💜

[monochromemoomin]

jamie doesn’t like mushrooms :(

[fruitybookworm]

i learned YESTERDAY we're getting a sequel to all that's left in the world

and it's dropping at the end of this month !? can't wait to see more of jamie and andrew

stunning cover as always (still feel sad for the americans who got the yellow cover for the 1st book it.. wasn't great)

[fortunatefires]

I'm begging..stop..

[caulfixld]

andrew and jamie - instagram au

all that's left in the world / the only light left burning

[writtenicarus]

So my local bookstore had The Only Light Left Burning Out four days early and I actually finished it yesterday,when it officially came out. Lemme just say, y'all are gonna need TISSUES

[cupids-fiction]

guys i’m 70 pages into the only light left burning and rocky horror is my fav character ever he is my soul my light the reason the sun still shines on this dim dark earth the reason i live the reason i BREATHE

[ghost-in-a-trenchcoat]

Guys I figured them out

I figured out my designs for them

[bensbooks]

ARC Review: The Only Light Left Burning

Against the backdrop of a ravaged world, Andrew and Jamie have settled in a new community, more in love than ever. Finally they've reached safety and have each taken on roles and responsibilities in this new life. But it's soon clear they want different things: Jamie is ready to move on and take to the road, just the two of them. Andrew wants to remain in the safety of numbers. With a storm brewing up the coast they have no choice to head back into the wilderness where old enemies roam and they don't know who to trust. Can they find their way back to safety and each other?

My review:

The Only Light Left Burning is a phenomenal follow-up to the successful book All That's Left in the World. We return to Andrew and Jamie's story some months after the end of the first book, where they've found friends and work in their new community. But things aren't all roses, especially when Jamie isn't settled and doesn't want to put roots down, whereas Andrew thinks of the community as family and wants to stay.

But trouble comes knocking, and the two boys and their closest friends are soon on the road again. Much like the first book, there's a lot of post-apocalyptic problems the group has to deal with, from nature to unfriendly communities to relationship problems. Despite the cast of characters having expanded, it in no way retracts from the core of the series - Andrew and Jamie themselves.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not let me down for a single minute. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the pages just fly by as you hope desperately for the good moments to come for the characters. A must-read!

[howtodrawyourdragon]

Finished reading The Only Light Left Burning and now I need to find another gay romance that takes place in the apocalypse to read.