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strinak · 4 years ago

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2020 Books in Review

Final count: 233.

Had a higher than normal amount of books where I just fucking...wandered off somewhere in the first third and have yet to return. Usually if I DNF it’s earlier and/or more permanent? This year had a lot of mulligans, basically.

Strong opinions time!

TJ Land is fucking great and I don’t see people mentioning them ever! Read some queer superhero/supervillians! There are trans characters, kinky characters, polycules! Badass powers! Shenanigans! Read about a demon and an angel falling in love over a series of hilariously mismatched battles! Read about enemies-to-lovers robot gladiators but also it’s about Destroying the System That Exploits Robot Gladiators!

Lisa Oliver has the strongest libertarian/conservative vibes I have EVER seen in an m/m novel and I was Not Into It and she goes on the DNR list forever!

Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly are doing a/b/o with dragons and other cliches but also getting Weird with it and I enjoyed it!

Aiden Bates wrote the m/m that made me angriest this year bc you can’t do a Romance Novel where the mc’s Actual true love has been dead for years but he’ll settle for this fuckboi who doesn’t respect him (openly! at their jobs!) bc he’s pregnant and scared to do it alone so It’s a Happy Ending. I hated it, I hated it SO MUCH.

Want some soothing fucking romances in these trying times? GL Carriger, AJ Sherwood, Thea Hayworth, Lucy Lennox. That sounds like a backhanded compliment but it VERY MUCH IS NOT. The world is on fucking fire, I cannot handle a Deeply Tortured and Struggling Protagonist right now!

Look, sometimes I like to read straight-boy harem nonsense bc sometimes it’s fun (Savage Divinity on Royal Road, Good Intentions series by Elliott Kay) and sometimes it accidentally has excellent f/f in it. Simon Archer is Not good for that and reminds me deeply of Scottie Futch, my nemesis (who keeps changing his penname so that I’ll accidentally start one of his books but also keeps giving his self-inserts his Actual First Name so now I have a trauma re: mcs named Scott).

Reverse-harem genre, I fucking support you, okay? But also, you must rein it the fuck back! I will give you a five-dude or six-dude harem, fine, seems like a lot but fine. But the 9 - 12 dude harems - with no cultural shit behind them! her pussy’s just that good! - are Too Much. That is Too Many Main Characters. Because they don’t have independent storylines! They’re just her entourage, Reacting to Things!

I got distracted. Erin R Flynn! The Accidentally Wolf series feels very much like Anita Blake But the Bad Years Are the Whole Thing This Time. House of Garner had the bad kind of hatesex that made the protag feel bad and I was OUT. But Artemis University I actually quite enjoy, even if I’m several books behind (on purpose, plot develops at a serial kind of pace).

Benjamin Medrano is Niall Teasdale if he was less into harems and more into darkfic.

Amy Crook wrote an imperfect but very good-vibes solarpunk book this year in To Hive and to Hold and I feel like some of you would be into that.

Luke Chmilenko & Bryce O’Connor wrote one of, if not THE, best books I read this year, Iron Prince. They definitely struggled to define the genre in their book description but it’s clear in the book itself. Very much feels like it’s drawing conventions from certain Chinese novels I’ve read? I may be seeing a correlation where there isn’t one, but “orphan gets a trash system and military academy-mumble-mumble-sorta mecha and then fights an unparalleled genius of a prominent clan into falling in love with him and eventually overturns the world” is def a Thing I’ve seen. But also a thing I love when done right! Bonus, a queer female best friend that is Never a love interest!

Kai Butler is another top contender with The Earl and the Executive! Queer Regency in SPAAAAACE! Deeply into it and book two is already out (mulliganed it). Tropey but sells the HELL out of it!

Lucy Lennox & May Archer collaborated on Fakers, a dueling fake-boyfriends story that I 80% ADORE but there’s this 20% of me stuck on part of the premise that just Hit Different. One of our MCs came out right before he left town and a bunch of people straight up did not and do not believe him? They dance around in a way that genuinely reminds me of Jennifer Crusie re: Bet Me and her talking about how she regretted having a sex bet as part of the premise but it being too baked in by then to take out without tossing out the whole novel so she just had to throw things at the wall trying to make sure you knew it wasn’t Like That. They have mentioned they didn’t originally intend it to open a series but envisioned it as a standalone and I wonder if they had to retcon some homophobia out of it later or something.

IDK! I had a freakout in early spring (like most of us!) and decided this year I was just going to fucking try some stuff and read some nonsense and some of it turned out shitty and some of it was great and some of it just Did the Job of distracting me from a horrifyingly historical series of events and you know what, thank you Shannon West and Claire Cullen and Riley Rivers and every single person writing cliche/okay/mediocre/forgettable romance novels and/or porn on kindle unlimited because y’all may not win awards or inspire me to write recs but damn if y’all didn’t Get Me Through Some Shit and frankly that is an undercelebrated function of art and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

Apparently I’ll need it 2021, too, so I’ll be back in 2022 with a lot more books titled stuff like The Dragon’s Arranged Werewolf Bride and The Secretary Dom and Merman Omega’s Kraken Mate and tbh I started out joking but also I would read all of those.

1. Hawke Oakley - The Dragon’s Doorstep Baby

2. Reese Knightley - Risking It All

3. Christina Lauren - The Honey-Don’t List

4. GA Aiken - Dragon Actually

5. Alice Winters - A Villain for Christmas

6. AJ Sherwood - Jon’s Spooky Corpse Conundrum

7. AJ Sherwood - Jon’s Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case

8. AJ Sherwood - Jon’s Crazy Head-Boppin’ Mystery

9. AJ Sherwood - Brandon’s Very Merry Haunted Christmas

10. AJ Sherwood - Mack’s Perfectly Ghastly Homecoming

11. Dessa Lux - The Omega’s Bodyguard

12. Dessa Lux - The Omega’s Pack

13. Dessa Lux - The Beta’s Test

14. Dessa Lux - The Omega Learns a Lesson

15. Dessa Lux - The Alpha’s Home

16. Dessa Lux - The Omega’s Day Off

17. Shannon West & Victoria Sue - Konnor & the Omega Mate

18. Jill Haven - His Elder Dragon

19. Shannon West - Gettin’ Plugged

20. Shannon West - Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

21. Shannon West - Define Naughty

22. Abigail Kade - Discovering Destiny

23. TJ Land - He’s a Monster

24. Megan Derr - The Ransom of a Night Hunter

25. Kelex - One Wild Omega

26. Isabelle Adler - Irises in the Snow

27. Claire Cullen - Forbidden

28. Leta Blake - The River Leith

29. Lorelei M Hart - Their Koala Omega

30. Shannon West & TS McKinney - Hybrid Reset

31. Kiki Clark - The Alpha & His King

32. TJ Land - Hot Air

33. TJ Land - Toy Boy

34. TJ Land - Butterfly Boy

35. TJ Land - The Amateur

36. TJ Land - The Captain

37. TJ Land - Crafty Little Devil

38. TJ Land - Rotten Apples

39. TJ Land - Eternity’s Sunrise

40. SE Harmon - PS I Spook You

41. Macy Blake - All or Nothing

42. Macy Blake - Nothing Ventured

43. Shannon West - The Last Dragonet

44. MA Church - Trouble Comes in Threes

45. Jennifer Crusie - Agnes & the Hitman

46. AJ Ridges - Say You’re Mine!

47. Sloane Kennedy - A Touch of Color

48. Aiden Bates & Jill Haven - Claimed By Fate

49. Benjamin Medrano - Sting & Song

50. Benjamin Medrano - Born a Queen

51. Benjamin Medrano - Ancient Dreams

52. Benjamin Medrano - Spells of Old

53. Benjamin Medrano - Halls of Power

54. Erin R Flynn - Upended Life

55. Erin R Flynn - Surviving Plagues

56. Erin R Flynn - Rough Beginnings

57. Erin R Flynn - Drowning Studies

58. Shannon West - Runaway Omega

59. Wanda Withers - In the Closet

60. LG Estrella - Monster Whisperer

61. Lisa Oliver - Stay True to Me

62. Simon Archer - Maid to Order

63. Tom Larcombe - Farmer

64. Matthew S Cox - Nascent Shadow

65. Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly - Swallow

66. Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly - Magpie

67. Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly - Clutch

68. Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly - Mate

69. Megan Derr - The Matchmaker

70. Megan Derr - The Werewolf of Grey Lake Inn

71. Megan Derr - Cake with the King

72. Megan Derr - Delivery with a Smile

73. Megan Derr - The Christmas Package

74. Megan Derr - The Jewels of Bangkok

75. Megan Derr - Ivan the Heartless

76. Megan Derr - The Huntsman

77. Megan Derr - The Toymaker’s Hoard

78. Megan Derr - Little Moments Vol. 1

79. Megan Derr - Midsummer Song

80. Megan Derr - Godfrey & the Detective

81. R Cooper - Tit for Tat

82. R Cooper - Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut

83. Carole Cummings - Don’t Fear the (Not Really Grim) Reaper

84. Toni McGee Causey - Failure to Communicate

85. FT Lukens - Monster of the Week

86. Thea Hayworth - Integrate

87. Thea Hayworth - Wildwood

88. Shelly Laurenston - Badger to the Bone

89. Delmire Hart - The Grumpy Thistle Fairy

90. Delmire Hart - A Demon’s Contract

91. Delmire Hart - The Most Eligible Bachelor

92. Arden Steele - Purrfect Harmony

93. R Cooper - How to (Not) Train a Firecat

94. R Cooper - The Other Side of the Roses

95. Madeleine Ribbon - Blessed Curses

96. Sarah Andersen - Adulthood Is a Myth

97. Tao Wong - A Thousand Li: The First Step

98. Wendy Rathbone - The Moonling Prince

99. Mary Calmes - More Than Life

100. TJ Land - The Tools That Ran Away

101. TJ Land - Earth Sucks (#bigwetloserplanet)

102. GL Carriger - Marine Biology

103. GL Carriger - The Sumage Solution

104. GL Carriger - The Omega Objection

105. Lexi Ander - Sunder

106. Lexi Ander - Alpha Trine

107. Salem Fitzgerald - Captivated

108. LM Kerr - Reborn: Apocalypse (Volume 1)

109. Megan Derr - Finder Tolan

110. Megan Derr - Lord Seabolt

111. Megan Derr - Hold Still

112. Megan Derr - The Glass Coffin

113. Megan Derr - Love Tokens

114. Stella Starling - The Boyfriend Game

115. Megan Derr - Fighting For You

116. Megan Derr - Wick

117. Megan Derr - Midsummer Baker

118. Megan Derr - Midsummer Curse

119. Megan Derr - Locke & Key

120. Megan Derr - Wriggle & Sparkle

121. Megan Derr - Of Last Resort

122. Tricia Owens - Mated

123. Alston Sleet - The Dungeon Traveler

124. Delmire Hart - Chief

125. Delmire Hart - Wolf

126. AJ Sherwood - How to Steal a Thief

127. Lucy Lennox - Borrowing Blue

128. Stella Starling - Falling

129. Marina Vivancos - I’ve Been Careless with a Delicate Thing

130. Lucy Lennox - Made Marian Mixtape

131. Lucy Lennox - Say You’ll Be Nine

132. Lucy Lennox - Virgin Flyer

133. Lucy Lennox - Grounding Griffin

134. Lucy Lennox & May Archer - Fakers

135. Skylar Jaye - The Wild Hunt

136. Mell Eight - Stealing the Dragon

137. Mell Eight - Gathering the Hoard

138. R Cooper - Frangipani & the Very Shiny Boy

139. R Cooper - The Tales of Two Seers

140. AJ Sherwood - Marriage Contract

141. AJ Sherwood - How to Hack a Hacker

142. Kai Butler - The Earl & the Executive

143. Honor Raconteur - Imagineer

144. TJ Land - To Hell and Back

145. TJ Land - Boomball

146. Amy Crook - St Aiden’s School for Boys

147. Amy Crook - To Hive and to Hold

148. Riley Rivers - The Werewolf’s Brash Bear

149. Riley Rivers - Unicorn Unashamed

150. Aiden Bates - Buried Passions

151. Jill Haven & Liam Kingsley - Forbidden Magic

152. Megan Derr - Tournament of Losers

153. Carrie Summers - Temple of Sorrow

154. Mercedes Lackey - Hunter

155. Mercedes Lackey - Eye Spy

156. Shane Walker - Business as Usual

157. Shane Walker - Master of None

158. TS Paul - The Forgotten Engineer

159. Erin R Flynn - No Longer Alone

160. Erin R Flynn - Team Inez

161. TJ Reynolds - Shattered Sword

162. Mary Calmes - His Consort

163. Mary Calmes - His Prince

164. Sara York - The Lost Prince

165. Nnedi Okorafor - Binti

166. Nnedi Okorafor - Binti: Sacred Fire

167. Sam Burns - The Fantastic Fluke

168. SJ Himes - Wolfsbane

169. Ilona Andrews - Sweep with Me

170. Stephanie Burgis - Moontangled

171. Stephanie Burgis - Some Girlfriends Can

172. Meredith Katz - Smoke Signals

173. Luke Chmilenko & Bryce O’Connor - Iron Prince

174. RJ Moray - Million Dollar Daddy

175. Louisa Masters - Demons Do It Better

176. Jacey Conrad & Gia Corona - Seared

177. Louisa Masters - Fake It Til You Make It

178. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 1: A New Discovery

179. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 2: Breaking In

180. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 20: Thanksgiving part II

181. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 21: Mistakes

182. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 22: Forgiveness

183. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 23: On Display

184. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 31: Size Matters

185. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 32: Talking It Out

186. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 33: Under Pressure

187. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 34: Opening Up

188. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 35: Center of Attention

189. RJ Moray - His Boy Next Door 36: Always

190. Lucy Lennox & May Archer - Liars

191. GL Carriger - The Enforcer Enigma

192. Beryll Brackhaus & Osiris Brackhaus - The Demon of Hagermarsh

193. Beryll Brackhaus & Osiris Brackhaus - The Windmines of Bora Bora

194. Hannah Birchwood, Key Dyson, & Raymond Roach - After the Storm

195. Allie Brosh - Solutions and Other Problems

196. Pia Foxhall - Blackwood

197. Lucy Lennox - Jacks & Marchie

198. Erin R Flynn - Accidentally Wolf

199. Sam Burns - Wolf Found

200. Sam Burns - Wolf Reborn

201. Sasha L Miller - The Ambassadors

202. Joely Sue Burkhart - Broken Angel

203. Sasha L Miller - Retirement

204. Sasha L Miller - The Elf, the Cat, and the Human

205. Megan Derr - The Succubus

206. Amy Crook - The Raven Door

207. Amy Crook - Getting His Due

208. AJ Sherwood - Marriage Contract

209. AJ Sherwood - Fourth Point of Contact

210. Amelita Rae - Secret Ingredient

211. Amelita Rae - Divine Proportions

212. Beryll Brackhaus & Osiris Brackhaus - Loving Djinni

213. Keira Marcos - Fall for You

214. Amelita Rae - Owned

215. Amelita Rae - Cherished

216. Eliot Grayson - The Alpha’s Warlock

217. Layla Reyne - Variable Onset

218. Kasia Bacon - Rago

219. Molly Harper - Pasties and Poor Decisions

220. Molly Harper - Snow Falling on Bluegrass

221. EJ Russell - Duking It Out

222. Claire Cullen - Betrothed

223. Claire Cullen - Promised

224. Molly Harper - Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues

225. Molly Harper - Selkies Are a Girl’s Best Friend

226. Andrea K Host - Stray

227. Andrea K Host - Lab Rat One

228. Andrea K Host - Caszandra

229. Riley Rivers - The Werewolf’s Dragon Defender

230. R Cooper - Play It Again, Charlie

#books #amazon is evil but #kindle unlimited is the new harlequin publishing #books of 2020 #the year in reading #my reading year #reading log

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rareselectmodels · 7 years ago

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FASHION HAS A NEW FACE

“The improvement on showcasing diversity put magazine covers is on a faster track – the Spring 2017 shows saw the number of non-white models increase,” says Time Magazine’s Kastalia Medrano.

The word diversity- relating synonyms: ‘range, assortment or heterogeneity,’ should perhaps define its purpose. Despite taking more than a century, the inevitable evolving fashion world is finally putting rare faces on the frontline. The true face of UK’s £66 billion industry seemed stagnantly unhinged when it came to representation. British Fashion Council 2017 stats proved the volume of the industry, accounting to provide more than 800.000 jobs - which begs the irritable question, why has it taken this long to diversify the industry?

British Vogue Magazine finally puts Kenyan born model Halima Aiden wearing a Hijab on the May 2018 cover, joining the ranks of other legendary faces like Naomi Campbell – the magazine’s first black cover model. The ‘fashion bible’ known to elevate the recognition of young artists has had a notable series of white editors. However, last year Edward Enninful took over as British Vogue’s first black editor since its inception– putting biracial model and activist Adwoa Aboah on the highly treasured December 2017 issue.

Recent years have seen Times 100 Most Influentialdesigner Virgil Abloh’s Off-White and other brands like Acne Studios, Vetements take high street trends and have given them their Super Bowl championship status in fashion. Evidently there is a demand as sales skyrocket and clothing is presented in the likes of Vogue Magazine. This widening interest and acknowledgement in street style attracts more than just the sponsored sportsman - rather celebrities and influencers in all genres such as Rihanna and Bella Hadid.

Vetements’ CEO Guram Gvasalia says, "We had hoodies from the first season that sold out super quickly and we had thousands of requests to make the hoodies again. If we were to, we would probably be able to make a million in a day. It’s out of respect to the people that bought them first that we don’t." Realising there is such a demand, perhaps now - there is in one word, hope- in changing representations that reflect the markets in fashion campaigns anddigitalmarketing.

Likewise, if brands like Erdem, Balmain and Moschino recognise the demand and reach for collaborations with high street brands like H&M to target a wider demographic surely it is imminent to represent all types of faces. Perhaps one can try avoiding the hot topic of Cultural Appropriation, if respect is given when using a culture and surely we should be representing them as part of the beauty aesthetic.

Modelling agencies like Rare Select Models aim to promote a diverse industry - where standards of beauty are challenged, recognises the demand and catapults the industry into the future.

Words by Xavier Rodrigues

#FASHION #BEAUTY #RSM #rare select model #Xavier Rodrigues #diversity #MODEL

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