#lgtbq lit

[luxaofhesperides]

OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA

miri + leah

[ashenhartkrie]

Can't believe this incredible book has been out for a whole month! It's full to the brim with incredible queer stories from diverse emerging Australian authors. It's been a pleasure and a joy to be part of it and I really want to share it with you all.

Helen Eddy (left, ReadPlus) and Jade Breen (right, ReadingTime) both counted my short story, The Boy and The Witch amongst their favourites in the anthology.

If you're looking for a holiday present for someone who is LGBTQ+ and loves reading, consider grabbing An Unexpected Party!

[sean-shifted-wake]

spotted in a boston bookstore today

[spacefruitpress]

NEW RELEASE! No Batter, No Batter by Rena Butler

Buy Now

When Kevin, a former college baseball star and current single dad with a spot on the local softball league, accidentally gets into a rivalry with a member of another team, he finds out there’s a lot more to learn about being a player. If he’s going to work out this thing between him and Dan, the surprisingly hot, loud guy behind the catcher’s mask, Kevin’s got to step up to the plate.

Previously published in our anthology Hat Trick

spacefruitpress.com

[paperbackd]

Book review: The Hollow Heart (The Midnight Lie #2) by Marie Rutkoski

If you’d asked me at the beginning of the year what my most anticipated read of 2021 was, I’d have answered instantly that it was this book. The Midnight Lie took my breath away when I read it, and THAT ENDING had me desperate to get my hands on the sequel.

Which makes it all the more disappointing that The Hollow Heart didn’t meet my (admittedly high) expectations.

With Nirrim’s sacrifice and Sid’s departure at the end of book one, The Hollow Heart sees both women on very different paths. Sid returns to Herran, only to find that her gravely ill mother needs her to play the part of palace spy once more. Meanwhile in Herrath, the heartless Nirrim begins a reign of terror over the people who subjugated her.

While The Midnight Lie is set in the same universe as The Winner’s Curse, it holds its own as a separate story. The Hollow Heart, however, does not. Sid’s quest to investigate her mother’s illness feels disjointed from the events happening on the island of Herrath - and feels more like a sequel to the Winner’s Curse trilogy, rather than a sequel to The Midnight Lie. Don’t get me wrong, I loved getting to see Sid interact with her parents. But the entire storyline was centred around Sid’s parents and the mistakes they’d made in the past - not around Sid herself. Rutkoski barely touched on what I felt was the most interesting potential aspect of bringing Sid’s parents into the story - her turbulent relationship with them, and her determination not to let them dictate how she choses to dress or who she loves. The focus instead is on characters from The Winner’s Curse and their relationships with each other. Sid felt like an afterthought in her own story.

Tonally, Sid’s storyline also felt odd. While Nirrim makes mistake after mistake in Herrath, Sid is miles away playing detective. The two perspectives felt unintentionally jarring, so much so that Sid and Nirrim’s eventual reunion - which happens far, far later in the book than I expected - didn’t have the angsty emotional catharsis that I hoped it would. Reuniting Sid and Nirrim almost feels like an afterthought - something hastily slotted in at the end.

If you’ve read my review of The Midnight Lie, you’ll know how gutted I am when I say that I wasn’t a fan of this book. It’s been a few months since I read it, and looking back I think what disappoints me most is that it made such little impression on me.

Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing a copy of The Hollow Heart. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Rating:  2 stars | ★★✰✰✰ Review cross-posted to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon: US | UK

[env0writes]

WINDBREAK 8.14.21 “Terrified of the Tumbleweed Doodle Duel”

A tumbleweed crossed the Road before me My passenger riding shotgun Cocked his head towards me, “You know what happens now” He said with loaded words Lead in his words That sank to the bottom of my gut

I turned off the road Onto gravel that clouded Our sight and coughing lungs Paced ten bodies apart No ill will, but ill wind Turned favor and fortune Sour, like the meal We had just shared

My hand twitched at my side Like his eyes, staring me down The clock struck down and we drew On one another Weapons fell to the ground between us When the dust settled Our sharpies lay in the gravel Surviving our attempt to mark Unpainted duel

We loaded the tumbleweed For future dueling purposes Into the trunk of our hand-me-down Car, and drove perpendicular To the sunset Because we both forgot sunglasses And our sharpies In the gravel graveyard off the side of the road

@env0writes C.Buck Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artist!

[rosaliax]

Happy Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈

[windycarnage]

Chapter 10 is now live! Nazurah may not be pleased but you should be! This is one of my favorites! 

Please support lgtbq+ and bipoc fiction written by authors in those communities, give Tether a shot!

Chapter 10 is here --> https://www.tetherseries.com/01-chapter-10

Read from the beginning here --> https://www.tetherseries.com/01-chapter-1

And please follow us on twitter! https://twitter.com/tetherseries

[jazbaaati]

[properlypadfoot]

[incipientdreamer]

Has anyone read Ryan La Sala’s Reverie? I’ve been meaning to read it but the reviews are mixed. What are your thoughts on the book?

[siennaswritings]

I’ve ended up reading a quarter of this novel in one sitting, and I’m absolutely SCREAMING. THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!!!!! The dynamics, the sweet enemies-to-lovers trope…. UGH I’VE FOUND A NEW FAV

[arianwen]

“I love dogs.”

 “Me too. They do not have to wear shoes.”

- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz

[secrethappyplace]

[poirot]

can anyone recommend some books (no romance, no ya lit) by lgtbq+ authors for pride month maybe  👉👈

[sublimalyexisting]

I think all the lesbians should know this. You don’t owe anyone, not even your ex anything. Please don’t date bad toxic girls who will treat you shit in the first place just because you think you can change her or believe “it won’t turn out that way”. I’m tired of seeing this ladies being broken hearted even though they know the truth. I know many lesbians has that one girl who has been there even at the worst situations and yet she gets no love at all. Treat yourself. If you think she doesn’t compromise or even care then it’s time to walk out that door because no amount of begging can’t change the way she treated you. Old habits die hard. There’s a different vibe when someone actually tries to put you first and actually treat you right because you won't feel like shit. When someone wants you, you don’t have to beg for her attention or love. Maybe, you know that one girl who has been treating you right since day one, just a hint, maybe it’s her all along? Just a little appreciation to those good girls out there who keep showing love even though they don’t receive the same amount. You are strong and I admire that. 

K.A.