#polycraftory reads

[polycraftory]

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

60 Second Book Pitch

We decided to try something new, both because we thought it would be fun and also because we have a terrible habit of starting to talk about favorite books and just not stopping. So: a way to force ourselves to keep it short and sweet!

Welcome to our new series: 60 Second Book Pitch! The rules are simple: our partners pick out a book and surprise us with it, and we have 60 seconds to quick pitch the book. The book has to be one we've read (and liked!). If we run overtime, we get hit with a nerf dart. If we do it in time, we get a piece of candy!

First up was me getting to pitch the contemporary sapphic romance: The Fiancée Farce. This is one of my favorite books with the fake dating / fake engagement troupe. If you want more videos of us yelling about our favorite books, please check out our TikTok (or Youtube). All our links are in our pinned post <3

[polycraftory]

For those who were curious!

im so nosy I wanna know what the book is called so badly...

Okay, I don’t want to put the author on blast because I believe they have a Tumblr and it’s not their fault that their debut novel blew up and probably…shouldn’t have. But if you really want to know, here is a link to my StoryGraph, which is where I review books and keep track of what I’m reading. The book in question is the most recent one rated below a 2, which are generally the longest reviews I write by a large margin.

[polyamorousmood]

Polyamory Merch from Small Artists for Pride Month

@foxflightstudios makes many queer pride pins, including this kick-ass polyam one! Etsy this pin specifically

@lawofcollage makes these neat pride collages! Merch available through the threadless shop and here's OG flag & new flag designs

IfsAndsOrButtons on etsy has the OG flag, the edited flag, & the new flag for polyamory! yay! A variety of other queer flags, pins, & buttons. Portion of sales goes to charity. Too much to link indv., so all poly shit

@polycraftory has a small shop of queer shirts on their etsy including this poly meme shirt!

@soluscheese has a ton of simple, elegant pride designs, including lots of polyamory ones in all sorts of products on their redbubble (poly shapes) ("and")

These gorgeous stone bracelets from ToadintheSun on etsy immediately strike me as something nice enough to wear to work, etc, and subtle enough not to out you! Other flag designs too!

@who-tf-even-am-i made some poly merch based on my suggestions! Available on t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, phone cases, and way too many more for separate links, so check out it all on teepublic

Look at this adorable little frog sticker from @sofftpunk! This is the only poly one I could find, but there's lots of other queer stuff at their shop,featuring a lot of identities I don't often see!

Honorable mentions:

@prideful-things-shop has plans to make poly stuff, but its still in the works! They're a poly creator with other killer🔪 (this is a joke cause they have horror-themed pins) pride designs currently available on etsy

@frogboi2023 is a small artist doing commission work at (honestly too) cheap prices. As such, there aren't any pre-made poly designs to showcase, but they reached out to say they'll do custom poly work, incl. traditional/digital art, jewelry, plushies, bookmarks, & keychains!

@@aesethewitch is doing pride themed readings on their Ko-fi. A follower confirmed they're willing/able to do poly romance readings!

Bonus! queer but not poly shit:

@izzi-illustrates has a variety of pride pins, stickers on etsy

@tflohr is a non-binary artist making weird & wonderful stuff available on redbubble

Abprallen on etsy has a variey of pastel queer merch

Queer, spooky pins, patches, & stickers available at grrrlspells' etsy

LucknLavenderStudios is an etsy shop with queer stickers & prints

@lyrabracelets is selling beaded pride bracelets on etsy

Kyri45 on redbubble does cute pride designs for a LOT of identities

[polycraftory]

Practical Rules for Cursed Witches by Kayla Cottingham

GENRE: YA Cozy Fantasy REP: wlw, white bisexual female mc. white sapphic female mc, nonbinary sc, achillean scs CW: terminal illness (curse induced), child abuse LENGTH: 432 pgs

A sapphic fantasy adventure about a teen witch who must complete her magical training by breaking a powerful family’s curse. But her own affliction—to never find true love—gets in the way when she falls for the girl she’s trying to save.

We got this cute & pastel edition from @rainbowcrate's August Box with the Cozy Fantasy theme.

[polycraftory]

We, uh, got a little out of hand on Sunday at NYCC???

Sunday is our official Book Day where we go absolutely feral and run around to see what wild discounts we can get from various publishers and authors. Huge shout out to @torpublishinggroup for always offering 50% off their whole stand on the last day. You are not at all helping our book buying problem!

All in all, we ended up with with 88?! books and graphic novels. It really feels like a lot less when you are just shoving them into your backpacks and tote bags and running to another stall😅

[polycraftory]

We are back with this week's book haul! This is everything we got between 9/24/24 - 9/30/24.

Tuna (our littol cat friend) is shocked! Shocked!!! at what a good deal we were able to get on the full series of Solo Leveling. It was too good a deal to pass up (even this close to NYCC when we are trying to save money😅)! We also snagged @rainbowcrate's edition of Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender, which is another book with polyamory rep to add to our collection!

It was the best sort of surprise when my very first Rosemei danmei novel: You're Too OP! by Yi Xiu Luo arrived from Yiggybean (Rosemei's US distributor) this week. I am really working to expand our danmei collection beyond what Seven Seas is translating.

Also!!! TWO whole Kickstarters that I backed came in this week: Many Hands, a polyamory erotica anthology, by @duckprintspress and the Game Master's Guide for the Tales of the Valiant TTRPG by Kobold Press.

We are really in the depths of con crunch in this last few weeks before NYCC, but we are still trying to make time to read so wish us luck!

[polycraftory]

Welcome to our book haul for 10/29 to 11/4!

Okay, okay, okay. SO! In our defense: the post office lost two big packages of books on us and between book boxes and pre-orders and lost mail we somehow got seventeen books delivered in one day! Always remember: if it's book bought with Pango credit they are basically free!

What we are each most excited to read:

💜 Meghan - Coins of Destiny by Priest - Priest is one of my favorite danmei authors and I am so excited for another series to dig into since I'm done with Guardian and waiting on more Stars of Chaos.

💛 Nic - The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter by Kazuki Irodori - I just love fantasy stuff where the plot depends on a person doing a very normal job, plus this also is a isekai BL manga so truly It Has Everything.

❤️Gabe - Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews - I love evil trees! What else is there to say.

[polycraftory]

A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay

Reviewed by Meghan 💜

⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5 | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

This edition is from the Thawing the Ice Rainbow After Dark book box from @rainbowcrate. As always, you can find more of my reviews @ edgybutfemme on Storygraph.

This book was an insightful exploration of healing from PTSD and trauma as well as a high drama contemporary sapphic romance set in Hollywood. Even though this book fell slightly lower on my rating scale because it wasn't necessarily the type of narrative I look for, I think it is an incredible book that achieves what it sets out to do. The vibes are very what if Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada ran a movie studio instead of a fashion magazine, with the addition that instead of trying to carve her plucky young employee into a version of herself, the two of them instead fell deeply in love and she instantly tries to push her employee away with cruelty to protect herself.

Full Review, Content Warnings, & Spice Level Info Under the Cut

What I Liked

They said they were delivering an ice queen with a slow burn and by god they delivered. Also, despite being an absolute witch and downright cruel at times, I appreciated that Neve Blackthorne did have good standards. She is actually passionate about making good movies, she cares about delivering good representation, and she champions union work and making movies the right way. 

I like that she actually gets to be cruel, but redeemable. Plus, scary competent older woman who will destroy you if you cross her is so many people's exact type.

That being said, my favorite character was Helena Moore, Neve's therapist. I thought the framing every chapter of starting with a therapy session was clever and well used. Helena is compassionate, funny, relatable, and, most importantly, doesn't take any of Neve's shit. Truly I don't know if I would have made through the whole book without these scenes slowly making Neve change and grow.  

This book is an excellent exploration of a person finally being forced to deal with their trauma and PTSD so they stop hurting themselves and everyone around them.

Audrey Avens is great! I love that she gets to go and make her own career after Neve pushes her away. I love that she goes and dates other people and still lives her life. 

What I Struggled With

Okay, so first and foremost this just turned out to not be as much my speed. If the above appeals to you, this book really achieves exactly what it set out to do. That being said, here's what didn't work as well for me in particular:

Listen, this is a midlife crisis novel. I think it's important for these books to exist, and historically this sort of book has been written only about heterosexual cisgendered white men. So, I think this is an important book that should exist, especially because it deals really well with mental health and trauma. That being said, I don't like coming of age novels, and a midlife crisis novel is the same sort of narrative but for adults.

I can tolerate a lot of mistreatment between love interests. I love enemies to lovers. However, this is very one sided cruelty with no extenuating circumstances. It's hard to watch how aggressively Neve drives Audrey away with needless cruelty. It's an important part of their arc, but I struggled with it.

This is a very messy and high drama sort of romance, which can be fun! However, I just wanted any sort of communication between them any amount earlier in the book. They finally get together very late in the game.

Anyway, if these things won't bother you, please go support this sapphic romance! The payoff at the end is absolutely worth it, and I did enjoy this book despite it being outside my normal taste! I think, for me, the best thing about getting book boxes is it helping me stretch outside my comfort zone and try new things.

The Spice Level

🌶️🌶️🌶️/ 5 - The smut in this novel uses explicit language and lots of detail. We have a good balance of plot and romance. There are several sex scenes throughout the book, at least 2 or 3 but likely more. (In this case, more. This book was right on that 3-4 spice border, but the book leans more plot heavy and isn't kinky so I left it at 3)

Audrey and Neve get to be SO HORNY and so messy and so passionate. So many sapphic romances are only allowed to be so chaste and sweet and I love getting to see a high smut passionate sapphic romance.

Content Warnings From Storygraph

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Abandonment

Content Warnings Directly From the Book

Child emotional abuse and neglect

Domestic violence (mentioned, off page)

Internalized homophobia

Cheating

Please feel free to ask me if you have any questions! I'm always happy to provide more context <3

[polycraftory]

September 2024 Reading Wrapped

I don't know what happened this last month, but all three of us went absolutely feral and read so many books each?? We are going to try to narrow down a few favs each but it's a challenge this month.

You can find all our Storygraphs with reviews for these in our pinned post or by looking up the usernames on the graphics!

It was so hard to pick a favorite since I had so many 5 star reads last month, but when all else fails I'll fall back on good polyamory rep. Championship by Alethea Faust, book 4 of Sex Wizards, continues to be an excellent kinky time! Also I read the first SPECTR collection by Jordan L. Hawk, and it's exactly what I hoped it would be: a polyamorous triad involving a normal guy, the vampiric demon eating storm elemental that is possessing him, and the exorcist who is trying to help. Think Venom mixed with monster of the week paranormal investigation. I am so ready for more!

Nic's favorite book was Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. It's a horrific look into just how bad AI could get in the film industry paired with a compelling horror plot line. Their favorite manga was definitely Therapy Game Restart by Meguru Hinohara: a cute and spicy contemporary BL romance with adults having adult problems.

Gabe's top picks are hard because they read so many books, but the Assistant to the Villain series by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (an office drama in a fantasy villain's lair) and Exposed by H. L. Day (a post-apocalyptic romance featuring a guy on the run and his stalker) probably edge out the others (and were some of my favs as well). They insist on also giving honorable mentions to Junker Seven by Olive J. Kelley (a space romance about the queer liberation movement) and Song of Carcosa by Josh Reynolds (straight up an Arkham Horror spinoff about Venice and the King in Yellow).

[polycraftory]

Exposed by H.L. Day

Reviewed by Gabe❤️

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

This edition is from the Thawing the Ice Rainbow After Dark book box from @rainbowcrate. As always, you can find more of Gabe's reviews @ wordswritinstarlight on Storygraph. You can find Meghan's very long (also 5 star!) review @ edgybutfemme on Storygraph as well. Find all our links from our website: Polycraftory.com

I expected to have a good time reading this book, but honestly I was surprised by how genuinely excellent it was. X is my favorite flavor of fucked up, and Tate is smart, which is frankly rare in plots revolving heavily around an escort mission. I spent this whole book braced for Tate to storm off and almost die or something stupid in that style, and instead he consistently makes what I would say is the smartest decisions available to him, even when the situation sucks.

Also, this is a really well executed dystopia. The DTP is somewhere between American police and Stormtroopers, and their willingness to kill just to make a point is driven home with onscreen actions rather than just hearing a report of it. This book really speaks to the part of me that is often frustrated with how dystopian media usually falls into either "we're going to kill the Big Bad and everything is fine now" or "this is how it's going to be forever and there's nothing to be done about it". It perfectly nails a middle ground between the two.

Recommended for anyone whose favorite action movie is Fury Road, or for anyone who likes the romcom Mr. Right.

Content Warnings & Spoilers Under The Cut!

Content Warnings From The Book

Graphic violence

Stalking

Knife play (consensual)

Breath play (consensual)

Mentions of domestic abuse

Police violence

Gun violence

Murder

Death

Alcohol abuse

Sex work

Explicit sexual content

Death of a parent

Ending Spoilers

X and Tate actually get to leave! I love that, even after everything, X has hope for something better, and that Tate decides he'd rather die trying to find a place to be happy than live a miserable life forever.

[polycraftory]

Another week, another book haul! These are the books we received between 9/17/24 and 9/23/24. Where did this week go? I feel like I misplaced it somehow.

On the bright side, we've got some stuff in here that I am incredibly excited for. For all of you polyamory lovers, we've been working hard to acquire and review as many books with polyam rep as possible. Out of this week's haul, Darker By Four by June CL Tan, Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, and the SPECTR series by Jordan L. Hawk should all feature polyamorous relationships. Gabe read the first half of the SPECTR series a long time ago and is really looking forward to diving back into it. Nic also got Gabe The Twisted Ones by @tkingfisher because Gabe is feral about every single one of her books.

We got this lovely version of Dragon Falls (How to Tame a Husband) by Davis Lavender from the @rainbowcrate Cozy Fantasy box. I read it in two sittings and it was exactly the sweet gay romcom I needed as a pick me up after a hard week. Check out @ edgybutfemme on Storygraph for a full review of this funny dragon riding isekai romance. Also, the main character is demisexual & demiromantic, and I've never actually found a book with that rep before!

I'm going to start actually moving some of our written reviews for books from Storygraph (and video reviews from our TikTok, I've been a hot mess) over to Tumblr soon so stay tuned for that!

[polycraftory]

We took a break this last week for our mental health, but we are back with our book haul for the week of 11/5-11/11/24! Like many queer folks, we are taking the time we need to feel our feelings before we jump back into our activism. Know we are going to continue to be here bringing queer joy and highlighting amazing queer indie authors.

Gabe loves Cassandra Khaw with their whole heart and is vibrating out of their skin with excitement to read The Dead Take The A Train. Nic is really excited to continue I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino. It's very cute and also incredible disability rep! There aren't any books in this haul for me, but that's okay because I've been obsessively playing Dragon Age Veilguard with all my free time.

[polycraftory]

Our new littol guy Blep is overseeing our latest book haul. We've already covered the books we got at NYCC this year, but in the con crunch we haven't done a general haul in a minute. So these are all the books we got between 10/8/24-10/28/24!

We have so many good books this haul (and have had plenty of time to read them in this huge block of time). 3/4 partners have read and adored A Taste of Gold & Iron by Alexandra Rowland, so we were excited to get this beautiful special edition second hand. Lore Olympus is also one of our favorite comics of all time!

Both Phantasma by Kaylie Smith and Swordcrossed by Freya Marske made it onto my (Meghan's) 5 star reads for the month. Read Phantasma if you want a badass necromancer lady running around a cursed mansion covered in blood while romancing a ghost with the personality of Astarion from Baulder's Gate 3. Read Swordcrossed if you want a soft gay fantasy romance between a con artist who is hired to fight a duel as the best man for his love interest's wedding. It kind of has A Taste of Gold & Iron energy in that it involves a deep dive investigation into a Very Niche Industry (this time, the wool industry instead of metal/currency.)

[polycraftory]

We did it! We still have two months left in the year, but we've all hit our reading goals for 2024. Of course, Nic and Gabe both have far exceeded their goals, so they may need to re-calibrate for next year.

If you are looking for some book recommendations, I highly suggest checking out our Storygraph accounts for reviews! You can find all our links in our pinned post <3

[polycraftory]

Rounding out the week with our favorite @rainbowcrate sprayed edges (which is, y'know, all of them that we own 😅)

We've read (and loved) all of the books in the horizontal stack! You can find reviews for Junker Seven & Exposed on Gabe's Storygraph. You can find reviews for Dragon Falls (How to Tame A Husband), AITA?, & Exposed on Meghan's Storygraph. You can find our storygraph links in our pinned post. If you check our book review tag, you can also find some of our reviews right here on Tumblr <3

[polycraftory]

Better late than never, I bring you our book haul for 10/1/2024 - 10/7/2024! Last week was pretty much all Nic arrivals, and this week is all me so I certainly can't judge.

Honestly, I think we should be proud of how long I held out on the siren song of getting a resold copy of the gorgeous Fae Crate's Duskwalker Brides set by Opal Reyne. Gabe and I adore this series of monsterfucker books with excellent worldbuilding. I had to wait for the prices to come down though, because truly it was insane what people were selling them for.

Also featured this week are two Probably Smut editions that I got as a blind date with a book! One was pitched as a taboo MM romance: Disciplinary Action by Onley James. The other is a why choose motorcycle club romance: Twisted Glass by Savannah Rylan. Stay tuned for reviews soon <3