#rec and review

[wrenmkingsley]

I Know I'm Late As Fuck To The Party, But Hunger Pangs By Joy Demorra Is Genuinely SO GOOD

GODDAMN

This book breaks ALL the rules and it's still one of the most entertaining things I've read all year!

Hunger Pangs is shamelessly self-indulgent in the very best of ways. There were multiple times where I swear I heard an echo of the author laughing to herself as she wrote.

And I don't know what I should call it, but the closest thing is fanservice I guess? Butter? Whimsy? Well, what ever it is, Hunger Pangs is chockfull of it and here's a non-exhaustive list:

An cunty autistic vampire called Vlad fucking Blutstein

A disabled werewolf beefcake sweetheart

A woman so powerful she could kill you with her pinky (Can I get a Hell Yeah to that?)

the vampire is such a giant fucking nerd like peak blorbo material fucking hell I want to chew on him

BOTANY SAVES THE DAY

somehow slice of life, epic quest to save the world and political intrigue all at once? HOW?

OH and the smut is SCRUMPTIOUS

BALLS

LIKE THE SOCIAL FUNCTION NOT THE BODY PART

Galadriel doesn't have shit on Ursula, beautiful, ancient, powerful Ursula, I love her, I love her so much, my only complaint is that there was so little of her

🌟Absinthe🌟

HOT SPRING HOT SPRING HOT SPRING HOT SPRING HOT

I take back the previous point, there was no on screen hot spring and I am STILL mad about that (in the sequel perhaps? (pretty please?))

Beautiful carnivorous plant children

The universal autistic experience of needing the flirting equivalent of a sledgehammer to the face to be sure what's going on

Political commentary with all the subtlety of Mickey 17, case in point:

"It was all just so frustratingly simple. The government needed to stop levying crippling taxes on the lower classes, they needed to stop waging wars they couldn’t win, and they needed to focus their efforts on relief aid. It was plain as day. They needed to just… do the right thing. The problem was, they just kept choosing to do the wrong thing, over and over, and then they had the audacity to act surprised when the working classes kept finding novel ways to liberate the ruling classes of their heads."

Okay, this list is getting long and I could go on and on and on, but I think we're reaching the point of the review where I put it down and wait for the energy drink to wear off, see you in two hours. Toodles!

Whelp, okay.

Hunger Pangs is an ode to people that refuse to give up their gentleness in face of the world's atrocities and great personal hardship and make a hell of a lot of difference doing so. It's a reminder that even if the world is on fire, there is still love and joy to be found.

Nathan, a werewolf veteran whose decades long deployment ended when he was shot in the shoulder with a silver bullet, should be dead according to all doctors. And he's not alive either, he's just dying very very slowly, poisoned by fragments of the silver bullet no doctor bothered to look for. As a result he's deaf and has lost much of the function of his shoulder. And even after the fragments are removed, while he gets better, he still is disabled.

And where a lesser author would have come up with some magical cure for his illness, made him "whole" again, Demorra gives him hearing aides.

I don't know if Vlad is canonically autistic or if I (auDHD and retired theatre kid) am projecting, but he resonated with me deeply. I've never read anything that got masking so right. His opening of the second ball is a brilliant example of how sometimes, in measured dosages, autistic people can and do enjoy being the centre of attention. Sometimes the line between acting and masking blurs in a way that can be really fucking fun.

I wish we saw more of Ursula in this book. Her tragic background and the responsibility she shoulders must be crushing. What Demorra does brilliantly is contrast her bone-deep fatigue to how much energy and vibrance she can exude.

You can get the ebook on payhip or through your local bookstore. (While I'm very much not the target audience for it, there's also a closed doors version.)

I very much recommend getting it local. For reasons.

OH, before I forget, Demorra is an esteemed hellsite member! You can find her right here, she's a joy to have on your dash: @thebibliosphere

<<monster-fuelled book review episode one

[4theitgirls]

youtube channels for the book girlies

♡ a frolic through fiction

♡ alexa raye

♡ alexandra roselyn

♡ anda kent

♡ ashley’s little library

♡ basically britt

♡ becca and the books

♡ briddy

♡ carmen gilfraguada

♡ coverswithcassidy

♡ destiny sidwell

♡ ellen catherine

♡ fruitful reader

♡ gabbyreads

♡ hailey hughes

♡ haley pham

♡ heather mclarry

♡ jack and the books

♡ jaime fok

♡ jodie

♡ katie is reading

♡ katherine karas

♡ kendall watson

♡ larry

♡ leora aileen

♡ lexi aka newlynova

♡ maditales

♡ melreads

♡ peachapplebi

♡ pursuit of the truth

♡ rachel catherine

♡ reading with asha

♡ read with kate

♡ reading with meg

♡ sara carrolli

♡ taylor ann wright

♡ tia chu

♡ the book leo

♡ withcindy

[thetransfemininereview]

As the clock strikes midnight at the dawn of Halloween, I come bearing spooky books! Check out these cool recs for horror and paranormal novels by transfeminine authors that'll make your day a little darker 🖤

[bookblrihardlyknowher]

Horror books that genuinely scared me (from a lifelong horror reader that’s so so rare):

1) The Outsider by Stephen King - made me paranoid as fuck at night, had to hide the dust jacket

2) Straight by @drchucktingle - I had fucked up nightmares about this book, I couldn’t look my cis straight roommates in the eyes for days

3) Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca - I’m a queer with religious trauma, I had a full existential crisis after reading this

Did these books affect me psychologically? Yeah probably. Are they also in my top fav of all time? Yup😊. Would I recommend them to everyone? Fuck yeah I would! Go read these and prove love is real (that is a threat💕)!

[aclockworkreader]

i finally watched nosferatu (2024) and i’ve come to the conclusion that many people either don’t like or just don’t understand gothic horror as a genre. everyone was acting like it’s the most disturbing, depraved movie they’ve ever seen and quite frankly, i think it could have been much weirder. it’s a near perfect vampire movie. appropriately dark, erotic, and horrific with classic elements of the gothic genre. and a masterful (and surprisingly feminist) exploration of trauma and the dichotomy of shame and desire. it’s a story about being repulsed by your own desire and feeling unlovable because of it, but feeling it nonetheless. and overall i think the film does a fantastic job at working through these themes.

[f-imaginings]

If you've just discovered Billford from the Book of Bill you'll enjoy:

Knowing Me Knowing You on ao3!

If you're looking for fanfic to read that hits on the key dynamics from the Book of Bill, (despite the bulk of the fic existing before the books release) look no further! In the interest of tooting my own horn, to celebrate the new chapter I'd like to recommend a fic inspired by ABBA BABBA's musical back catalogue!

If you read the book of bill and wanted to see more of:

toxic old man yaoi billford

pre-betrayal worshipful billford (plus canon typical gravity falls anomaly research and hijinks)

post betrayal angsty possession billford (with bonus BORD!)

interdimensional cat and mouse portal billford (catch me if you can!)

Stanford getting it on with a triangle (and a human bill pre-betrayal) in many weird and wonderful ways

complex relationship dynamics between Ford, Fiddleford and Bill

Institute of Oddology toxic fidd/author/bill side story

Heist after heist with the henchmaniacs

Ford's portal adventures!

Terrible jokes that will make you laugh anyway!

A power dynamic that levels the playing field (Ford in control) and then decimates the field altogether!

Ford fell first, Bill fell harder!

Fleshed out backstories for the wider cast in Gravity Falls and a story that respects everyone's agency!

A Billford fic that takes a break from the toxic ship to spend a chapter with Stanley pug smuggling in New Mexico

Morally ambiguous Jheselbraum with past connections to Bill

Lottocron 9 and the infinity sided dice (including Ford's trip to the M dimension! Hate that place!!!)

Then you might enjoy this fic! It's just updated, with more chapters on the way, so if you're ready for a journey into mystery, mayhem and mischief, strap yourself in!

*author's disclaimer - Book of Bill DID align exactly with my fanfic and I was not disappointed!

[drarryspecificrecs]

2025.01 ~ Top 9 longest fics posted on AO3

1. First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic [E, 273k]

Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. But what if he didn't?

2. Quidditch Notes by @hajinjin13 [T, 227k]

Draco Malfoy never thought the Dark Lord might actually return someday and now that he has, there are only two choices. Instead of playing along like a good little boy, Draco turns spy on his father for Order protection and interrupts Harry's breakfast to tell him so.

3. Indigo by @setissma [E, 129k]

Draco had at least four folders open on his desk, at least one of which contained a number of graphic photographs of a homicide scene. He sighed. “I’m in the middle of this. And the fact that they’re willing to let me verify it is, in fact, an indication that they’re telling the truth.” [...]

4. Call Out My Name by paraphaxis [E, 71k]

Within a different magical community led by a tyrant called Tom Riddle, there were two families desperate to put an end to these dreadful times: the Potters and the Malfoys. The chance was small, but it existed. Their children were what they called "The Chosen Ones", endowed with impressive magic and a slightly questionable character, they were the only ones who could put an end to Tom Riddle, without them, the magical world would be overthrown. [...]

5. A Living Death by chrysaetius [T, 69k]

Returning to Hogwarts was supposed to be a fresh start, a step toward normalcy after the war. But for Draco Malfoy, normal is a distant memory. An inexplicable curse shields him—no spell, hex, or jinx can touch him. His peers murmur of dark deals and magic, branding him an outcast in a place meant to be a sanctuary. Only Harry Potter seems unmoved by the rumors, yet he alone holds the unsettling power to break through Draco’s immunity. And... some secrets are buried deeper than they ever imagined.

6. The Aftermath is Legendary by JoiBoy [M, 49k]

Draco does time in Azkaban. The aftermath is legendary.

7. Forever Mine by Toffeemond [E, 47k]

[...] « I'm pretty sure we decided to put a stop to… whatever this is, » Draco gestured between them. « No, you decided all on your own, » Harry slowly walked up to him, his smile intact but a dangerous glint shining in his bright green eyes. « I never agreed to anything. »

8. I Dreamt of King's Cross Station by SusanMort [T, 44k]

This is a story about healing.

9. i think that possibly, maybe i'm falling for you by @cr-amber [E, 42k]

Harry runs into Draco working at a coffee shop fifteen years after the war, and he’s nothing like Harry remembers.

—

※ Word count: 1k ~ 15k

※ Word count: 15k ~ 40k

Another Wandshop Story by LittleFear [E, 17k]

Aren't We in a Pickle? by @reloumi [E, 20k]

bright as the morning (soft as the rain) by indizzlerizzle [T, 18k]

Draco Malfoy is Not a Girl by @duchessdulce [T, 22k]

Hearts Like Ours by @upon-poppyhills [E, 21k]

Life Is The Messy Bits by slytherflower [T, 32k]

No Children by @fluxherbaria [E, 33k] *typo

One Good Thing by @leyliu [T, 15k]

We've Always Been Drowning by DracoAbraxas [T, 22k]

You're My Boyfriend Now by LaughterLoveAndLarry [E, 19k]

—

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[wrenmkingsley]

I'm Batshit Fucking Insane About Yield Under Great Persuasion By Alexandra Rowland And You Should Be Too

Rowland must have stalked me or something, because this book was everything I could have wished for and more.

A horrible gremlin who's also a sad little meow meow for a main character? Check.

Yearning? World Building? Whimsy? Sexiness? Divine intervention in growing the biggest phallic vegetable in history? Check!

The word cock in the opening paragraph? MOTHERFUCKING CHECK

Okay, okay, I've taken a little break from writing this, because the urge to keysmash was growing very strong indeed. I think the energy drink has mostly worn off now, so here's the less feral part of the review:

Yield Under Great Persuasion is an achingly tender book.

Its main theme is allowing happiness into your life even if it makes you vulnerable. It's protrayed with an exceeding gentleness and subtlety, yes even in the parts were an actual mother goddess shows up to tell the main character, Tam, to knock it off.

Tam has been awful to his on and off lover Lyford for years now, ostensibly over a childhood accident, but really because Tam is too much of a cynic to allow himself to be loved. His quest for forgiveness and to overcome his bitterness is both realistic and deeply meaningful.

Rowland's incredible sense of humour and daring to be delightfully weird is the cherry on top of a story I devoured in about six hours.

Run, don't walk, to read this book.

@ariaste

[4theitgirls]

december reading wrap-up

books read:

1. ‘the bell jar’ by sylvia plath

rating: 4.2 ⭐️

2. ‘and then there were none’ by agatha christie

rating: 3.0 ⭐️

3. ‘just like home’ by sarah gailey

rating: 4.75 ⭐️

4. ‘none of this is true’ by lisa jewell

rating: EASY 5 ⭐️

5. ‘the final girl support group’ by grady hendrix

rating: 3.35 ⭐️

6. ‘the whisper man’ by alex north

rating: 4.1 ⭐️

7. ‘fight club’ by chuck palahniuk

rating: 3.3 ⭐️

8. ‘ripe’ by sarah rose etter

rating: 5 ⭐️

9. ‘watching you’ by lisa jewell

rating: 4.45 ⭐️

10. ‘death in her hands’ by ottessa moshfegh

rating: 4 ⭐️

11. ‘my dark vanessa’ by kate elizabeth russell

rating: the most depressing 5 ⭐️ i’ve ever given

12. ‘verity’ by colleen hoover

rating: 4.95 ⭐️ (only .05 off because it’s colleen hoover, the book itself was amazing)

dnf:

‘fruit of the dead’ by rachel lyon

‘leave the world behind’ by rumaan alam

[tulip-jojo]

30th of november,

some of my penguin modern classics <3

ig: tulipp.reads

[notedchampagne]

finished reading piranesi. LOVED IT. 10/10. its a short(er?) book about a man called piranesi, stuck in an otherworldly place filled with labyrinthian hallways and statues. hes a very delightful character and you have to walk with his diary entries for a while before new events and revelations change him. the story is written in an epistolary journal form with a strong character voice, and it reveals more of the world + its characters and twists with satisfying pacing. it reminds me of the "born yesterday" concept of appreciating daily things with wonder and gratitude, which can be comforting if youre into that. the latter half of this book is also extremely plural (@/mosstrades told me this and i thought "oh thats nice!" then i got to the last part of the book and i thought oh jesus fuck this really is plural). youll like this book if you like nona from nona the ninth and possibly, poetry

[fervi-g]

Favourite First-Time Watches of March :)

[captainbrookeworm]

Just finished reading “Sorcery and Small Magics” by Maiga Doocy and it’s having me rethink my whole taste in books because I thought I hated romantasy but apparently if you give me a disaster gay with a true slowburn rivals to allies to maybe-friends to possibly-one-day-lovers arc with his forced proximity outwardly put-together bf I will eat it the fuck up

Leovander Loveage my beloved????

Medium stakes that is comfy but still has an engaging plot that can be intense when it needs to be my beloved????

Cool and interesting world-building that’s well-integrated into the story my beloved????

Did I mention Leovander Loveage my beloved???? Because I love him dearly.

Apparently this book came out like a month ago and there’s no fandom for it yet which is a crime against me personally. I cannot be the only one out here fighting for my life waiting for book 2.

[sabine-smitten-obviously]

Good Omens - Fanfic recs for March 2025 - Part 1 🤓👍

Follow along for short summaries and recs on the books i read🩷 The numbers are for funsies - i want to count my reads throughout 2025.

I only read finished stories and one-shots. You will find no WIPs in here. Also you will only find happy or at least hopeful endings here - i couldn´t handle anything else.

Also i try to find every author here on tumblr to link-to, but some times i am out of luck. If you happen to know them, please tell them, write to me in the comments or DM me and i will update the post!

Ratings in ()

Multichapterfics

36] Hired Heart (E) by @gaydemonicdesaster

Human AU: Aziraphale is 50, runs his bookshop, he has only recently discovered he is gay - and now he wants to explore. But of course it wouldn't be our beloved angel, if he didn't want to study first. Build some knowledge and confidence. So when his friend Agnes suggests contacting a high class escort, this seems like a good idea. You'll never guess, who this red headed escort might be. 😉 I have actually read that one already a year ago, but stumbled upon it again. A nice and hot fic with zero angst and stress in it, perfect to relax and unwind.🌶️🌶️🌶️

37] Heaven Sent (E) by @captainblou

Human Au, Crowley is an escort (yes, again 😆) and meets his patron Aziraphale. Now there are certain rules to working in this business ... And somehow this shy and lovely man makes it impossible for Crowley to stick to them. 🌶️🌶️🌶️

38] Shut up and kiss me (E) by @valesyart

Set after S2. When Aziraphale left, Crowley went to sleep. But his dreams somehow become more vivid than usual. As the author puts it: "porn with plot" 😉🌶️

39] Be Still, My Love, Be Still (E) by @entanglednow

Human AU - though not altogether ... After the fire in the bookshop, Aziraphale is set on replacing lost books. When he gets a new shipment of them, there is a small sketch-book inside with drawings of plants and flowers. And somehow the bookshop suddenly seems to be haunted by a ghost. Or more precisely, a sleep paralysis demon. 🩷

I so love this story, it is sweet, it is spooky, it is heartbreaking and it is hot. This is my absolute favorite of my march-readings and you should definitely try it!

40] Bleating Hearts (E) by @hkblack

Human AU, Dr. Aziraphale Fell is an English Literature lecturer, specified in Shakespearean works. When one day he finds a goat in his office, he is only even more surprised by the questions the handsome goat herder asks him. 🐐

A sweet fic with only a small amount of angst but a pageturner nonetheless. It is rated E but I estimate the plot-smut-ratio at probably 99:1 and the smut is skip-able. The banter and the goats are adorable! 😍

41] If you want to be bad (E) by @curiouswriterkr

Human AU, starting off in secondary school. When Crowley has a car crash, it's Aziraphale of all people to help him out. Crowley wants to thank him, but apart from helping him, Aziraphale doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Because Crowley and his gang are bullies. Years later, they meet again. But Crowley isn't the man he used to be.

Lots of pining, only a little bit of angst. 🫠 It is rated E but there is only one scene.

Oneshots

42] Such a comfort (T) by @SpectrallyDistracted

Set somewhere after S3/the second coming, Crowley wakes in the middle of the night to Aziraphale having a nightmare - again. It's been the same nightmare for years. Only this time his angel agrees to tell him about it. 🩷

43] The Tide rolling in (E) by @scullyphile aka @brenna

Crowley and Aziraphale take a walk on the beach. When Crowley asks Aziraphale what he would wish for if he could have anything, he is lost for words.

44] Anthony J. Crowley, Retired Demon and Airbnb Superhost (G) by @theoldaquarian

A collection of reviews on Crowley's flat, which has been let as an Airbnb.

This was actually the second time i read this story. What makes this one so funny is that we all know stuff about our angels, but of course to an outsider a lot of things might appear ... Strange. Very 🤣

45] Forever is for the morning (G) by @great-pan-is-dead

Set after the end of S1, an angel and a demon decide to take a nap in the bookshop. Just before dropping off each of them thinks about how different they'd imagined it.

So that's 45 fics so far, plus I read a thriller outside of GO this month, so I will count on from 47 next time for my little project. 🥳 As always, share the love with kudos, repostings and author-taggings in case I missed someone!

A friend of mine gifted me this sentence yesterday:

fanfiction is my happyplace. 🩷

[anna-scribbles]

what a shame, i can see it all now that we’re through

- firearm by lizzy mcalpine

(chapter 5 of call it even is making me feel bonkers insane. thank u @sha-nwa)

[drarryspecificrecs]

2025.02 ~ Top 9 longest fics posted on AO3

1. UltraViolet by @spinsomnia [E, 300k]

It's sixth year and Draco Malfoy has a secret. No one believes Harry when he insists that he is up to something and a Dragon is stalking Hogwarts. When Malfoy goes missing, Harry makes a startling discovery that changes everything he thought he knew about his rival. Draco must fix the Vanishing Cabinet, but he must also protect his darkest secret at all costs - he just never thought that Potter would be the one to help him do it.

2. Room For Two by LaughterLoveAndLarry [E, 209k]

Seven years post- war, Draco Malfoy is a single parent struggling to find balance as he begins his Healer training. Stuck between a very demanding work schedule and his lonely son, Draco barely has a moment to breathe. After a near nervous breakdown, his ex-wife has decided that what Draco needs is a Nanny. What Draco does NOT need, however, is the shock of opening his door one morning to find Harry Potter standing on his doorstep, grinning and ready to work. Or maybe it will turn out to be exactly what he needed after all. What both of them needed. [...]

3. Just a Ring by BeigeSocks [T, 200k]

Summer before fifth year, Kreacher gives Draco a ring containing Regulus Black’s soul. Draco learns a lot because of it, namely how to befriend a Potter.

4. When We Were Angels by @soliblomst [M, 116k]

Both orphaned in 1981, Draco and Harry grow up together at Woldvale Orphanage. Despite the unequal treatment they receive, they quickly become inseparable—a first love threatened when Draco is taken away. Or, As children, Draco and Harry made a promise that would shape the rest of their lives—to stay together forever.

5. Erised by grumbleonimbus [M, 71k]

Draco Malfoy is trying to make amends by doing fundraisers and events for a war orphan charity. He hasn't seen Harry Potter - or thought about him... really! - in about five years. Until he sees him a lot, everywhere, dammit. While vehemently trying to deny his school crush has reignited, Draco cannot help but be charmed by a more mature, serene, confident Harry. And, well, the new looks, plural, are ever so appealing.

6. The Houses We Build for Ourselves by Reckless_Rain [E, 65k]

Harry finds himself trapped inside Grimmauld Place - could a quick marriage to the Black heir be the answer? Draco is still four months away from being released from house arrest and champing at the bit for freedom - could a quick marriage to a desperate Potter be the answer? But it turns out being trapped together in Grimmauld Place might mean they have to work together…or risk everything.

7. Home is where you are by soft_exo [T, 56k]

Harry Potter has never had a home before, but maybe that's about to change.

8. The Tale of the Dragon by HedgehogWrites [E, 43k]

Draco has been cursed by a powerful wizard. He has to guard the Island in his dragon form. The Island, where the Kingdom sends their convicts to. It's a death sentence, because he has to eat them. Only an act out of true love can set Draco free. Harry is a proud prostitute, good at what he does. He also is a fierce protector of dragons, saving them wherever he can. Unfortunately, this puts him right on Wizard Supreme Riddle's radar. The wizard will leave no stone unturned to sentence him to the Island.

9. sea change by @eleadore [M, 40k]

The only thing more surprising than finding Draco Malfoy here, on a forgotten stretch of coast northwest of nowhere, in a Muggle establishment that was barely an establishment at all, was that he didn't seem at all surprised to find Harry.

—

※ Word count: 1k ~ 15k

※ Word count: 15k ~ 40k

The Asphodel Tattoo by CorrinaBlue [T, 33k]

Choices for the Bold by @astralrainn [E, 24k]

Everything, I am. by @mykkitno [?, 17k]

The Happiest Year by TheCrowCrone [T, 31k]

Harry Potter and Malfoy’s Suspicious New Interest by @niche-pastiche & @wisteria-lodge [T, 38k]

just harry and just draco by @idaokiwatine [G, 16k]

Lovefool by @youhavemyswordandmybow [E, 19k] *typo

Ministry-Mandated Safety Training by writingtildeath [M, 17k]

Pull my hair a little harder please by @batondecannelle [?, 21k]

Rubbed The Right Way by @fluffyunderneath [E, 19k]

The Successor by raspberrybalm [M, 32k]

sweet nothings by @s0lifuge [E, 18k]

When Harry Met Draco by emmettsforest [E, 34k] *typo

—

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