#sarah rosen

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer YA Set at Summer Camp

Camp by L.C. Rosen Nothing Happened by Molly Booth Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas Flamer by Mike Curato Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin Bonus: These are all contemporary, but for supernatural horror, check out Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis 

[pridepages]

🌈 Happy Pride! 🌈

This June, good things come in sets of six as I spotlight some of my favorite rainbow reads.

✨ Category is: Be Gay, Do Crime✨

Learn more about these titles under the cut!

A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar (a YA historical sapphic thriller as a girl gang sets out to pull off a heist on the high seas. But the mission turns into a deadly race against the clock when the Titanic strike an iceberg… Rep: F/F, BIPOC characters)

Outlawed by Anna North (Historical fiction, in a world where AFAB people are reduced to their reproductive value, an outlaw band seeks to create a paradise for the forgotten queer children who dare to defy the norm. Rep: trans/nonbinary mc, sapphic characters)

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Dark Historical Romance, In Victorian England, a thief poses as a lady’s maid to con her employer. But what happens when she falls for the mark? Rep: F/F)

Aces Wild by Amanda Dewitt (YA, a group of online friends meets IRL to plan a casino heist to save one of their own. Ever thought Ocean’s 11 would be better without the distraction of sex and romance? Rep: NB/M, trans/nonbinary mc, asexual mcs, asexual scs, aromantic scs, BIPOC characters)

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian (Historical Romance, a young lordling hires an ex highway man to teach him how to stand and deliver. The two find their partnership becomes more than they bargained for. Rep: M/M, gay mc, bisexual characters)

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen (Historical Mystery, an ex policeman newly outed and ostracized is given a new job: investigate the death of a mysterious soap magnate. But behind the doors of Lavender House hides more than one secret…could someone among this queer found family have murdered one of their own? Rep: M/M, F/F, gay characters, lesbian scs)

[spnyouresostupid]

Bad Touch Becky!

[nitestar7]

Borrowed Hearts (1997) - review

Reviewed by Litewriter Borrowed Hearts (1997) is a darling little Holiday Drama great for the whole family to watch or just enjoy it yourself. It was written by TED KOTCHEFF and directed by PAMELA WALLACE and EARL W. WALLACE. The main cast starred SARAH ROSEN FRUITMAN as little Zoey Russell, actresses ROMA DOWNEY as Kathleen Russell (Zoey’s mother), KEVIN HICKS as Jerry Russell which is Zoey’s…

[theartofangirling]

part 3 of the 2023 version of this post: adult books!

part 1: middle grade books | part 2: young adult books

this is a very incomplete list, as these are only books I've read and enjoyed. not all books are going to be for all readers, so I'd recommend looking up synopses and content warnings. feel free to message me with any questions about specific representation!

list of books under the cut ⬇️

yerba buena by nina lacour

if we were villains by m.l. rio

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily r. austin

i want to be a wall by honami shirono

portrait of a thief by grace d. li

the thirty names of night by zeyn joukhadar

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

love & other disasters by anita kelly

take a hint, dani brown by talia hibbert

boyfriend material by alexis hall

almost like being in love by steve kluger

the charm offensive by alison cochrun

something wild & wonderful by anita kelly

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston

something to talk about by meryl wilsner

honey girl by morgan rogers

one last stop by casey mcquiston

once ghosted, twice shy by alyssa cole

kiss her once for me by alison cochrun

a spindle splintered by alix e. harrow

finna by nino cipri

every heart a dooryway by seanan mcguire

the starless sea by erin morgenstern

under the whispering door by tj klune

space opera by catherynne m. valente

light from uncommon stars by ryka aoki

dead collections by isaac fellman

the city we became by n.k. jemisin

light carries on by ray nadine

an absolutely remarkable thing by hank green

feed them silence by lee mandelo

summer sons by lee mandelo

upright women wanted by sarah gailey

lavender house by lev a.c. rosen

fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

a master of djinn by p. djeli clark

witchmark by c.l. polk

a marvellous light by freya marske

a restless truth by freya marske

when women were dragons by kelly barnhill

plain bad heroines by emily m. danforth

a lady for a duke by alexis hall

infamous by lex croucher

passing strange by ellen klages

even though i knew the end by c.l. polk

the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo

whiskey when we're dry by john larison

wake of vultures by lila bowen

silver in the wood by emily tesh

the once and future witches by alix e. harrow

the kingdoms by natasha pulley

a tip for the hangman by allison epstein

she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan

the song of achilles by madeline miller

spear by nicola griffith

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

some desperate glory by emily tesh

all systems red by martha wells

a psalm for the wild built by becky chambers

the mimicking of known successes by malka older

winter's orbit by everina maxwell

fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard

empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo

legends and lattes by travis baldree

the house in the cerulean sea by tj klune

other ever afters by melanie gillman

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

a day of fallen night by samantha shannon

a strange and stubborn endurance by foz meadows

the unbroken by c.l. clark

real queer america by samantha allen

fun home by alison bechdel

in the dream house by carmen maria machado

better living through birding by christian cooper

why fish don't exist by lulu miller

[batboyblog]

My Super Gay/Queer Reading List

The Long Run by James Acker

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Another Dimension of Us by Mike Albo

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

Alan Cole Is Not a Coward by Eric Bell

Alan Cole Doesn’t Dance by Eric Bell

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker

Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron

Dragging Mason County by Curtis Campbell

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Wild by Sally Green

Half Lost by Sally Green

Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green

Gay Club by Simon James Green

You’re the One That I Want by Simon James Green

We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra

Totally Joe by James Howe

After School Activities by Dirk Hunter

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly Straight by Jeff Jacobson

Haffling by Caleb James

The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune

A Destiny of Dragons by T.J. Klune

The Consumption of Magic by T.J. Klune

A Wish Upon the Stars by T.J. Klune

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Flash Fire by T.J. Klune

Heat Wave by T.J. Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Ryan and Avery by David Levithan

How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

When Ryan Came Back by Devon McCormack

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Fraternity by Andy Mientus

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller

Hero by Perry Moore

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid

Kens by Raziel Reid

Emmett by Lev A.C. Rosen

Jack of Hearts by Lev A.C. Rosen

Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez

So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

All Kinds of Other by James Sie

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Freak Show by James St. James

Ray of Sunlight by Brynn Stein

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

366 Days by Kiyoshi Tanaka

The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Tumblr got rid of yellow so I couldn't do pride colors, sorry!

If you want help picking something out just send me an ask with what kind of thing you're looking for and I'll select something for you, and if you end up reading something because you saw this list, please let me know

[fahye]

book recs: feb 2024

(disclaimer: I have spent nearly three months languishing and sullen with post-COVID symptoms and have read, over dec-feb, eighty-one books. this is a ruthlessly streamlined list of recs that does not include, uh, all the rereading of sarah maclean and charlie adhara and georgette heyer books.)

AT FIRST SPITE by olivia dade - what if I moved in next to the man who ruined my engagement to his younger brother, and tried to ruin his life by playing monsterfucking audiobooks really loudly?? a heartfelt and lovely romance that also expertly sets up a great small-town setting for an ongoing series.

THE REFORMATORY by tananarive due - historical horror based on the existence of a real school for boys, clear-eyed and brutal in showing the the effect of racist systems in the 1950s american south. compelling as hell. even if you're not usually into horror, I'd recommend this: the ghost aspect is light-handed and really not as important as the horror of what humans do to other humans.

SOMETHING WILD & WONDERFUL by anita kelly - this is a m/m romance about walking the pacific crest trail which made me see the appeal of very long walks. a miracle! it's gentle and emotional and well put together; the characters really grabbed me.

THE BELL IN THE FOG by lev a.c. rosen - the followup to 'lavender house', and somehow even better?? a historical mystery series featuring a queer private eye in 1950s san francisco who looks into crimes against other queer people. amazing queer history! ACAB! I hope there are fifty more books in this series.

FEAST WHILE YOU CAN* by mikaella clements & onjuli datta - beautiful, greedy, terrifying small-town horror that is also a fucking fantastic, gorgeously written sapphic love story. this one IS for the horror fans. it gave me the absolute creeps but I couldn't put it down.

LADY EVE'S LAST CON* by rebecca fraimow - I described this on bsky as 'if you like Leverage, space opera, old screwball comedies, and dashing sapphics who are at all times spiritually wearing a leather jacket: this one is for you' and I stand by that. huge amounts of fun.

LONG LIVE EVIL* by sarah rees brennan - I will be screaming from here until forever about SRB's first adult fantasy book. if you like the isekai'd-into-a-villain-character setup and want it to be hilarious, genre-savvy and wildly angry and clever, you will roll around in this like a blood-stained mud puddle and then beg for more.

THE LAST HOUR BETWEEN WORLDS* by melissa caruso - really clever and original fantasy about a woman on maternity leave who gets dragged into saving a cocktail party which is falling through increasingly murderous and bizarre dimensions. LISTEN, JUST GO WITH IT. it's a seriously cool adventure.

YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY* by cat sebastian - yes, it's another m/m romance about queer history in the mid 20th century, this one between a baseball player and the journalist assigned to write a story about his slump. made me care about baseball. cat is a genius.

*I read these as ARCs, they're not available yet but consider preordering or keep your eye out for them!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books November 2023

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

❤️ The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl by Emily Riesbeck 🧡 Heading North by Holly M. Wendt 💛 The Wisdom of Bug by Alyson Root 💚 Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse 💙 A Holly Jolly Christmas by Emily Wright 💜 Outdrawn by Deanna Grey ❤️ Yours Celestially by Al Hess 🧡 The Christmas Memory by Barbara Winkes 💛 Violet Moon by Mel E. Lemon 💙 The Santa Pageant by Lillian Barry 💜 Only for the Holidays by Shannon O’Connor 🌈 Homestead for the Holidays by Wren Taylor

❤️ You Can Count on Me by Fae Quin 🧡 No One Left But You by Tash McAdam 💛 The Worst Thing of All is the Light by José Luis Serrano, Lawrence Schimel 💚 Today Tonight Forever by Madeline Kay Sneed 💙 Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt 💜 Emmett by L. C. Rosen ❤️ Finding My Elf by David Valdes 🧡 Tonight, I Burn by Katharine J. Adams 💛 Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng 💙 Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree 💜 A Power Unbound by Freya Marske 🌈 We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

❤️ The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle 🧡 You Owe Me One, Universe by Chad Lucas 💛 Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James 💚 Skip!: A Graphic Novel by Rebecca Burgess 💙 Something About Her by Clementine Taylor 💜 Touching the Art by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore ❤️ A Nearby Country Called Love by Salar Abdoh 🧡 Normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us by Karen Tongson 💛 Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost by Esme Symes-Smith 💙 The Order of the Banshee by Robyn Singer 💜 Once Upon My Dads’ Divorce by Seamus Kirst, Noémie Gionet Landry 🌈 Forsooth by Jimmy Matejek-Morris

❤️ A Common Bond by T.M. Kuta 🧡 Risk the Fall by Riley Hart 💛 Just a Little Snack by Yah-Yah Scholfield 💚 Home for the Holidays by Erin Zak 💙 NeurodiVeRse by MJ James 💜 Dark Heir (Dark Rise #2) by C.S. Pacat ❤️ sub/Dom by Rab Green 🧡 Bitten by the Bond by Elaine White 💛 Heir to Frost and Storm by Ben Alderson 💙 The Sea of Stars by Gwenhyver 💜 Bad Beat by L.M. Bennett 🌈 Idol Moves by K.T. Salvo

❤️ Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa 🧡 In the Pines by Mariah Stillbrook 💛 The Crimson Fortress (The Ivory Key #2) by Akshaya Raman 💚 Only She Came Back by Margot Harrison 💙 Megumi & Tsugumi, Vol. 4 by Mitsuru Si 💜 Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr. ❤️ Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid 🧡 An Atlas to Forever by Krystina Rivers 💛 Come Find Me in the Midnight Sun by Bailey Bridgewater 💙 Bait and Witch by Clifford Mae Henderson 💜 Shadow Baron by Davinia Evans 🌈 Day by Michael Cunningham

❤️ Livingston Girls by Briana Morgan 🧡 Delay of the Game by Ari Baran 💛 The Nanny with the Nice List by K. Sterling 💚 A Talent Ignited by Suzanne Lenoir 💙 A Kiss of the Siren’s Song by E.A.M. Trofimenkoff 💜 Rivals for Love by Ali Vali ❤️ Whiskey & Wine by Kelly Fireside, Tana Fireside 🧡 Buried Secrets by Sheri Lewis Wohl 💛 Ride with Me by Jenna Jarvis 💙 Living for You by Jenny Frame 💜 Death on the Water by CJ Birch 🌈 Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles

❤️ Vicarious by Chloe Spencer 🧡 Sapling’s Depths by Spencer Rose 💛 That French Summer by Sienna Waters 💚 System Overload by Saxon James 💙 King of Death by Lily Mayne 💜 Warts and All by Ashley Bennett ❤️ Principle Decisions by Thea Belmont 🧡 The Best Mistake by Emily O’Beirne 💛 Sugar and Ice by Eule Grey 💙 Until The Blood Runs Dry by MC Johnson 💜 Splinter : A Diverse Sleepy Hollow Retelling by Jasper Hyde 🌈 The Mischievous Letters of the Marquise de Q by Felicia Davin

❤️ The Queer Girl is Going to be Okay by Dale Walls 🧡 Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black 💛 Leverage by E.J. Noyes 💚 Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright 💙 Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon 💜 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher ❤️ To Kill a Shadow by Katherine Quinn 🧡 Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa 💛 For Never & Always by Helena Greer 💙 A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sally Hawley 💜 Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 8 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù 🌈 A Carol for Karol by Ann Roberts

[bloody-wonder]

starting new series

in order to balance my reading i like to track the progress i'm making with old series vs how many new series i'm starting. my loose goal is usually to finish/catch up on at least five and start at least ten new series in a year - which turns out isn't as difficult as it sounds bc we're not even halfway through the year yet and i already hit the latter mark! here's an overview of what i read and my opinions :)

series that were so good i immediately read all the books available:

doctrine of labyrinths by sarah monette (book one: mélusine). okay so this was life-changing. not sarah monette inventing dark aroace romantasy in 2005! they hated her for her slay so much she had to start writing cozy fantasy under a pen name! this story is so weird and unique i honestly have no idea how to pitch it except to say that fans of books like the locked tomb, mdzs and captive prince will very likely enjoy it too. the fact that it's not a depraved booklr cult classic by now is a travesty. but we can still make it happen so if you fall into this particular reader category (and wouldn't be put off by the fact that someone may or may not want to fuck his brother a little bit) please do yourself a favor and read this series! check the trigger warnings first tho

the cemeteries of amalo by katherine addison (book one: the witness for the dead). i liked the goblin emperor, didn't love it, but after binging doctrine of labyrinths in less than a week i sorely needed a cure for my book hangover so i decided to pick up this spinoff series and wouldn't you know it - i binged it too lol. ig february was my monette/addison era. amalo felt like course correction after the goblin emperor and, while it's set in the same world and written in the same tone as that book, many of its aspects reminded me more of doctrine of labyrinths which is probably why i ended up liking it more - and was surprised by that too since i typically don't like this slow meditative writing style in fantasy but ig sarah monette just brings a certain je ne sais quoi to her books (emotional whump). the third book is coming out next march and i'm very excited to see what the saddest gay priest detective will do next👀

the stolen heir duology by holly black. to be completely honest i don't think these books are necessary. ig it was cool to return to elfhame several years post tfota and see some of my favorite ya fantasy characters from outsider pov but i found the main couple quite bland, especially in the second book where they are predictably overshadowed by jude & cardan in every respect. jude & cardan are simply The Power Couple, i love them and i appreciated the opportunity to revisit them in their 20s. madoc, everyone's favorite worst dad, has some nice scenes too but apart from that this installment was neither adventurous nor action-packed nor particularly romantic. it's clear now that holly black plans to continue writing in the elfhame universe and i sincerely hope she will try to shake things up by going full adult and/or changing the genre (i have this galaxybrain idea of a wwdits style mockumentary about madoc's exile in the human world which i'm trying to telepathically plant in holly black's brain as we speak)

evander mills by lev a. c. rosen (book one: lavender house). lavender house was the first book i read this year - i picked it up on a whim, honestly not expecting much, but ended up liking it a lot. in many respects it's a pretty basic closed circle murder mystery but with an all queer cast, whereas the second book has our gay detective investigating blackmail. the fact that the story takes place in the (homophobic) 50s and the queer victims are not protected by the law whatsoever adds an interesting spin to the whole idea of seeking and serving justice. i never thought i'm a serialized detective story type of person but ig if you make it queer enough i'll read anything lol so now i'm eagerly awaiting the next andy mills mystery which will come out in fall.

series i'm maybe going to continue reading later:

aubrey & maturin by patrick o'brian (book one: master and commander). seeing all the old man yaoi on a boat memes on tumblr rapidly propelled this series to the top of my tbr. now i have finally read the first book and,, liked it? lol idk the prose was very good, aubrey & maturin's friendship was sweet and the reading experience was cozy, with funny moments here and there, but overall i wasn't gripped by the plot nor did i particularly connect to the characters. i'm glad i read it but rn i'm not planning to continue this (extremely long) series any time soon. the book did have a delightful nautical atmosphere tho so there's a chance i might return to aubrey & maturin's adventures one day, if the mood strikes

page & sommers by cat sebastian (book one: hither, page). this one i didn't like at all tbh. i think cat sebastian just isn't the author for me and i should quit trying to read her books. however, i am both blessed and plagued by completionism and this series only has two books so i might read the second one this year just to appease my demons lol

series i'm not going to continue:

adam binder by david r. slayton (book one: white trash warlock). someone on tumblr recced this book to me ages ago and i wanted to read it ever since - purely bc of the title tbh😅 something i failed to consider tho is that urban fantasy is probably my least favorite subgenre of fantasy. and this book unfortunately didn't feature any memorable character moments or mind-blowing plot bits that could have broken through my unimpressedness with the urban fantasy setting🤷‍♀️

rook & rose by m. a. carrick (book one: the mask of mirrors). okay now we're entering the Dislike & Disappoint territory. i got interested in this series bc i heard it being compared to gentleman bastard but the similarities end at the renaissance venice setting and a conperson protagonist. the mask of mirrors completely lacks the rizz and swagger of scott lynch's writing and its characters just don't have the oomph of locke lamora and his team. so that was disappointing. on top of that the book is extremely long and convoluted with a worldbuilding that bothered me a lot and i couldn't put my finger on why until i read the themes section on its wiki page - ah yes, the us politics, again, using a foreign setting as a window dressing, again. listen, ik the us politics are important for the us authors to write about but when i pick up a book inspired by the italian renaissance what i want to get is themes and motifs representative of that time and place, even if we modernize them by (honestly lackluster) queernormativity and gender equality. i was mildly curious about the identity of the rook but now that it's been revealed i see no reason to continue this series.

the masquerade by seth dickinson (book one: the traitor baru cormorant). i intended to finish this book last year and leave it there but it was so unbelievably boring it put me into a reading slump for like two whole weeks and i ended up finishing it in january. i noticed that books about colonialism often try so hard to strike this solemn literary tone and say something profound that characters and plot just get bulldozed over by that dedication to conveying this very serious theme. admittedly, baru isn't as bad as that - i'm just biased bc she was pitched to me as a character in the same category as lymond and tyrion lannister so i was disappointed on that account seeing as it was the only reason i decided to give this book a try. i will say the general concept of the story and the plot twist at the end were indeed good but the overall reading experience was so aggressively meh that they just weren't worth it for me and so when the Big Thing happened i was still underwhelmed.

emily wilde by heather fawcett (book one: emily wilde’s encyclopaedia of faeries). i wrote a long ass goodreads review about why i disliked this book so much but let's see if i can be concise for once (ha, as if). i'm a big fan of olivia atwater's books so based on all the buzz around emily wilde i thought i was picking up a similar faerie story. turns out this was more like an "elevated" cozy fantasy version of ali hazelwood's books featuring howl in leather pants (tweed pants?). where atwater uses faerie tale tropes and fae lore to explore classism, neurodivergence and nuanced romantic and platonic connections, fawcett seems to write from a perspective that is decidedly normative. just like emily wilde, half a soul has a heroine who reads as neurodivergent but the narrative is always firmly on her side, whereas the moral in emily wilde seems to be that she has to smile and socialize more or smth. just like emily wilde, a thousand stitches features a faerie as a love interest but in this case he indeed reads like a whimsical magical being, so similar to humans and yet so different at the same time, whereas mr cheap howl knockoff reads like a quirky human man who is an asshole sometimes and can do magic. atwater's books are fairly popular but emily wilde is the book that has mass appeal and ig i shouldn't really be surprised bc when have the stories that question the status quo ever have been more popular than the ones that reinforce it? so i'm not really surprised but i am bitter. this book left a sour taste in my mouth and made me feel really bad about myself which was something i hadn't reckoned with when i picked up this cozy fantasy. tbh i initially was going to masochistically read the sequel out of morbid curiosity but then i remembered that i can read literally anything else instead lol the hater gods spared me just for once😅

2024 reading updates | goodreads

[blueiscoool]

Masterpiece or Hot Mess?

Here Are 7 Bad Paintings by Famous Artists.

Even the most adept of painters can totally miff it.

Ah, the expressive brush strokes of Van Gogh, and oh, Chagall’s dreamy scenes! Celebrated artists throughout history have produced some of the world’s most ravishing works, executed with an unparalleled mastery of light and color, line and space. But let’s face it: they also turned out their share of duds. We’re not talking about paintings intended to capture the grotesquerie of human life, but artworks that evidence clumsy mark-making, questionable choices, or a rudimentary hand. Even the most adept of painters, it seems, have their off days.

Don’t believe? Here are seven artworks by famous artists that will make you question their credentials.

Henri Matisse Portrait of Sarah Stein (1916)

Matisse’s portraits are recognized for their evocative planes that seem to bear out the sitters’ psychological states. But not so much in this work. Part of a double portrait of his patrons, Michael and Sarah Stein, Matisse here has rendered Mrs. Stein sans dimensions, her facial features overly simplified and her neck caught between what seem like giant scissor blades. His vibrant palette is also absent here, save for the light patches he slapped onto Stein’s face. Even the study Matisse did of Stein looks grades better than this completed portrait—just saying.

Edvard Munch Angry Dog (1938–43)

In case you couldn’t tell, Munch did not like this dog. While the Norwegian artist was certainly an animal lover, this pooch, which belonged to his neighbor, was apparently an untamed beast that did not endear itself to Munch. “I have myself many times on dark nights been attacked by it,” he wrote, “even right outside my own house.” Such behavior only slightly excuses this hastily daubed piece of nightmare fuel, in which the titular dog seems not so much angry as ready to escort you to the underworld.

Marc Chagall Hommage à Apollinaire (study) (1911)

Granted, Chagall’s work has tended toward the whimsical and symbolic, but this garish work, a study for his ode to poet Guillaume Apollinaire, is probably best left unseen. While the piece is meant to depict the conjoined bodies of Adam and Eve, it instead captures confused proportions and a gaudily muddled background. To be fair, it is a study, which did pave the way for a stunning avant-garde canvas, so we’ll go easy on this one.

Vincent van Gogh Young Man with Cornflower (1890)

Sorry to break it to you, but Van Gogh produced a handful of real lemons in his day. Our vote, however, must go to his painting of a youth he encountered at Auvers-sur-Oise. Surely, the artist’s intention was to capture the subject’s sunbaked complexion and radiant smile—the “je ne sais quoi of the eternal,” as Van Gogh described it. But what he turned out was a green-eyed, spotty-cheeked, pointy-eared creature, his discolored lips clamping down on a cornflower stem. I don’t know what, indeed.

Georg von Rosen The Sphinx (1887)

Though hardly the most well-known name on this list, Swedish painter Georg von Rosen was recognized toward the end of the 19th century for his finely detailed historical scenes, created in strict academic style. Which makes this 1887 artwork downright baffling. Von Rosen’s portrayal of the mythical critter has the body of a lion and the head of a human female, except the proportions are so out of whack that it distracts from the meticulously drawn work. Seriously, where’s her neck at, Georg?

Pablo Picasso Fillette à la corbeille fleurie (1905)

Put aside, if you can, the grossly asymmetrical power dynamics of a grown man having a child pose in the nude for him, and still, this early Picasso canvas is, well, not his best. The face of the mononymous “Linda” is drawn with some evocative world-weariness, but she’s otherwise clumsily rendered (the work’s one-time owner Gertrude Stein bemoaned the girl was painted with “feet like a monkey”). Not that the circumstances and gaucheness of the painting hurt its market: this hot mess was snapped up for $115 million at Christie’s in 2018.

Rembrandt van Rijn Stone Operation (Allegory of Touch) (c. 1624–25)

At 18, Rembrandt created a series of paintings, each an allegory of one of the five senses. Understandably for a young—but no less gifted—artist, these works don’t reach the level of realism and tenebrism that marked the Dutch master’s later works. Smell and Hearing are forgivable, but Touch, showing a man undergoing a quack operation, is downright cartoonish, from the doctor’s three-fingered hand to the onlooker’s pinhole eye. Surely, the scene is meant to be comical, but not this much of a joke.

By Artnet News.

Top Painting: Vincent van Gogh, Madame Roulin and Her Baby, (1888).

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: LGBTQ Novels Inspired by Greek Mythology, Part III

For even more, check out Part I and Part II. The Song of Us by Kate Fussner (MG) Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood (YA) Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane HERC by Phoenicia Rogerson Crown of Starlight by Cait Corrain Bonus: Lion’s Legacy by L.C. Rosen is inspired by Greek history, and The Palace of Eros by Carolina de Robertis isn’t available for preorder yet, but keep it on your radar!

[jenni3penny]

FEBRUARY 2024: READING LIST

Lavender House, Lev AC Rosen: 4.50/5.0 Fiction & LGBTQIA+, 274pgs

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done, 3.75/5.0, Schechter & Powell: Graphic Novel & Biographical, 224pgs

Heartstopper: Vol. 2, Alice Oseman: 3.50/5.0, Graphic Novel & LGBTQIA+, 320pgs 

Moloka'i, Alan Brennert: 3.75/5.0, Fiction & Historical, 416pgs

Vanessa and Her Sister, Priya Parmar: 4.50/5.0, Fiction & Biographical, 384pgs

Wit, Margaret Edson: 3.75/5.0, Play & Literary, 85pgs

Selected Letters of Vanessa Bell, Bell & Marler: 4.25/5.0, Autobiographical & Literary, 593pgs

Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher: 4.0/5.0, Fiction & Fantasy, 243pgs

The Sisters’ Arts, Diane Filby Gillespie: 4.0/5.0, Biographical & Literary, 376pgs

Snapshots of Bloomsbury, Maggie Humm: 4.25/5.0, Biographical & Literary, 240pgs 

There Is Always Universe, Tiffany Aurora: 3.0/5.0, Poetry & Literary, 102pgs

Blue Horses, Mary Oliver: 3.50/5.0, Poetry & Literary, 96pgs

The Cassandra, Sharma Shields: 3.75/5.0, Fiction & Historical, 304pgs

Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss: 3.50/5.0, Fiction & Historical, 152pgs

Canto for a Gypsy, Martin Cruz Smith: 3.25/5.0, Fiction & Thriller, 176pgs

***

MOST ENTERTAINING: Vanessa and Her Sister & Lavender House

LEAST ENTERTAINING: Canto for a Gypsy & There Is Always Universe 

PAGES PER FEBRUARY: 3,985 (+94)

PAGES YTD: 7,876

[starryeyedjanai]

rules: list 9 favorite books of 2023 or 9 books on your TBR list for 2024

tagged by @pearynice 🩷🩷🩷

these are 9 books on my tbr list for this year!

The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen— sequel to The Lavender House which is really good!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Dearly by Margaret Atwood— i used to read Margaret Atwood's books in high school and i'm super excited to read her poems!

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

tagging: @sidekick-hero @judasofsuburbia @steddieas-shegoes @tboygareth @puppy-steve

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Read in January 2024

*facepalm* I've just realised I actually read two really good books this month despite what I've said in my other wrap-up posts. Butch is a Noun and Stone Butch Blues (a reread) were absolutely wonderful - I forgot about them because I haven't got physical copies 😂

the rest of my reads were a bit underwhelming but at least I crossed off lots of stuff from my TBR 😊

Series read:

Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known - 4/5

Evander Mills series by Lev AC Rosen

Lavender House - 4/5

The Bell and the Fog - 4/5

Backlog books:

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick - DNF

Other reads:

Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby & AJ Sass - 3/5 (audio)

Butch is a Noun by S Bear Bergman - 4/5

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis - 4/5

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg - 5/5 (reread)

Very Bad People by Kit Frick - 4/5 (audio)

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand - 2/5 (audio)

Cackle by Rachel Harrison - 3/5 (audio)

Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly - 4/5

The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein - 4/5 (audio)

The Complete MAUS by Art Spiegelman - 4/5

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang - 4/5

Spinning by Tillie Walden - 4/5

[alldancersaretalented]

Radix Wins By Dancer

Crystal Huang (15)

Dyllan Blackburn (11)

Harlow Ganz (10)

Aaliyah Dixon, Charlotte Cogan, Kiarra Waidelich (8)

Easton Magliarditi, Kya Massimino, Selenda Hamilton (7)

Ella Horan, Gracyn French, Sam McWilliams, Savannah Kristich (6)

Campbell Clark, Carrigan Paylor, Casey Tran, Ellary Day Szyndlar, Isabella Jarvis, Kensington Dressing, Lucia Piedrahita, Victoria Martinez (5)

Ava Wagner, Brady Farrar, Cami Vorhees, Elliana Mannella, Ian Stegeman, Izzy Howard, Jaxon Willard, Kylee Casares, Laci Stoico, Maddie Martineau, Morgan Higgins, Sarah Moore, Savannah Manzel, Sierra Dynkowski, Tiago Pacheco (4)

Addison Middleton, Angelina Elliott, Anthony Curley, Aurielle Balija, Ava Costa, Avery Pesson, Bella Tagle, Brightyn Brems, Calla Massey, Cambry Bethke, Carly Thrinfen, Charlee Fagan, Chau, Coltrane Vodicka, Elizabeth Lanier, Ella Jones, Emily McFarland, Emily Polis, Erin Wienke, Hailey Bills, Hannah Rickman, Kelsie Jacobson, Kennedy Anderson, Lauren Yakima, Leila Winkler, Lilly Anderson, Lola Iglesias, Mila Renae, Penelope LeMieux, Payton MacDonald, Rachel Quiner, Regan Gerena, Riley Zeitler, Sage Rosen, Stella Brinkerhoff, Sydney Burtis (3)

[batboyblog]

Super Gay Reading List

The Long Run by James Acker Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli Another Dimension of Us by Mike Albo Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak Alan Cole Is Not a Coward by Eric Bell Alan Cole Doesn’t Dance by Eric Bell The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara Peter Darling by Austin Chant Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich Half Bad by Sally Green Half Wild by Sally Green Half Lost by Sally Green Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green Gay Club by Simon James Green We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra Totally Joe by James Howe After School Activities by Dirk Hunter At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly Straight by Jeff Jacobson Haffling by Caleb James The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune A Destiny of Dragons by T.J. Klune The Consumption of Magic by T.J. Klune A Wish Upon the Stars by T.J. Klune The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune Flash Fire by T.J. Klune Heat Wave by T.J. Klune The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan Every Day by David Levithan Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden When Ryan Came Back by Devon McCormack Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Fraternity by Andy Mientus The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller Hero by Perry Moore I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson More Than This by Patrick Ness Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid Kens by Raziel Reid Jack of Hearts by Lev A.C. Rosen Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer All Kinds of Other by James Sie They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Freak Show by James St. James Ray of Sunlight by Brynn Stein The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis 366 Days by Kiyoshi Tanaka The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes Always the Almost by Edward Underhill Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Blue= realistic fiction Purple=fantasy/magic Green=for younger readers Pink=sci fi/magical realism

if you want help picking out a book send me an ask, also I love it when people let me know they read a book off the list