#the first sister

[aroaessidhe]

Sci-fi books where a queer woman has the ghost of an annoying dead guy in her head

*Misery is nonbinary (she/they) and who’s in her head is not dead or a guy but I’m counting it, okay

[wondereads]

Achillean Book Recs for Pride 2024

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Young Adult, magical realism, 4.12 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Young Adult, high fantasy, 4.52 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Young Adult, mystery thriller, 4.27 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.34 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Adult, space opera, 4.07 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Adult, fantasy romance, 4.29 star average (my rating: 4.87 stars)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Adult, fantasy romance, 4.44 star average (my rating: 4.7 stars)

Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Adult, fantasy romance, 4.5 star average (my rating: 4.67 stars)

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 3.88 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.07 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

Young Adult, fantasy romance, 3.93 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 3.87 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

New Adult, sports/thriller, 3.85 star average (my rating: 3 stars)

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

Adult, high fantasy, 3.72 star average

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis

Adult, space opera, 3.93 star average

Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson

Adult, fantasy romance, 3.43 star average

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Adult, fantasy romance, 4.37 star average

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

Adult, gothic fantasy, 4.12 star average

Darker by Four by June CL Tan

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.11 star average

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy and A. R. Capetta

Young Adult, sci-fantasy, 3.57 star average

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Young Adult, post-apocalyptic horror, 4.2 star average

[dylanobrienisbatman]

For fans of The Expanse, I highly recommend The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis.

It has a similar world building of a near-future space opera where humans have colonized space (including venus and mercury), where we follow three primary political factions (the geans of earth and mars, the icarii of venus and mercury, and the asters of the asteroid belt) in a political thriller in the midst of an ongoing war and inter-factional conflict. Gripping plot, entrancing characters, and stellar plot twists, I can't recommend this book enough and I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Adult Space Opera Series, Part I

The Farian War by K.B. Wagers Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell The Salvagers and The Starmetal Symphony by Alex White The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis Teixcalaan by Arkady Martine

[wizardnaturalist]

I hate souji val akira so much it's unreal. "oh I cant stop now, it would disrespect shinyas sacrifice" shut the FUCK up, shinya didnt sacrifice shit. YOU sacrificed HIM

[jedaos]

the first sister was disappointing, actually. the worldbuilding is so strong on a conceptual level but the writing doesn't do many of the themes or plots justice, and almost all of the characters felt flat/one-dimensional except maybe hiro during their voice recordings. the "twist" wasn't well executed at all; even surprise reveals should have previous establishment and foreshadowing involved in its buildup.

[no1islost]

Nobody asked, but out of the 20 books I read this year, here are a few:

Most Favorite Book:

The First Sister Trilogy by Linden A Lewis

I’m reading the last book of the trilogy right now, but The First Sister, The Second Rebel, and The Last Hero might be my new favorite book series. A Space Opera. Two factions: Earth & Mars vs Venus & Mercury. Science & Technology vs Spirituality & Tradition. Told from various POVs that are interconnected. Hierarchy, scandal, and government coverups. 10/10 recommend. (This series has good narrators on Audible if you want an audio experience while reading like I sometimes do).

Most Difficult Book:

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

This book didn’t list any trigger warnings, but quite literally hit all of them. Not a book for the weak. Extremely brutal, heavy, and hard to digest topics. I so badly wanted to DNF this one, but I’m not a quitter. Very difficult to understand the way it was written, too. Had to listen to the audio book as I read along to help comprehend. But I did appreciate the difficulty and the African lore. Not sure I will read the sequel.

Most Enjoyable Book:

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

I mean, who doesn’t love a woman professor who secretly murders male students that get away with SA with their classmates? The twist was good and I honestly didn’t make the connection until it slapped me in the face. Also wlw representation. Really highlights the fury many of us feel when boys get away with this ish.

Most Meaningful Book

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sôsuke Natsukawa

Super sweet, heartwarming read. A little bit of grief mixed in with a love of books and a dying bookstore. Saved by a magical cat and a boy.

Most Conceptually Intriguing

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Commentary on how heroes actually do the most damage, but told in a fun, superhero world way. I think if anyone likes marvel or dc, they should read this. This concept was really interesting and was nice to see a “villain’s” POV. The ending irritated me, though.

I started a lot of interesting reads this year, too, but won’t have them finished in time. So here’s to some good reads in 2023!

[booksandwords]

Math, like war, should be performed with cool head.

Lito sol Lucius (The First Sister, Linden A. Lewis)

[aorticwhimsy]

just finished reading the first sister, this book would be so much better if it had canon lesbians. i thought i was getting something beautiful with saito ren but then my world came crumbling down in front of me. 5/5 stars tho

[snarkspawn]

little doodle of bellara with her hair down

[airoarts]

yellowfang, i wish you were here. my sister is dying.

ID in alt and under cut

ID: digital painting of Cinderpelt and Brightpaw from Warriors. They are two cats curled around each other. Brightpaw, a ginger-and-white cat, is badly injured with cobwebs as bandages around her face and other injuries. She is unconscious and lying on her side in a moss nest. Cinderpelt, a gray cat, is curled around her with her tail over Brightpaw's back, looking at her with concern. They are in a shaded den surrounded by autumnal ferns, with a pool of water in the corner, and a strip of bright sunlight illuminating their faces. end ID.

[wondereads]

Genderqueer Book Recs for Pride 2024

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (trans)

New Adult, low fantasy, 3.89 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Dragonfall by L. R. Lam (genderfluid)

Adult, fantasy romance, 3.68 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (trans)

Young Adult GN, historical fiction, 4.37 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (trans)

Young Adult, historical horror, 4.58 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens (nonbinary)

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.2 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (trans)

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.34 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (genderfluid)

Adult, high fantasy, 4.25 star average

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan (nonbinary)

Adult, historical fantasy, 4 star average

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (trans)

Young Adult, high fantasy, 4.4 star average

The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector (genderfluid)

Adult, high fantasy, 4.23 star average

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis (nonbinary)

Adult, space opera, 3.93 star average

Seven Devils by L. R. Lam and Elizabeth May (trans/nonbinary)

Adult, space opera, 4.03 star average

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White (trans)

Young Adult, postapocalyptic horror, 4.2 star average

[chloesimaginationthings]

William Afton into the FNAF-verse

[maxgicalgirl]

Being a “Fun Fact !” kind of autistic is all fun and games until you get halfway through sharing an interesting tidbit and realize that it probably wasn’t appropriate to share in polite company and now you have to deal with the consequences :(

[mf-artdump]

I've been playing Splatoon since the very first game. And seeing my playable character in the first game reappear and grow in Splatoon 2 and 3, makes my heart clench with bittersweet joy because I grew up with them.

Splatoon grew and I also grew and I couldn't be happier to grow up together.

Thank you for the maritime memories.

[majubengel]

Goth Family sticker set ⚔️🦅👻