#zr ellor

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[miabrown007]

"I want to sit in his light, if he would just stop trying to burn me."

ZR Ellor, May ​the Best Man Win

[bashsbooks]

I'm participating in the Trans Rights Readathon (March 20th-March 27th) created by Sims-bookstagrams-badly AND I'm doing this Trans Book Challenge (no time frame) on The StoryGraph!

My third book this week is Z.R. Ellor's May the Best Man Win!

I enjoy a high school rival romcom every now and then - and even moreso when they're queer. I've never read one with a trans MC before, though! He better win Homecoming King or I will riot (just kidding!).

This is another one that I was lucky enough to find at my local library. I'm always thrilled to check out queer books from the library because it shows them that there's a readership and encourages them to purchase more queer books.

The full summary of May the Best Man Win can be found here!

And you can donate to the Trans Health Legal Fund here or Mermaids here!

Happy trans reading y'all!!!

[queer-books-bracket]

[madlovenovelist]

#bookporn #coverlove

A gorgeous cover with representation of non-neurotypical, POC, and queer characters that was a little polarising for me, but a fun and interesting read. Review to come soon… Have you read any good book representing a minority lately that you want to recommend?

[void-star]

It's not about the class. It's about giving everyone what they want from me. But I can't give Ben what he wants and needs. The world flickers out of view. I have nothing to say and no way to make this right. Panic surges within me. I need to go somewhere else. I need to be gone.

"Lukas!" Ben shouts as I turn my back on him. "You can't just run away from me."

But I can. I can slide deep into myself, shut the world out, and storm away.

People underestimate the strength of the YA genre for real cause holy shit.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Romances to Love All Year Round

🦇 Good morning, my beloved bookish bats. We're halfway through pride month, but there are still so many amazing queer books to read! To celebrate that love is love mentality, here are 78 queer romance novels you can add to your tbr! Don't forget to #readqueerallyear, and that none of us are free until all of us are free. 💜

❤️ Delilah Green Doesn’t Care - Ashley Herring Blake 🧡 Skye Falling - Mia McKenzie 💛 The Breakup Lists - Adib Khorram 💚 Prince of the Palisades - Julian Winters 💙 Solomon’s Crown - Natasha Siegel 💜 The Borrow a Boyfriend Club - Page Powars

❤️ Full Shift - Jennifer Dugan 🧡 A Shore Thing - Joanna Lowell 💛 Showmance - Chad Beguelin 💚 Exes & Foes - Amanda Woody 💙 Full Disclosure - Camryn Garrett 💜 When You Were Everything - Ashley Woodfolk

❤️ Playing the Palace - Paul Rudnick 🧡 I’m So (Not) Over You - Kosoko Jackson 💛 When Katie Met Cassidy - Camille Perri 💚 Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat 💙 The Lovers - Rebekah Faubion 💜 That Summer Feeling - Bridget Morrissey

❤️ Wild Things - Laura Kay 🧡 Experienced - Kate Young 💛 Lose You to Find Me - Erik J. Brown 💚 The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School - Sonora Reyes 💙 Nate Plus One - Kevin van Whye 💜 Countries of Origin - Javier Fuentes

❤️ The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons 🧡 But How Are You, Really - Ella Dawson 💛 Looking for a Sign - Susie Dumond 💚 The Prospects - KT Hoffman 💙 Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo 💜 Malice - Heather Walter

❤️ You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson 🧡 Let’s Talk about Love - Claire Kann 💛 Bonds of Brass - Emily Skrutskie 💚 Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places - Claire Kann 💙 The Stars and the Blackness Between Them - Junauda Petrus 💜 In Charm’s Way - Lana Harper

❤️ Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour 🧡 Marriage of a Thousand Lies - SJ Sindu 💛 I Think I Love You - Auriane Desombre 💚 Lavash at First Sight - Taleen Voskuni 💙 The Bump - Sidney Karger 💜 The Disenchantment - Celia Bell

❤️ The Dos and Donuts of Love - Adiba Jaigirdar 🧡 Riley Weaver Needs A Date To The Gaybutante Ball - Jason June 💛 Epically Earnest - Molly Horan 💚 Out of the Blue - Jason June 💙 Flip the Script - Lyla Lee 💜 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli

❤️ Café Con Lychee - Emery Lee 🧡 A Little Bit Country - Brian D. Kennedy 💛 Late to the Party - Kelly Quindlen 💚 The Key to You and Me - Jaye Robin Brown 💙 What If It’s Us - Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera 💜 The Falling in Love Montage - Ciara Smyth

❤️ The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre - Robin Talley 🧡 Meet Cute Diary - Emery Lee 💛 Love & Other Natural Disasters - Misa Sugiura 💚 Date Me, Bryson Keller - Kevin van Whye 💙 Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster - Andrea Mosqueda 💜 Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

❤️ She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott - Alyson Derrick 🧡 Home Field Advantage - Dahlia Adler 💛 The (Un)Popular Vote - Jasper Sanchez 💚 Melt With You - Jennifer Dugan 💙 Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler 💜 Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar

❤️ I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 🧡 Jay’s Gay Agenda - Jason June 💛 Triple Sec - TJ Alexander 💚 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💙 I’ll Be the One - Lyla Lee 💜 This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story - Kacen Callender

❤️ May the Best Man Win - ZR Ellor 🧡 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston 💛 Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings 💚 The Fiancee Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💙 Stars Collide - Rachel Lacey 💜 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur

[sysba]

book recommendations

my worstie @winesharksea tagged me teehee<3 idk who's been tagged in this already but psst @leondaltons @777greywolf and whoever wants to do this!!

the last book i read: ,,, thanks to zeph i have been reading and re reading and obsessing over all for the game. so yea. the sunshine court 😭

a book i recommend: i don't like recommending stuff in general because it depends on the person but i would say, howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones is fun!

a book that i couldn't put down: ditto on having a hard time putting down books, even when they're dreadful i usually wanna know how they end (cough cough sister, maiden, monster). that said,, gonna mention the heaven official's blessing series bc at that point i had not read anything in months and suddenly i was inhaling an 8-books series like it was nothing. a small miracle in the form of tragic lil gays, bless<3

a book i've read twice (or more): every book i have ever enjoyed has been read at least twice, they're not special JHJFFHSJKD i guess the record goes to room with a view because i was once on a family vacation for a month with only that and zoo station to read and after christiane f. i needed something happy... ty for your service, george emerson

a book on my TBR: god SO MANY i'm ashamed but it really is so easy to just re-read smth i know i like than venture into new books,,, but uhh i really wanna go through rf kuang's works! and give another try to gtn i guess

a book i've put down: i think the last one i gave up on was may the best man win by zr ellor? i was just having a horrible time with the main char's personality,, i've still read like half of it, i tried

a book on my wishlist: .......the sunshine court sequel JKDFJKFH jean moreau come back to me i will even cheer for france i swear--

a favourite book from my childhood: oh god,, chronicles of the emerged world. i read the trilogy in literally 24 hours when i was 11, i was Obsessed with it and anything by licia troisi tbh. i'm frankly scared to ever touch it again in case it doesn't hold up, i wanna keep the Memory fjklsfjkljsdflksf

a book you would give to a friend: i like when friends curse me so probably a really bad one

a book of poetry or lyrics you own: my 2 favs i own are probably a comprehensive collection of poems by eugenio montale and baudelaire's les fleurs du mal

a nonfiction book you own: i'll just go with the most recent buy which was i'm glad my mom died

what are you currently reading: reading off with their heads by zhm and possibly hatereading the cruel prince (not far enough to hate yet but i give it 2 chapters)

what are you planning on reading next: don't know if it'll be the next but ngl i really wanna try the raven cycle because i keep hearing it has similar vibes to aftg and i'm in the trenches lmao

[magicsilas]

My Underrated Book Recommendation!!

- The Neptune Project (Trilogy) By Polly Holyohe

- The Fever King (Duology) By Victoria Lee

- May The Best Man Win By Zr Ellor

- Escape From Furnace (5 books) By Alexander Gordon Smith

- I am Number Four (7 Books) By Pittacus Lore

- Alienated (Trilogy) By Melissa Landers

- You Were Here by Cory McCarthy

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Read in June 2024

I finally had some down time in June so I got to do some reading :D if only I'd found the energy to post more reviews too 🙈

Series read: The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig

One Dark Window - 3/5

Two Twisted Crowns - DNF

Veronica Speedwell Mysteries by Deanna Raybourn

A Grave Robbery - 5/5 (audio)

Backlog books:

The Nesting by CJ Cooke - 3/5

Nimona by ND Stevenson - 5/5

The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder - 3/5 (audio)

Other reads:

Metal From Heaven by August Clarke - 5/5 (ARC)

Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates - 4/5

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie - 4/5 (audio)

May the Best Man Win by ZR Ellor - 2/5 (audio)

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin - 5/5

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey - 4/5 (audio)

Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough - 1/5

Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry - 3/5 (audio)

Epically Earnest by Molly Horan - 3/5 (audio)

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - 5/5 (audio/reread)

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee - 4/5

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie - 4/5 (audio)

You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie - 5/5 (audio)

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid - 2/5 (audio)

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes - 4/5 (audio)

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes - 4/5 (audio)

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St Jude - 4/5 (audio)

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay - 3/5

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom

Ana on the Edge by AJ Sass

Finna by Nino Cipri

Homie by Danez Smith

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

A Place Called No Homeland by Kai Cheng Thom

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Our Bloody Pearl by DN Bryn

Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada (English translation by Kit Maude)

Femme in Public by Alok Vaid-Menon

From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom and Kai Yun Ching

May the Best Man Win by ZR Ellor

Trans Wizard Harriet Porber and the Bad Boy Parasaurolophus by Chuck Tingle

The Witch King by HE Edgmon

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya

Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation by Eli Clare

Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith

Dreadnought by April Daniels

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Oh wow, that‘s a gigantic and incredible list! Thank you for the submissions, they were added :)

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

the other me by xan van rooyen (trans mc)

this rebel heart by katherine lock (polyam relationship, two bisexual mcs, one gay side character)

iron widow by xiran jay zhao (polyam relationship, three bisexual mcs, mc is also possibly nb or genderqueer)

call down the hawk by maggie Stiefvater (gay mc, bisexual mc, bisexual side character)

the prey of gods by Nicky drayden (can’t remember the specific kind of rep)

it’s not like it’s a secret (lesbian characters and relationship. please maybe note on the poll that the submitter would really really not recommend this book? i think it’s important to let people know of queer books, but also this book relied on so many stereotypes — about lesbians and Asian-Americans — and had a cheating subplot and was just….)

beating heart baby by lio min (trans mc)

the borrow a boyfriend club by page powars

may the best man win by zr Ellor (trans mc, bisexual mc, nonbinary mc, queer side character)

a promise broken by Lynn o cochroft (trans, aroace guy is one of the two mcs)

not your sidekick by cb Lee (lesbian mc, sapphic relationship, trans side character)

always the almost by Edward underhill

the spirit bares its teeth and hell followed with us both by aj white

a day of fallen night and the priory of the orange tree by Samantha shannon

generation one by pittacus lore (gay mc, not a huge part of the plot though. but confirmed in-text)

last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo

you’re not supposed to die tonight by kalynn bayron

lady midnight and sword catcher both by Cassandra clare

Star Wars: black spire by delilah s Dawson (aroace mc)

Star Wars: the empire strikes back 40th anniversary short story compilation (idk if it counts as a queer book but one short story was a sapphic love story)

one of us is lying by Karen mcmanus

two tuns of fun by

birthday by Meredith russo

invisibly breathing by

i’ll give you the sun by judy Nelson (i think! not sure if i’m remembering her name right)

brooms the graphic novel by jasmine walls

this queer girl is going to be okay by dale walls

two mummies / two daddies (kids picture books)

death’s country by rm romero

redsight by Meredith mooring

the death i gave him by em li xu (tumblr would LOVE this book)

Been outside by shaz zamore

ALSO: a note to op. this blog is such a great idea, but have you considered setting up a google form for submissions instead? they work for people who don’t have Google accounts, and you can export the entries to a spreadsheet automatically instead of manually that way too. if you let submitters view previous responses you can prevent repeats too?

I've queued most of these! Exceptions below:

-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary short story compilation: since only one of the stories is queer, I'm not going to include it. This is absolutely arbitrary, I realize, but for short story collections, I'm looking for them to be mostly queer.

-Two Tuns of Fun: I couldn't find any book by this name.

-Two Mummies / Two Daddies (kids picture books): are these individual books? I couldn't find anything with these exact titles.

-Beating Heart Baby and The Priory of the Orange Tree were already queued (they were both in my initial batch of queued books prior to going live with the blog).

The google form is a good idea and something I'll consider! At the moment, it doesn't save me any work, and actually creates more. I would need to check every submission anyway to make sure it's correct and in the format I want it in. Currently I've got a Google Sheets spreadsheet with all books (both queued and posted) for people to check if their suggestion has already been submitted. Thanks for the idea, though!

[miabrown007]

'“Sick moves, man!” My back stung from the blow, and the tight press of my binder on my diaphragm nearly made me vomit, but whatever. The lacrosse captain thinks I have sick moves.'

ZR Ellor, May ​the Best Man Win

[trvbblemaker]

MY 2023 BOOK LIST!

January

Neighborhood Girls by Jessie Ann Foley

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

The Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green (graphic novel)

If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber

Spells For Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Blaine For the Win by Robbie Couch

She’s Too Pretty To Burn by Wendy Heard

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman

January Favorite: Spells For Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

February

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (reread)

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler (reread)

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan (reread)

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

This Is Not a Love Scene by S. C. Megale

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

Better Together by Christine Riccio

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

February Favorite: Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

March

Stuck With You by Ali Hazelwood

The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund

Exactly Where You Need to Be by Amelia Diane Coombes

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (reread)

Together, Apart by Various Authors (short stories)

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae

Heartbreakers and Fakers by Cameron Lund

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

March Favorite: See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

April

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Planning Perfect by Haley Neil

Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

Afterglow by Phil Stamper

Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker (graphic novel)

Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti 

     April Favorite: Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

May

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman (reread)

Solitaire by Alice Oseman (reread)

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (reread)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (reread)

Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins

This is Our Place by Vitor Martins

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney

Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levensen

Happy Place by Emily Henry

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan

May Favorite: Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levensen

June

Divergent by Veronica Roth (reread)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (reread)

Allegiant by Veronica Roth (reread)

If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (reread)

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (reread)

June Favorite: If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch

July

The Death Cure by James Dashner (reread)

The Fever Code by James Dashner (reread)

May the Best Man Win by ZR Ellor

Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June 

July Favorite: Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June

August

Vampires, Hearts & Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston

The Long Run by James Acker

Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (reread)

Five Feet Apart by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott, and Tobias Iaconis (reread)

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

The Lucky List Rachael Lippincott (reread)

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick (reread)

Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy

If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So

Remind Me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason

August Favorite: Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

September

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

The Girl Least Likely by Katy Loutzenhiser

Faith: Greater Heights by Julie Murphy

Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See

Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo (graphic novel)

All This Time by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott (reread)

Loveless by Alice Oseman (reread) 

Coming Up For Air by Nicole B. Tyndall

Study Break by Various Authors (Collection of Short Stories)

September Favorite: Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See

October

The Night In Question by Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson

I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers

Running by Natalia Sylvester

The Kate in Between by Claire Swinarski

10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston

Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown

All Signs Point to Yes by Various Authors (Collection of Short Stories)

October Favorite: Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

November

Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown

Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler

Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (reread)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (reread)

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (reread)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (reread)

November Favorite: Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler

December

How To Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

Look on the Bright Side by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann (graphic novel)

Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester

Surprisingly Sarah by Terri Libenson (Graphic Novel)

Sincerely, Confusingly, Yours by Hailey Gonzales

December Favorite: How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

2023 Book Total: 104

-+-

i hope you all know that sharing this with you means a lot to me. this is who i am in a list. my book taste, the number of books i read, the authors i like. this is a part of me, and you are getting it. happy 2024

[gxldencity]

This is so inconsequential about everything else in the James Somerton exposé but ZR Ellor's May The Best Man Win appears on the list of Somerton's favourite books of 2022—a book that said lesbians have it easier than gay men. That's not all. ZR Ellor's other pen name is Zabé Ellor and last year he published an adult fantasy named Silk Fire under that name where besides being horribly written and trying too hard to be Kushiel's Dart, it also has -check notes- a toxic matriarchal society led by evil butch lesbians

So u know....James Somerton would def eat that shit up 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[juneberrie]

THIS NIGHT IS SPARKLING 🪩 — send me a random fact about yourself and i'll tell you which of my favorite books you remind me of!

i really love baking while watching hockey<3 (doing that rn!!)

ooh okay so my first thought was may the best man win by zr ellor but also tweet cute by emma lord !!!