pickThat was fucking weird (complimentary). BUT NOT TOO BOLD is sapphic monster mystery romance with a strong Gothic undercurrent. Normally I find the "all vibes" for hundreds of pages of gothic fiction tedious, so this novella length was perfect for me. Do not read if you're afraid of spiders, or, conversely, if you love them so much you'd be distraught to hear of them being deep-fried and eaten. #QueerBooks #LGBTQ
pickA mouth-watering and twisty mystery! The no-nonsense protagonist is Sagarine, a passionate chef whose love of food permeates most of the book's pages, when she isn't lamenting her attraction to a gorgeous Russian gangster for whom she finds herself working after the head chef of the restaurant where she works is found murdered. Fast-paced and compelling! I found Sagarine's truly terrible life decisions believable and the twists very well done.
I am intrigued by the premise of this book (a main character with dissociative identity disorder who has to solve a murder in a castle on an isolated island in a storm??) but can anyone else who's read this confirm (or not) if there are LGBTQ characters? I saw it tagged as a queer mystery but no signs yet 50 pages in. #QueerBooks
pickWhat if you woke up to your last night's date dead, and a mistake you made might have killed them? This book dips in and out of being a thriller, also giving time to self-discovery/relationships. The genre mashup works for an entertaining and suspenseful read, poignant and full of insight. Incredibly funny, if you find bad gay sex and a 20s author and his 60s literary agent lugging around a dead body in NYC trying to get rid of it funny (I do).
pickWhile it was lovely to hear the Cree in this book spoken aloud, I don't think audiobook was the best choice for this, as the print copy is full of art! The book traces the literal beginning of time to 19th cent. from the perspective of a queer Cree shape-shifting immortal being. Often funny, very sexy, and scathing. Europeans come out looking, rightly so, as heartless idiots. I would have liked more content that didn't focus on colonization.
The #bisexual choas in this reality TV crime thriller is delightfully ridiculous #QueerBooks
pickA devastatingly sad but fiercely life-affirming book about an 18-year-old whose only family, the grandpa who raised her, dies the summer before she goes away to university. It takes place alternately in that summer and the Christmas after, where Marin's best friend/ex-girlfriend travels to her dorm to try to reconnect after Marin's grief has wrenched them apart. Absolutely beautiful, no notes. #QueerBooks #LesbianBooks
pickIn unsentimental, spare prose, Coetzee tells the story of two murders in a Cape Town neighbourhood called The Shadows. Coetzee is great at getting the distinct POV of each character from the friend group. The passages from Carl's perspective were particularly gutting: "I always wondered why grownups drank the way they did, until I became a grownup the day mom died." Coetzee originally wrote this novel in Kaaps, a spoken language in South Africa.
pickA intense ride of a thriller with cinematic fight scenes. Full of striking images: Shoko is "like a crane in a landfill". Full of female rage and pulpy in vibes a la martial arts movies, this is violent, as you'd expect from a story about a young woman fighter being kidnapped and forced to work for the Japanese mafia, but not gratuitously so. Otani pulls off an incredibly well done twist and excellent character development. Unconventionally queer.
pickA wholesome, funny, lighthearted, and nostalgic cozy mystery starring a Gen Z (25-year-old) bi protagonist who's a former famous child detective a la Nancy Drew but not quite sure how to be an adult and still indulge her investigative tendencies. I think this book is doing a great job at what it's trying to do. Also: entertaining banter with friend group! New adult representation! Funny in queer specific ways!Cheeky old fashioned chapter titles!
