I honestly can’t believe that it is June already – how has half of the year flown by so quickly?! June means many things, but one of which is that it is Pride Month! Here is my tentative TBR of books that I already own but haven’t yet read.
Lesbian: Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman
Small-batch independent yarn dyer Clara Ziegler is eager to brainstorm new color combinations–if only she could come up with ideas she likes as much as last time! When she sees Danielle Solomon’s paintings of Florida wildlife by chance at a neighborhood gallery, she finds her source of inspiration. Outspoken, passionate, and complicated, Danielle herself soon proves even more captivating than her artwork…
Gay: City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault
Isandor, City of Spires.
A hundred and thirty years have passed since Arathiel last set foot in his home city. Isandor hasn’t changed—bickering merchant families still vie for power through eccentric shows of wealth—but he has. His family is long dead, a magical trap has dulled his senses, and he returns seeking a sense of belonging now long lost.
Arathiel hides in the Lower City, piecing together a new life among in a shelter dedicated to the homeless and the poor, befriending an uncommon trio: the Shelter’s rageful owner, Larryn, his dark elven friend Hasryan, and Cal the cheese-loving halfling. When Hasryan is accused of Isandor’s most infamous assassination of the last decade, what little peace Arathiel has managed to find for himself is shattered. Hasryan is innocent… he thinks. In order to save him, Arathiel may have to shatter the shreds of home he’d managed to build for himself.
Arathiel could appeal to the Dathirii—a noble elven family who knew him before he disappeared—but he would have to stop hiding, and they have battles of their own to fight. The idealistic Lord Dathirii is waging a battle of honour and justice against the cruel Myrian Empire, objecting to their slavery, their magics, and inhumane treatment of their apprentices. One he could win, if only he could convince Isandor’s rulers to stop courting Myrian’s favours for profit.
In the ripples that follow Diel’s opposition, friendships shatter and alliances crumble. Arathiel, the Dathirii, and everyone in Isandor fights to preserve their homes, even if the struggle changes them irrevocably.
Bisexual: The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember
Having long-wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year-old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the mermen’s glacier. But when Ersel’s childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier’s brutal king.
Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from Loki. But such deals are never as one expects, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she’s known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she’s come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.
Trans: Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans
Jalen, lover of B-grade sci-fi movies, meets the far-too-handsome P in a cafe while deciding whether or not to skip uni again. When P invites them along to a double feature of Robot Monster and Cat Women of the Moon, Jalen can hardly believe that hot boys like bad sci-fi, too. But as their relationship progresses, Jalen realizes P leaves him wondering if they’re on the same page about what dating means, and if that’s what they’re doing.
Non-binary: Ida by Alison Evans
How do people decide on a path, and find the drive to pursue what they want?
Ida struggles more than other young people to work this out. She can shift between parallel universes, allowing her to follow alternative paths.
One day Ida sees a shadowy, see-through doppelganger of herself on the train. She starts to wonder if she’s actually in control of her ability, and whether there are effects far beyond what she’s considered.
How can she know, anyway, whether one universe is ultimately better than another? And what if the continual shifting causes her to lose what is most important to her, just as she’s discovering what that is, and she can never find her way back?
Asexual: Sea Foam and Silence by Lynn E. O’Connacht
Be careful what you wish for…
She warned of the pain. She did.
But no warning can prepare you.
Nothing can.How could I have known
What it is like on the dry sand?
We just watched.It’s hard, not being able to ask
Questions, though I have learned some speech
With my hands. ˆ_ˆI miss my sisters.
I have made friends here.
I have laughed with them,
Learned with them, played with them.
I love them.She said I would die if he loves someone else.
Will I die? At the beginning I wanted to. It hurts
So much. Life isn’t easy, will never be easy, but…
I don’t want to become sea foam.
Aromantic: Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver
The city of Parole is burning. Like Venice slips into the sea, Parole crumbles into fire.
The entire population inside has been quarantined, cut off from the rest of the world, and left to die – directly over the open flame. Eye in the Sky, a deadly and merciless police force ensures no one escapes. Ever. All that’s keeping Parole alive is faith in the midst of horrors and death, trust in the face of desperation… and their fantastic, terrifying, and beautiful superhuman abilities.
Regan, stealth and reconnaissance expert with a lizard’s scales and snake’s eyes, is haunted by ten years of anxiety, trauma and terror, and he’s finally reached his limit. His ability to disappear into thin air isn’t enough: he needs an escape, and he’ll do anything for a chance. Unluckily for him, Hans, a ghostly boy with a chilling smile, knows just the thing to get one. It starts with a little murder.
But instead of ending a man’s life, Regan starts a new one of his own. He turns away from that twisted path, and runs into Evelyn, fearless force on stage and sonic-superheroic revolutionary on the streets. Now Regan has a choice – and a chance to not only escape from Parole, but unravel the mystery deep in its burning heart. And most of all, discover the truth about their own entwining pasts.
I don’t know how many of these I will actually get to, as I am also doing the Ramadan Readathon, but I’m hoping to read as many as possible, particularly the non-binary, aro, and ace books. If you’ve got any recommendations for me, particularly for identities that I haven’t included in this post, please let me know!
I’m reading your post and thinking, yes, this book, yes, this book, yes, this book, and then I get to the end where you ask for recommendations, I’m just like…you got the ones I’d recommend.
Also, I don’t know if you chose the books to fit to specific identities but City of Strife, Sea Foam & Silence and Chameleon Moon all include representation for more than one MOGAI identity.
Can’t wait to see what you think of The Seafarer’s Kiss, I still haven’t read/got it yet.
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Haha, brilliant!!! That’s what I like to hear 😀 And I didn’t know the specific identities in those books, so thanks very much! I knew the basics but not more than that.
I honestly don’t know why I haven’t read Seafarer’s Kiss yet!!
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I’ve heard good things about City of Strife! Hope you like it x
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Awesome! I’m really looking forward to it.
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I’ve only heard of one of these books Ida. The others sound great and I’m adding to my TBR now can’t wait to here what you think of them!
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Doesn’t Ida sound brilliant?! I’m glad I could put more LGBT+ books on your TBR!
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I’m actually reading Ida now my hold came in! once I get off of work I plan on getting a chance to finish it!
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Yay, fantastic!!
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Love your TBR!!💜📚 Happy pride month! Also that you chose books for all the identities! I might be reading Chameleon too, got it waiting on my Kindle 🎉
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Happy pride month to you too! If I have time I want to read more intersectional LGBT+ books – I’ve realised now that this list is a bit white. Have you got any suggestions for me? I’ve already read Juliet Takes a Breath 🙂
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Thanks!😊 I posted my tbr today if that helps. Are you looking for specific intersections? Or genres?
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I’m always a fan of short stories – I know you did that excellent list of short fiction by black female authors, but do you know of any queer ones?
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Oh yes it’s actually a list of Black lesbian short fiction!😊
wocreads.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/10-works-of-black-lesbian-short-fiction/
Stuff I have on my tbr but not read:
she walks for days inside a thousand eyes – proulx-turner
Out, stories of new queer India
Waiting Room by Jamie Berrout
Two Spirit, Q and trans respectively. Hope that helps a bit, weirdly I’ve mostly read LGBTQIA poetry recently 😁 Also always ask Casey who’s got the most brilliant recs 👌
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Yes yes yes! I can’t wait for you to read all of these! I’m hoping to be able to get to City of Strife and Chameleon Moon this month!
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Me too!!! I’m really going to focus on those last three I think – I’ve been seeing all the shit that ace and aro bloggers have been getting on twitter so far this month, and I just…need to do something, even if it’s as small as just read and review. xx
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