Marthese reviews Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Danika Ellis

“This has nestled between my breasts, lifted with my breath and listened to my heart.”

Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice is a historical fiction set during the time where ancient Rome controlled most of the Mediterranean and beyond. I love a good historical fiction set in ancient Rome, but there are so few with queer women! So when I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it.

The story is about a woman called Afra. Afra, which refers to the fact that she is from Africa, is from the kingdom of Kush, modern day Ethiopia and she is a hunter- or venatore (beast hunter) that served the ruler of her people. Due to really sad and angsty reasons she ended up as a slave. In the beginning, her situation is not so bad as Marcius, who she owned a life debt to and was her master, trusted her opinion and was a sort of friend to her.

The story is also about Cinnia, who comes from the Icene people in Britannia, modern day England. She was not raised as a warrior and would have rather been a storyteller at one point but soon learned to fight after sad and angsty circumstances in her life that then led her to be one of queen Boudicca’s female guards.

The story, as I mentioned is sad and angsty but also heart-warming as the two women discover each other and the ending did surprise me and kept me on my seat flipping pages. The beginning of the story sees Afra and Cinnia about to fight one another to the death in an arena, for the Emperor Nero; who I think in a paragraph the author summarised what he was all about rather than the tyrannical perception many people have of him. The chapters following the first show Afra’s and Cinnia’s stories and soon, they merge in Rome.

Cinnia’s and Afra’s relationship is the thing that grounds them to life. It’s the thing that keeps them going and helps them heal at the same time. They’re both strong women, that endured a lot and have their own scars. Afra is used at being the ‘top dog’ but sometimes Cinnia is better than her and Cinnia has lost so much and she only heals because of Afra’s care. Their relationship was easy to start but was difficult to maintain, they worked for it though. Most of the supporting characters are not nice, but I think, they are real and add to the story. There are even some historically famous background characters- the ancient history geek in me was ecstatic.

Be warned, there are a lot of triggers in this book, especially for death, mentions of rape, gruesome violence, animal to animal violence and slavery. Generally, these things are to be expected from this time period.

All in all, the book is well researched and at the end there is an explanatory note and glossary which I admit to liking a lot. Sometimes it may feel that with all the Latin words and life explanations, the story is a bit bumpy. It’s a historical fiction however, and I think it’s good to build the history part as well as fiction. I think Bonus points should be given to the author for demonstrating the diversity within the Roman Empire and for including a multi-racial and strong relationship with historical background of some known events.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Ancient history and Rome, that isn’t easily triggered and that wants to read about a strong relationship. I suggest you read the end notes as well! Very informative.

You Know Me Well Blog Tour and GIVEAWAY!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Danika Ellis

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan is out June 7! Haven’t heard of it yet? The description is

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other — and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

A book told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour, the award-winning author of Hold Still and The Disenchantments, and David Levithan, the best-selling author of Every Day and co-author of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn) and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green), You Know Me Well is a deeply honest story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

David Levithan is one of my favourite YA authors, and I’ve only heard great things about Nina LaCour, so I’m really excited to read this one! And what’s better, the Lesbrary is hosting a giveaway for a copy!

To enter, just comment saying why you’re excited to pick up You Know Me Well and on June 1st I’ll randomly draw a winner! Good luck! (Unfortunately, this giveaway is US only.)

Link Round Up: May 9 – 23

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Danika Ellis

Autostraddle posted The True Price of Salt: On the Book that Became “Carol” and 26 Dreams Connie in “Voyage From Lesbos” Had About Genitalia, According to Her Doctor.

Book Riot posted A Shakespearean Courtship and Queer Book Characters I Would Totally Date.

Curve Magazine posted an interview with Victoria A. Brownworth about her lesbian feminist horror novel Ordinary Mayhem.

Lambda Literary posted New in May: Adam Haslett, Meredith Russo, Jia Qing Wilson-Yang, Garrard Conley, and Cheryl Clarke.

Panels posted Beyond Bechdel: A Brief History of Queer Comics.

“Queer YA 101: Things to keep in mind when talking about books with queer characters (Part I)” was posted at Swoon Reads.

Heart of the Pack by Jenny Frame was reviewed by Alexa Black.

The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability by Kristen Hogan was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Without Annette by Jane B. Mason was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Taking My Life by Jane Rule was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

Heyday by Marnie Woodrow was reviewed at C-Spot Reviews.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on Facebook, Goodreads, Youtube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Martha Hansen, Emily Perper, Kath, and Karen. Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a lesbian/queer women book every month!

Kalyanii reviews Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef’s Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness by Cat Cora

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Danika Ellis

For years, I’ve admired Cat Cora for her ability to take on the most notable male chefs of the day, all the while prepared with a quip in her Southern twang and sporting a smile that invariably brings me to my knees. Self-assured and deservedly so, Ms. Cora’s star had risen in the midst of Food Network’s extended heyday. Her commanding presence and newfound celebrity status offered an image of infallibility as well as culinary brilliance. Watching her throw down in Iron Chef’s Kitchen Stadium, there appeared not a chink in her armor.

When I opened to the first page of Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef’s Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness, I expected a tidy yet endearing memoir, one that might recount a few challenges along the journey toward hard-earned culinary stardom. A work that would enhance her accessibility while painting a portrait of a woman who has let nothing get in her way. Yet, I was unprepared for the uncompromising honesty and no-holds-barred self-reflection that I encountered within its pages.

Born to an unwed teenage mother on April 3rd of 1967, Cat, initially named Melanie, landed in the Mississippi Children’s Home, where she was adopted by a loving couple one week later. Virginia Lee and Spiro Cora of Jackson, Mississippi provided her with a rather idyllic childhood, complete with strong familial bonds, Greek and Southern culinary histories and frequent family outings.

For the young Cat, however, some of the family’s travels were tainted by the sexual abuse perpetuated by AH, the son of a family friend, nine years older than herself, who had made a habit of molesting her from the time she was six years old, warning her not to tell her parents or they would hate her, stop loving her and think she’s “cheap trash.” Fortunately, or not so much, when Cat was ten or perhaps eleven years old, her father walked into the bathroom where AH had cornered and proceeded to have his way with her. Initially relieved that the secret was out, Cat grew heartbroken upon witnessing the disgust on her father’s face. Rather than having AH’s hide, Spiro Cora turned and walked out, leaving her alone with her perpetrator.

There is very little of the polite or demure within Ms. Cora’s narrative. She tells things as they were (and currently are) without sugar-coating or diminishing the gravity of any given situation. Her tone is intensely conversational throughout the book, bare-bones honest without a hint of the melodramatic. She even throws in an f-bomb or two, which I appreciated to no end. Within her memoir, there is no denying it, Cat Cora gets real.

Not once does Ms. Cora shy away from her appreciation for the ladies, the strength and vitality of her apparently impressive libido or an admission of the trysts enjoyed while in a steady relationship. Seemingly unconcerned with the potential of judgements passed, Ms. Cora tells it as she sees and, yes, lived it.

When it comes to present-day dynamics, Ms. Cora remains forthcoming in her remembrances regarding events that pertain to her life with her wife, Jennifer, and their four young boys. She tackles head-on the challenges of motherhood, the residue created by several jet-set years as a celebrity chef as well as the fallout from her excessive alcohol consumption, which is truly where the rubber meets the road and I found myself most astounded by her willingness to self-disclose.

Even in conclusion, Ms. Cora chooses not to flaunt her involvement in twelve-step meetings as resolution in her relationship with alcohol nor as a happy ending to her marriage nor, for that matter, any other aspect of her life. She simply invites us to meet her where she stands, preparing dinner for friends while her wife is away, practicing yoga, and the boys play underfoot.

Megan Casey reviews Ten Little Lesbians by Kate McLachlan

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Danika Ellis

There is a lot that can be said about this book, not just about whether it is good or bad, but also about the style of its composition, its history, and its characters. This is true of all good books, of course, but not all books are good.

It is no secret that Ten Little Lesbians is based on Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, which was originally published under a name that had more negative racial overtones. I don’t want to go into that here, but Google the book if you don’t already know the story. In Christie’s novel, a number of people are invited to an island resort in order to kill them. Each has a guilty secret

In the more modern, Ten Little Lesbians, the guests are all women who are planning a “Women’s Weekend” at a bed and breakfast many miles from the nearest town. And yes, they all have guilty secrets. The two main characters are Beatrice Stone and her niece Tish. Bea has arranged the trip for two reasons—to get Tish away from her ex before she is arrested (again), and to accompany her friend Carmen, who is trying to get over a bad breakup. The other guests—as well as the inn’s owner and her single employee—of course have their own stories. One character is blind, one is an ex-con, one is a Mormon, and so forth.

But except for a tidbit here and there, that’s about as close to Ten Little Indians as McLachlan gets. This is not bad because Agatha Christie is not a very good writer. Ooh, have I touched a taboo subject? Too bad, because although Christie could write an extraordinary plot line, very few of her characters are realistic or interesting. I exclude Miss Marple from this because I kind of like her, but Hercule Poirot was a windy buffoon; even Christie herself disliked him. And the vast majority of her incidental characters are utterly and immediately forgettable. Her prose is generally plodding and dull.

Ten Little Lesbians is a much more enjoyable book than its near namesake. Not only is the writing more lively, but the characters are all more interesting and individual. One of the reasons for this is McLachlan’s use of point of view. The book is made up of seven longish chapters, but each chapter is further divided into sections. And each section has its own point of view character. Chapter 1, for instance has at least one section from each character’s perspective so that we get not only different voices, but deeper backstories as well.

When one character disappears and another is found dead, the fun begins. In fact, the book reminded me as much of the 1986 mystery/horror movie April Fool’s Day as it did the Agatha Christie novel. And the story really is fun, despite the suspense. Tish is a sexy, engaging character and her aunt is a businesslike no-nonsense authority figure who harbors a tragic secret. “Aunt Bea” is pragmatic and philosophic and generally is the one who moves the book along. But it is the divergent lives and voices of the other characters that keep us anxious to follow her.

My one quibble is that I found myself wishing I knew earlier who was gong to end up as the main character. Tish dominates the first two chapters, then her aunt takes over almost completely for the next two. This is not necessarily a fault; after all, a number of series, such as Penny Mickelbury’s Mimi and Gianna Mysteries, are told from two points of view. I just came away with a suspicion that all is not as balanced as it might be. Give this one a 5 on the enjoyability scale and certainly no lower than a 4 in your final rating.

For other reviews by Megan Casey, see her website at http://sites.google.com/site/theartofthelesbianmysterynovel/ or join her Goodreads Lesbian Mystery group at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/116660-lesbian-mysteries

Danika reviews Silent Heart by Claire McNab

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Danika Ellis

When I visited New York for the first time, I knew had to take a look at The Strand. It didn’t disappoint, but I probably got the most enjoyment out of perusing the sale racks out front of the store. When I found an old lesbian romance for a dollar, I couldn’t resist, especially given the premise: an up-tight professor’s academic book on Victorian erotica becomes an unexpected bestseller. (And when she’s interviewed by a pushy, maddening, lesbian reporter–sparks fly!) I picked it up during the 24 readathon thinking that a fluffy, cheesy romance would be just the thing for a light read. That is probably true, but Silent Heart is not that.

The story begins as Victoria starts her book tour, and what amused me about her interviews is that although this book was written in 1993, it predicts to some extent the surprise erotic bestseller that did happen: 50 Shades of Grey. The media’s reaction is fairly similar to the book’s depiction, though it was more fanfic that academic.

What I wasn’t expecting from this book, though, was the darkness and complexity. Victoria is unaware of her own queer desires in the beginning of the novel, but she does acknowledge her lukewarm relationships with men. They don’t use the word “asexual”, but she is uncomfortable with sexual contact with any gender. It begins to come out that she has repressed some trauma in her childhood that makes any sexual contact triggering.

The romance between Reyne–the reporter–and Victoria wasn’t something I was completely sold on. At the outset, Reyne seemed more pushy sexually and romantically than I felt comfortable with, though she becomes more understanding by the end of the novel.

I don’t think Silent Heart got a fair chance with me, because I was expecting (and hoping for) something light and enjoyable, and this narrative can be bleak and unsettling.

——-

To give proper trigger warnings for this novel means also giving spoilers, but I’d rather do that, so trigger warnings for rape, child molestation, incest, and child pornography.

Elinor reviews Lesbian Conception 101 by Kathy Borkoski

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Danika Ellis

My wife and I decided a few months back to try to have a baby. Naturally, I’ve been reading everything that exists on the subject. There aren’t a ton of books out there for queer women trying to get pregnant. One of the most accessible is Lesbian Conception 101: An easy-to-follow, how-to get started guide for lesbians thinking about getting pregnant tomorrow or in a couple of years by Kathy Borkoski. Borkoski doesn’t preach about the way you ought to things. She lays out your getting-pregnant options, and offers some cost-saving tips and exercises for figuring out what you want. The book focuses exclusively on conception, which can keep things from being overwhelming when you’re starting the process.

Lesbian Conception 101 isn’t the most comprehensive book about getting pregnant that exists. It’s very short–less than 100 pages–and some of that is devoted to the voices of women who’d gone through the process. While these personal stories are interesting and at times reassuring, they typically don’t delve into a lot of details that you can apply to your own life. It’s decidedly written for cisgender lesbian couples and if this isn’t you, your mileage may vary. Sections include deciding who will carry, ways to get sperm, and options for insemination. Borkoski includes options for using known and unknown donors, and insemination choices from low-tech at home up to IVF.

I wish Borkoski had included more suggestions for further reading. If you want more information about tracking your fertility, for example, a few more resources would have been nice. Also, some of your experiences might be different from the book. Borkoski’s description of intrauterine insemination involved much more medical monitoring than I experienced. Likewise, the section on questions you’ll be asked, while a good way to prepare yourself, might not be anything like the questions you’ll actually be asked. (The weirdest question my wife and I got was, “Are you two adopting or using a surrogate?” To which I got to reply, “We’re going to try to use one of the two uteruses we have between us.” Also, multiple people asked if we could chose the sex of our baby). Still, it’s a good starting off point. If you aren’t interested in ever getting pregnant or having a pregnant partner, you don’t need this book. But if you are, this is one of the easiest books out there about lesbian baby making.

Julie Thompson reviews Go Deep (All Out Vancouver #2) by Leigh Matthews

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Danika Ellis

(This review contains some spoilers)

Buckle up for a rocky road of doppelgängers, hospitals, concussin’, and a ménage à wedding. It’s heating up (literally, I am melting into the asphalt) around the Pacific Northwest and what better way to enjoy your burgeoning beach bum status than with a fun, flirty, roller coaster of a novel? Pack your staycation bags and prepare to head up North of the border, up Canada way!

The second book in Leigh Matthew’s All Out Vancouver series threads through the adventures and lives of the first novel’s crew: Kate, Cass, Em, Hanna, and Steve. If you don’t mind slight spoilers of the first book, read on. We meet new folks: Afra, genderqueer character with a big heart for social justice, who shares a run-down apartment with Scout; Scout, a charming young queer fresh from the prairie; and Alice, a nurse from Vancouver General Hospital.

Other characters share the spotlight, such as Drew, a lawyer trying to get pregnant via artificial insemination, who also coaches the group’s queer softball team. As Matthews introduces more characters into the East Vancouver scene, she deftly alternates between storylines, skillfully merging the disparate lives that are connected like a game of six-degrees of Kevin Bacon or Alice’s chart on The L Word. New challenges arise and old problems fester.

The action starts up in Amsterdam, a few months after Kate and Cass settle in. The edges of their nascent relationship are fraying with the stresses of moving to a new country, new jobs, and most of all, the unsettled bumps in their relationship. They fall back into the same patterns, desperate for change, but unsure of how to make that happen. A change of scenery isn’t enough to help the insular couple from trapping themselves in a cycle of fight-sex-fun. It takes an emergency trip back to Vancouver to break the cycle. Both women are forced to take a long hard look at who they are together and if it’s worth all the drama and heartache. I’m unsure about how deep they’re willing to go to transform their relationship into one that is healthy and mutually satisfying. Cass is a difficult character for me to enjoy, but she manages to grow up a little bit.

Kate sums up the relationship, such as it is when the story opens: “It’s like living with a toddler, an academic, and a sex addict, and I never know which one I’ll come home to.”

Go Deep also explores also explores possibilities for couplings and families. Drew and Scout hook up, leaving the politics of tops and bottoms to the flip of a coin. Outside of the bedroom, they enjoy a relationship that does not involve the possibility of a romantic partner/co-parent, but does open the doors for other options.

Scout is one of my favorite characters. New to town after life on the prairie, Scout joins the softball team and plunges into the East Vancouver queer scene. Scout is tough, yet sensitive; flirty and fun, yet guarded. It’s the uncertainties, contradictions, and charm that shine through and make this character fun to follow. A case of mistaken identity results in further excitement and complications.

Stability radiates outward to the group from the triad of Em, Hanna, and Steve. Even with a life-threatening illness thrown in, they not only stay afloat, but manage to juggle the drama of their less-than-balanced friends. Theirs is the novel’s romance that gives me warm fuzzies.

Em is the kind of friend we all need on our side. Someone who won’t hesitate to call us out on our crap, but is not unkind about it. I cheered when she tells Kate that something needs to change because the only stories she hears Kate tell about life with Cass taste sour. Em makes friends wherever she finds herself. In her hospital bed, not only does she plays therapist to Kate, but connects with other patients in an important way. She is the cat herding master!

As far as the supporting characters go, they pop up to provide nudges in the action, but we don’t see them as much, yet. A little teaser of storylines to come, maybe. Matthews drops breadcrumbs about where the next installment may head as the gang pools their talents and passions together for a labor of love.

Link Round Up: April 25 – May 8

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Danika Ellis

Autostraddle posted Lez Liberty Lit #96: Some Books Are Flowers, Some Are Weeds.

Lambda Literary posted Read Jewelle Gomez’s New Foreword for ‘The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition’ and Blacklight: Crime Fiction Makes Hidden LGBTQ Histories Visible.

LGBTQ Reads posted Fave Five: Mental Health LGBTQ YAs and Under the Gaydar: Heartbreaker Edition.

LGBTQ Webcomics posted Purchasable LGBTQ Webcomics.

Panels posted Beyond Bechdel: A Brief History of Queer Comics.

Women and Words posted Hot Off the Press, May 2016 and Coming Attractions, June 2016.

“24 LGBTQ Books With A POC Protagonist, Because It’s Time To Diversify Your Reading List” was posted at Bustle.

“Top 10 landmarks in gay and lesbian literature” was posted at the Guardian.

“Sanctuary: Jeanette Winterson Saved My Life” was posted at LA Review of Books.

Go Deep by Leigh Matthews was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

The Mystics of Mile End by Sigal Samuel was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

So Much To Be Done: The Writings of Breast Cancer Activist Barbara Brenner edited by Barbara Sjoholm was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass by Sarah Van Arsdale was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Women of the Wolf and Other Stories by Renée Vivien was reviewed at queer modernisms.

Guest Post by Shira Glassman: Books with Two-Mom Families!

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Danika Ellis

Here’s a list of some books centering on two moms raising children together as a couple! Happy Mother’s Day to all the two-mom families out there and best of luck to those trying to become two moms. Links are to my more detailed reviews.

Fierce Family – a collection of wonderfully curated fifteen science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal short stories centering on the theme of ‘queer family.’ Many of the stories feature families with two moms, either as the heroines of the story or as the main character’s mothers, in settings as varied as postapocalyptic Australia and a space colony.

Double Pregnant: Two Lesbians Make a Family – a nonfiction but very entertaining and interesting diary of a lesbian couple in Canada as they look for a sperm donor and eventually both have babies

Dates! An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction – short stories told mostly in graphic novel form, set in any point in history (pre-1960’s) all over the world, and all guaranteed to veer away from tragic queer tropes. One of my favorite pieces in the collection was about a pair of Black women in a rural early 20th century community who bring their families together when their husbands die, and eventually fall in love themselves.

Keile’s Chance – Black lesbian contemporary romance; one day a workaholic computer programmer is in the park when she finds a lost toddler—who turns out to have a really cute mom.

The Cage – free short fiction; lesbians looking after an orphaned werewolf baby in a city where anti-werewolf sentiment puts him in danger

Hypnotizing Chickens – when the protagonist’s partner leaves her for another woman, she goes home to Kentucky to take care of her ailing granny and eventually falls for granny’s physical therapist, who has a daughter

Chameleon Moon – dystopian sci-fi revolution adventure about the government trapping all superpowered people in a crumbling city with an underground fire. The female lead is a trans woman who’s part of a lesbian triad, who have a young son. All three moms have powers—the leading lady over sound, one of the cis moms over plants, and the other over machinery.

A Safe Girl to Love – collection of transfeminine short fiction by a trans author. One of the stories, “Winning”, is about a trans girl whose mom is also trans. Since she had two moms at one point (but the marriage broke up) I’m counting it for this list but be aware at the point the story takes place I’m pretty sure the mom is single. The daughter, by the way, is a straight trans girl.

Girl Goddess #9: In the short story “Dragons in Manhattan” – hard to mention without spoiling but the protagonist is trying to get some answers about her life, and her moms are a couple. Goodreads link, since I don’t have a review (I actually read the story ten years ago so it’s not fresh in my mind.)

Some of my fiction has moms who love other women, too! In Fearless, a newly-out-of-the-closet lesbian band mom falls for a music teacher while snowed in at All-State, and in A Harvest of Ripe Figs (followed by The Olive Conspiracy, coming July 2016), a lesbian queen solves mysteries as part of her royal duties while raising the baby princess with her partner. I hope you’ll be tempted to join their adventures!

P.S. Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, the book, has woman couple raising a son together. Don’t be fooled by the extra little straightwashing details in the movie; the book is definitely worth checking out. It’s been eons since I’ve read it, though, so I don’t have a post about it.

Shira Glassman is a bi Jewish violinist living in Florida with a labor activist and a badly behaved calico. Her books have made the finals of the Golden Crown Awards and Bi Book Awards, but she should clean her car more often. Look for her next book in July, when Queen Shulamit & friends must save their country from economic sabotage.

The Lesbrary

Lesbian and Bi Book News and Reviews

Month: May 2016