Note: While I’ve avoided major plot spoilers, this review is relatively detailed regarding the character arcs and themes. Fittingly enough, I’ve been exposed to Double Exposure by Rien Gray twice. The first time was through the Happily Ever After Collective, which releases monthly romance novellas from a variety of authors. Last year, Double Exposure released to patrons along withRead More
The Complexity of Being a Queer Refugee: From Here by Luma Mufleh
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Trigger warnings for this book: suicide attempts and ideation, homophobia, violence Like a lot of Westerners, when I hear about countries with laws against homosexuality, I respond with instinctual aversion: “What a terrible place! I hope any queer people there can leave!” I imagine impediments like the law and its enforcers, economicRead More
A Supernatural Noir Novella About Love at All Costs: Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link What would you give up everything for? If you knew you were doomed, would you keep fighting? In fewer than 140 pages, the award-winning Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk posits these questions with a heroine whose love and determination propel her through a fast-paced investigation to catch a killerRead More
Rachel reviews The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link A fast-paced, truly unputdownable fantasy novel, Sunyi Dean’s The Book Eaters is the kind of expansive adventure novel that draws you in and keeps you there. Dean’s writing represents a fabulous new voice in fantasy literature. The world of The Book Eaters introduces us to a secret lineage of aristocratic beings whoRead More
Rachel reviews When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link A totally surprising, whimsical, and powerful new novel, When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill (HarperCollins 2022), is a queer historical fiction that is a must-read this summer! The novel focuses on the complicated friendship between Marie Antoine, the wealthy heiress to her father’s Montreal sugar factory, and SadieRead More
Rachel reviews Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Stunning, poignant, and totally unputdownable, Julia Armfield’s debut novel Our Wives Under the Sea (Picador 2022) is one of my favourite queer novels of 2022! Our Wives Under the Sea is a dual-perspective narrative that follows both Miri and her wife Leah. Miri’s chapters narrate Leah’s return from a deep-sea missionRead More
Rachel reviews Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays by Jill Gutowitz
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Hilarious, poignant, and stunningly clever, Jill Gutowitz’s essay collection Girls Can Kiss Now was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it definitely did not disappoint! When I talk about this book (which is often), it usually goes something like this: “I’m reading this book, it’s called Girls CanRead More
Rachel reviews Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Readers might know Marie Rutkoski’s work from her young adult Winner’s Curse trilogy (2014-2016) or her more recent f/f fantasy series, Forgotten Gods. However, Rutkoski’s first novel for adults, Real Easy, is a departure from her usual fantasy fiction while still including queer female characters at the centerRead More
Rebecca reviews Gold by E.J. Noyes
E.J. Noyes’ Gold is a sports-centred novel with a great and relatable protagonist and a very steamy and sweet romance. Our protagonist is Aspen Archer, a former Olympic skier whose career ended after a disastrous injury. With her body and spirit broken, Aspen hides out at ski resorts, coaching tourists and avoiding her problems. While coaching atRead More
Rebecca reviews Seeing Red: A Sapphic Fairy Tale by Cara Malone
Seeing Red is a cute and quick read with a sweet romance and really well-written characters. It’s loosely based on the fairy tale and I absolutely enjoyed this modern take with relatable characters. Hunter has too much on her plate. She’s living with her sister, Piper and helping with the bills and her two nephews. She’sRead More