Lately, I have been really enjoying queer novellas from the publisher Tordotcom. I had a blast with Elaine Gallagher’s Unexploded Remnants and loved Charlotte Bond’s The Fireborne Blade and its sequel, The Bloodless Princes. The next novella on my reading list is C.L. Polk’s sapphic fantasy noir Even Though I Knew the End.” My expectations for this novella were pretty high givenRead More
A Bittersweet Supernatural Romp: Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk Review
At the close of 2024, I offer up my favorite read of the year: C.L. Polk’s Even Though I Knew the End. This novella catapulted me through five acts in the span of 133 pages, and it hurt in the best possible way. Settle in for a gritty noir detective story: January 1941, Chicago. The coldRead More
A Succubus, a Fallen Angel, and a Forbidden Romance: The Fall That Saved Us by Tamara Jerée
While I am usually pretty ambivalent about book covers, every once and a while a book will come along with such a beautiful cover that I can’t help but add it to my to-read list. One such book is Tamara Jerée’s The Fall That Saved Us. Once I read the summary, though, it went from just beingRead More
Falling in Love at the Food Packing Convention: Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I enjoyed Sorry, Bro, Taleen Voskuni’s first novel: the main character breaks up with a non-Armenian tech bro, falls in love with an Armenian woman, and struggles with her identity as a bisexual woman. What’s not to like? I also appreciated the opportunity to learnRead More
Mallory Lass reviews Falling Into Her by Erin Zak
Note: This review contains spoilers. I don’t think they are major spoilers, but integral to discussing the identity politics (or lack there of) in the book. If you liked Just Jorie by Robin Alexander, you will probably also like this book. In my opinion, Just Jorie is a romantic comedy and this is a contemporaryRead More
Marthese reviews The Housing Crisis by Kate McLay
“She transformed from sullen hipster to beautiful girl” I don’t tend to read many contemporaries but the plot in this novella sounded interesting. The Housing Crisis is set in Chicago and follows Alyssa, who’s suddenly one roommate short and Hannah, who needs to find alternative lodging soon after a break-up. Hannah is sure of herRead More
Megan Casey Reviews In the Game by Nikki Baker
Virginia Kelly is black. This is significant because it makes her the first African-American sleuth in lesbian fiction. Likewise, Nikki Baker is the first African-American author of lesbian mysteries. This makes In the Game an important literary event. At a mere 171 pages, this is one of Naiad’s shortest books, and it is alsoRead More