This novel has been a hard one to write a review for. Mostly because of the upheavals happening, and my subsequent desire to try and locate the text as best as I can in the current moment. Because, reader, it truly is a novel for the times, of the times. So here is the earliestRead More
A Steamy Romance of Self-Discovery: Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez Review
Angela Gutierrez is 27 years old and has never dated or kissed anyone. Part of the reason for that was her long journey to discovering her identity as an asexual lesbian, but now she’s embraced it, and she’s ready to experience some firsts. But she doesn’t just want to swipe through dating apps. Instead, sheRead More
An Introspective Bisexual Romance: On Her Terms by Amy Spalding
Immediately after recognizing her bisexuality, Clementine gets swept up in a (somewhat boring) long-term relationship with a boyfriend who wants a conventional, white-picket-fence-and-a-baby ever after. After breaking up with him, she’s ready to dive into her “baby gay” era—if only her friends and family would stop looking at her with pity. After meeting Chloe LeeRead More
A Palestinian Family’s Story Shows History Repeats: The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher
Far from the Rummani’s ancestral home of Palestine, Betty Rummani is born a striking, permanent shade of cobalt blue. That same day, the Rummanis’ centuries-old soap factory is destroyed in an air strike in Nablus. The family matriarch and keeper of all Rummani lore, Aunt Nuha, believes that the blue girl embodies their sacred history,Read More
Finding a New Favorite YA Contemporary Author: Ophelia After All and You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie
Recently, I got to read Racquel Marie’s debut and sophomore releases: Ophelia After All and You Don’t Have a Shot. While the two books had different focuses, they were both compulsively readable coming-of-age stories, and I think any reader of sapphic contemporary YA will find at least one of them to be up their alley. Though it isn’tRead More
A Witchy Parent Trap: Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Emma has plans for the perfect summer, and they all involve her best friend (and crush!) Avangeline by her side. However, Avangeline reveals that her parents are getting a divorce, and her mom plans to take her with her to New Orleans! Emma decidesRead More
Identity Crisis via Teleportation: Star Splitter by Matthew J Kirby
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Content warnings: violence, death A note: I listened to the audiobook of Star Splitter. It’s a good one, but may have led to misspellings in this review.Let’s say you lost all memories of the past three days. You’re still you, right? You’re just youRead More
A Literal Love Song: Stars Collide by Rachel Lacey
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link “You’re more than your sexuality. So much more.” After her divorce, pop star sensation Eden Sands’ latest album lacked the spark fans and the industry have expected of her after 20 years. Meanwhile, Anna Moss, her fellow Grammy nominee, is beginning to rise, though people in the industry don’t take her asRead More
Court Intrigue at the Heart of an Interstellar Empire: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is an elegant space opera that artfully ties together themes of empire, identity, and cultural dominance. It makes you consider all of these while drawing you into the characters and the complex political intrigues. The book follows Mahit Dzmare, a newly appointed ambassador to theRead More
Meagan Kimberly reviews Gender Flytrap by Zoe Estelle Hitzel
For National Poetry Month I chose to read this collection I’d picked up from Sundress Publications, an independent press. It’s a fascinating collection of poems about the interconnected nature of gender, sexuality, sex, and identity. The poems’ forms start as stanzas and lines written in fragments, but as the speaker gains a greater sense ofRead More