There are few things more satisfying than watching a plan unfold with no hiccups—or with a few hiccups that get resolved in the most epic of ways. Heist plots are perfect for creating that irresistible balance of intrigue, action, and suspense that makes me keep on turning the page. Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto is aRead More
A Cyberpunk Heist: Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto Review
I picked up Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto during the Trans Rights Readathon, as the dramatic setup for this cyberpunk heist novel compelled me. It ended up being one of the most memorable stories I read for the event. Edie’s last heist ended with them being sold out by their childhood friend, Angel, and spending eight yearsRead More
A Race Between Witches and Witch Hunters: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline Review
From the award-winning author of The Marrow Thieves (2017) comes a novel about queer community, survival, and joy—with a twist. Cherie Dimaline’s VenCo (2023) is a compelling story about the (super)natural powers of women. VenCo follows orphan Lucky St. James, the daughter of a bad-ass Métis woman living with her grandmother, Stella, in Toronto. When Lucky discovers that the twoRead More
A Compelling Queer Indigenous Fantasy: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose Review
I love a magic school book, and I love a dragon book, and I especially love a dragon school book. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose was such a great entry to the genre. I couldn’t put it down, and I keep thinking about its innovative world-building. Anequs is the protagonist I didn’t know I’veRead More
A Lush Horror Novella Embracing Death and Renewal: Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris Review
“Why did people need to be in nature to process the things that happened to them? Maybe it was because what was thought of as wild did not require a veil—it saw you as you truly were: an animal skulking among animals.” Though I haven’t read a lot of horror, there is plenty of horrorRead More
The Beauty of Decay: Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Last weekend was Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, which I’ve done every year for the past ten years. For the October readathon, I save up horror and other Halloween-themed books all year to marathon that day. Green Fuse Burning seemed like a perfect choice: it’s a 99-page horror novella with an Indigenous and sapphic main character.Read More
The Magic of Community: Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Brooms is a YA graphic novel created by Jasmine Walls (writer) and Teo DuVall (illustrator) and published in 2023 by Levine Querido. It is set in an alternate 1930s Mississippi where magic flows all around, but is heavily restricted. Only certain people are allowed toRead More
Creating Utopia in Love After the End edited by Joshua Whitehead
“Tomorrow will be kinder,” I whisper as I am swept into the rushing river of my dreams. —”The Ark of the Turtle’s Back” by jaye simpson Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, edited by Joshua Whitehead, is a follow up to the anthology Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time. TheseRead More
A Genre-Bending Haunted Bookstore Story: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I kept hearing people rave about this book when it was new. I heard it was a cozy read about someone working in a bookstore haunted by the ghost of a customer. So imagine my surprise when the book begins with the main characterRead More
A Queer Indigenous Fantasy with Dragons: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link The people on the remote island of Masquapaug have lived out of the eye of the colonizers, the Anglish, for many years. That is, until fifteen-year-old Anequs is selected by a dragon hatchling, quickly gaining the ire of the Anglish authorities who have strict parameters around who and how someone might possessRead More