Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! This was a surprise, last-minute entry in my list of favourite reads of 2023! I stumbled on this while researching new releases for Our Queerest Shelves, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was by a local British Columbia author/artist! I requested itRead More
An Anxious Nonbinary Lesbian Sheep Solves a Murder: Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Bianca has overwhelming anxiety, especially social anxiety, to the point that trying to have an everyday conversation is a monumental struggle. They keep a numbered list of fears, like “Fear #6: Initiating Conversation,” “#13 Beautiful People,” and “#11 Parents Discovering They’re a Raging Lesbian.”Read More
A Kind Voice from the Unkind Days of Early 2020: Care of by Ivan Coyote
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Ivan Coyote is one of my all-time favourite authors; I love their short stories and their essay collections. I’ve gotten to see them perform several times, and it’s always an amazing experience. Which is why I was thrown when I listened to the audiobookRead More
A Queer Guide to Home Repair: Safe and Sound by Mercury Stardust
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I’ve been following Mercury Stardust, aka the “Trans Handy Ma’am” on Instagram for a while now to get my fix of approachable, around-the-house repair tips with an added bonus of corny dad jokes. Recently she released a complete guide for DIYers of all levels,Read More
A Sapphic Space Opera of Smoldering Obsession: These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! If you’re looking for a queer space opera chock full of complex politics, smoldering obsession, and ever escalating revenge, These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs is a worthy entry into the field. Renowned hacker Jun “Sunstep” Ironway has gotten her hands on a piece ofRead More
Piercingly Insightful Poetry: The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals by Mimi Tempestt
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link From the epigraph to the end, this book is clear-eyed about its aims and its author’s perspective. Tempestt’s writing draws the reader in as a participant, with mentions of readers, watchers, audiences that are not confrontational, but certainly not abstracted. Reading this collection felt like watching spoken word, or another kind ofRead More
Trans Horror Satire with a Beating Heart: Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Boys Weekend a satirical horror graphic novel about Sammie, a trans feminine person who is invited to a bachelor party of an old friend as the “best man.” While there, Mattie seems to be the only one concerned about the cult sacrificing people. This was already on my TBR, and I wasRead More
Magical Girls and Sports Gays: Grand Slam Romance by Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhaus
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link For those of you mourning the cancellation of Amazon’s adaptation of A League of Their Own, I offer you an antidote. Grand Slam Romance, which follows the star players of a semi-professional women’s softball league, simultaneously serves romance, sports rivalry, horny locker room encounters, queer community, and a touch of magic. The debut graphicRead More
Getting the Band Back Together: It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link It Goes Like This is a story about friendship, second chances, and not giving up on the people who care about you. The story follows the former members of Moonlight Overthrow, a band of teenagers who split up a year and a half before the events of the novel. Celeste and Gina, twoRead More
A High-Heat Heist: Double Exposure by Rien Gray
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