Black Salt Queen had everything I want out of a fantasy novel right now. It’s a story steeped in political intrigue, lush world-building, and dynamic characters who feel as real as they are formidable. At the center of the story, we’ve got Hara Duja Gatdula, the aging queen of Maynara who can literally move theRead More
Edge of the World: An Anthology of Queer Travel Writing edited by Alden Jones Review
I cried a bunch while reading Edge of the World (out May 6, 2025). A profoundly topical collection, Alden Jones’s latest anthology collects sixteen* autobiographical pieces about travel from writers loosely connected by their complicated American-ness and LGBTQ+ identities. I appreciated Jones’s intentions in titling the anthology—in hoping that “the contents undermine the idea ofRead More
A Tough But Necessary Read: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Review
Content warnings for pretty much everything: violence, gore, racism, incarceration, solitary confinement, self harm, cutting At the time of writing this, it’s barely been three weeks since the 2024 presidential election in the United States, which Donald Trump won by a handy margin. Although Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah came out over a yearRead More
A Swashbucking Sword Lesbian Graphic Novel: The Marble Queen by Anna Kopp & Gabrielle Kari
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! The Marble Queen is a new sapphic YA fantasy graphic novel by Anna Kopp (writer) and Gabrielle Kari (illustrator) published by Dark Horse Comics. I’ve been excited to read this book since it was announced. As someone who loves both sapphic romance and comics/graphicRead More
The Audacity of a Point of View: Opinions by Roxane Gay
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! In Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business, Roxane Gay (she/her), author of New York Times bestsellers Bad Feminist and Hunger, delivers an expertly curated collection of her opinion writing on a host of different topics from approximately 2013 toRead More
An Anti-Capitalist Murder Mystery in Space: Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link You ever read something that you really really want to love but can’t? That was Stars, Hide Your Fires for me. I’m a huge sucker for political sci-fi/fantasy, and while I more often read heftier adult novels, I do occasionally browse the young adult section of my local bookstore. From the back-cover blurb toRead More
Shakespeare, Fae, and Orisha: That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link At the age of sixteen, Joan Sands possesses exceptional craftsmanship skills that she employs to create and maintain the stage blades for The King’s Men, a theatrical troupe led by William Shakespeare. Joan’s remarkable blade-crafting ability is rooted in her magical power to manipulate metal, bestowed upon her by her guiding deity,Read More
Empire for Beginners: The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa is a debut science fiction story about Enitan, a teamaker and scribe who finds herself thrust into the heart of the empire that controls the moon village Koriko after her sibling Xiang disappears. Her on-again-off-again girlfriend, the governor of Koriko, turns up dead while attemptingRead More
Evil Gods, Murder, and Angry Women: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Tara Sim’s The City of Dusk has been on my to-read list for a while now, and with the second book in the series—The Midnight Kingdom—having just come out, now seemed a great time to get around to it. This dark fantasy novel follows the four heirs of the noble houses of Nexus: Taesia,Read 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