Tessa Yang’s debut novel The Jellyfish Problem officially released June 2nd, and the problem is that you haven’t read it yet. The novel follows Dr. Jo Ness–marine biologist, jellyfish enthusiast. After her best friend dies in an accident Jo herself feels responsible for, she drifts through life, unmoored and utterly alone. When her sort-of ex calls afterRead More
Gothic Schoolgirls: Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran Review
Avery Curran’s Spoiled Milk is a gothic tale of a girls’ boarding school in 1928. After the tragic death of golden girl Violet, Emily, Violet’s best friend, knows this was no accident. Emily is desperate to prove she was murdered, so she enlists the help of the other girls in her year, including even prim and properRead More
A Sapphic Boarding School Gothic: Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran
By turns haunting, compelling, and illuminating, Avery Curran’s new novel, Spoiled Milk, is perfect for fans of queer Gothic horror and historical fiction. Set in England in 1928, Emily Locke is in her final year at the Briarley School for Girls, an isolated boarding school designed to provide middle- to upper-class girls with accomplished educations. WhatRead More
These Books Can Kil: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs Review
Emma Törzs’ Ink Blood Sister Scribe (William Morrow 2023) is a unique and propulsive novel about magic and family, and it was one of my biggest surprises of the year! Ink Blood Sister Scribe follows Joanna and Esther, the most recent generation of the Kalotay family, who are tasked with their family’s mission: guarding a collection of rareRead More
An Extremely Queer and Ghostly Cinderella Retelling: Cinder House by Freya Marske Review
Freya Marske fans, mark your calendars for October 7, when her new novella Cinder House comes out. It’s a Cinderella retelling, which I am always a fan of, with some fun fresh twists that left me enthralled. It’s a quick read, perfect for a cozy afternoon in front of your own hearth. In Cinder House, the titular Ella isRead More
Horror that Lingers: We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado Review
Mesmerizing, sickening, echoing-hole-in-your-stomach, roller coaster lurch of a creeping inferno: Vincent Tirado’s We Came to Welcome You: A Novel of Suburban Horror is all that and more. Released in the last quarter of 2024, to the tune of “The Other Black Girl meets Midsommar,” the book takes the banal normalcy of racism and colonialism and twists it until itsRead More
Celebrate Halloween All Year with a Supernatural Cozy Mystery Romance: Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist
The term “cozy mystery” first registered with me shortly after finishing Real Murders, the first book in the Aurora Teagarden series, written by Charlaine Harris. It probably goes without saying, but I’ve read that series and just about all the other books she’s written, including the Southern Vampire Mysteries. You know, the Sookie Stackhouse books. I’mRead More
A Literal Dead Poets’ Society: All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! The days have started getting shorter as darkness takes up more and more space every day. The evening air isn’t quite cold enough to keep you inside, but every gust of wind chills to the bone, and the woods behind my apartment are filledRead More
Healing Through a Haunting: The Fall That Saved Us by Tamara Jerée
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link The author’s content notes, which also apply to this review: “While Cassiel’s story is focused on healing, heavier themes of trauma and shame are explored to give context to the protagonist’s journey. Please consider the major content notes: cutting scars, brief self-harm ideation, discussion of an eating disorder, family emotional abuse, andRead More
Childhood Nostalgia is a Trap: Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link I wasn’t sure if I would review this for the Lesbrary at first, because although the main character mentions that she’s bisexual at the beginning, it didn’t seem to come up again. Once I finished it, though, I realized that queerness is essential to the underpinning of the story. (There are alsoRead More