Recently, I was complaining to my sister about one of my pet peeves in fiction: stories featuring an academic or student that is vague about that character’s area of interest or research. Get specific about it! Include some nerdy tangents! Don’t just have a character vaguely be described as an art historian or a classicistRead More
7 Transfeminine Sapphic Books I Read In 2025
It’s a tough time to be trans, more so with the socio-cultural complicity and transmisogyny one witnesses even within supposedly progressive queer circles these days. However, as a trans masc author myself, I want to emphasize that while it is alright to call for the boycott of bigoted authors, it is equally—if not more—important toRead More
An Inverse Handmaid’s Tale: Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug Review
Eleven Percent has been marketed as an “inverse Handmaid’s Tale”—a world where women are in control and only 11% of men remain (kept under lock and key for reproduction and such). But while that pitch might catch your attention, what Maren Uthaug actually delivers is a much more unsettling and layered exploration of power, gender,Read 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
The Heights and Depths of Queer Trans Nostalgia: A/S/L by Jeanne Thornton Review
When Lilith, Sash, and Abraxa were teenagers in the late 90s, they ran a video game corporation together. They never actually sold a video game, but they worked on an incredibly ambitious text-based (ASCII) game together. Sash was the leader, the idea person who held everyone else to exacting standards. Lilith struggled to design gameRead More
A Dream Introduction to Nia Nal: Bad Dream by Nicole Maines and Rye Hickman
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! On October 14, 2018, transgender actor and activist Nicole Maines made history by appearing as Nia Nal/Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on TV, in Supergirl. She has since gone on to pen Dreamer’s comic debut in the DC Pride #1 in 2021 and Dreamer’s mainline DC continuityRead More
Identity in Transition: Us by Sara Soler
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Growing into one’s queer identity is often more a journey of discovery than a destination, and loving someone through the discovery phases takes one on the journey as well. Us by Sara Soler is a graphic memoir of love in motion. It follows twoRead More
A Dark, Magical Story of Gender Versus Tradition: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, written by Juno Dawson, is an enthralling urban fantasy that explores gender in a magical world that, similar to our own, finds itself strictly divided along the binary. It questions concepts of power, friendship, love, and feminism in a world in which traditional power structures are challenged and,Read More
A Queer M/F Romance of Healing and Reconciliation: A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link This novel is a masterful exploration of various themes, ranging from consent and communication during intimate moments to faith, substance abuse, and power dynamics. The author’s ability to delve into these topics with depth and sensitivity truly impressed me. The novel shines in its approach to consent and communication during sexual encounters.Read More
Ambitious, Brutal, and Brilliant Trans Sapphic Horror: Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
Amazon Affiliate Link | Bookshop.org Affiliate Link I’ve been having a good run with horror lately, and Alison Rumfitt’s stunning work of trans horror Tell Me I’m Worthless kept that streak up. The pull quote on the front cover advertises it as “ambitious, brutal, and brilliant,” and I think that’s a good starting point forRead More