• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden | ARC Review

    19th November 2021
    Cover of Marry Me (Melissa Brayden)

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Ally and Megan’s chemistry was off the charts! From their first kiss to all the intimate scenes, I felt warmth in my stomach—always a good sign that the romantic connection is well-written.

    Allison “Ally” Hale, a fourth grade school teacher, and Brent Carmichael, eldest son of the rich Carmichael family, are getting married. With Ally’s parents’ financial security on the line because the Carmichaels have the power to make or break their oatmeal bars, no one expected Ally to develop feelings for the locally famous wedding planner, Megan Kinkaid (Black, biracial), a friend of Brent’s. Should Ally ignore her growing attraction to Megan, or shoot for a chance of having a happier future?

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    THE TELL TALE by Clare Ashton | ARC Review

    1st October 2021
    Cover for THE TELL TALE (Clare Ashton)

    THE TELL TALE by Clare Ashton

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    The Tell Tale is a historical fiction with many awesome queer reps, and it is the quality mystery we need!

    The year is 1971 and Beth Griffiths (~38) has returned to the village of Foel with her daughter Nia at the same time people start getting anonymous notes that reveal secrets of their past. Lady Sophie Melling (~38), who recently inherited a manor from her late father Lord Melling, is also back in the village. And the villagers are pointing fingers, desperate to find out who is the tell tale as more and more details about what happened in Foel twenty years ago begins to unveil.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    IN THE WATCHFUL CITY by S. Qiouyi Lu | ARC Review

    31st August 2021
    Cover of In the Watchful City (S. Qiouyi Lu)

    IN THE WATCHFUL CITY by S. Qiouyi Lu

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    In the Watchful City is an Asian-centric adult queer fantasy novella about living (and death) with a heart-racing ending.

    The main character Anima (æ/ær/ær) is part of the city’s surveillance system the Gleaming (think The Matrix), one of the eight nodes in the inner sanctum. When æ meets Vessel (se/ser/ser), who carries a qíjìtáng full of knickknacks and memories from different people, ær curiosity brings ær to realize that there is more to life than guarding the city of Ora.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Cheer Up! by Crystal Frasier & Val Wise | ARC Review

    10th August 2021
    Cover of Cheer Up! (Crystal Frasier & Val Wise)

    Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, illustrated by Val Wise

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: transphobia, outing, sexual harassment

    This was so cute and wholesome!

    Annie Ginter has excellent grades and doesn’t care about having no friends, but she needs extracurricular activities for college application. Her mom suggests cheerleading and Annie is not happy. But when Beatrice Diaz (trans) decides to take Annie in on the team, the pair start spending more time together. Beatrice helps Annie make friends on the team and Annie speaks up when people mistreats Beatrice. They grow together, and so does everyone else around them.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Once Stolen by D.N. Bryn | ARC Review

    27th July 2021
    Cover of Once Stolen (D.N. Bryn)

    Once Stolen (These Treacherous Tides) by D.N. Bryn

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This is the first novel I’ve read by Bryn, and I most definitely will be reading more of their future works.

    Bittersweet Earth (he/him, autistic, m-spec, boiuna) only cares about ignits, powerful magical stones that contains energy (think batteries, but cooler). When he saves Thais (she/her, nonbinary, human) from a boat, he only has eyes for Thais’ enormous ignit stash from her mother. But as the pair go through an adventure of reaching the ignits, Bittersweet Earth—or Cacao, as Thais calls him—realizes there is more to the world than precious stone, namely, friendship, trust, home, and maybe even love.

    Read More