SOMETHING IN THE WINE by Jae
Initially, I was hesitant about picking up this book because of its lower ratings on goodreads. All apprehension cleared once I started reading. I ended up really enjoying the growing relationship between Annie Prideaux and Drew Corbin.
DANIEL CABOT PUTS DOWN ROOTS (The Cabots #2) by Cat Sebastian
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
genre : historical romance (achillean romance series)
MCs : 26yo cis white m-spec man + 30yo neurodivergent cis white gay man
POV : dual 3rd-person
location: New York City, NY, USA (1973)
indie? : yes
This is my first Sebastian book, so no, you don’t have to read the first book or prequel of the series to read Daniel Cabot, but it might help you recognize some of the characters that took me several paragraphs to identify.
Set in New York City, 1973, Daniel Cabot (26, m-spec) and Alex Savchenko (30, gay, Ukrainian) have been best friends since Alex stumbled upon a post-fight Daniel one and a half years ago. Daniel is charming, fun-loving, and enjoys breaking up abandoned empty lots in the city for gardening. Alex is a pediatrician, dedicated to make healthcare most affordable for his patients (the sliding-scale pediatrics clinic he opened with fellow pediatrician Mary), and doesn’t like to be out and about like Daniel does. The two of them are inseparable: Daniel brings lunch to Alex, and Alex makes sure Daniel takes care of himself. Everyone else around them seems to think they’re boyfriends, but oh no, they are definitely not, nor are they in love with each other. Nope.
BOYS, BEASTS & MEN by Sam J. Miller, introduction by Amal El-Mohtar
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
If light horror speculative fiction is your jam, Boys, Beasts & Men should be on your TBR.
There are 15 stories (not including the interstitials) in this collection. The majority of them shared themes of family tension with young gay boys where the parents go to great lengths to fix their relationships, anger and/or injustice manifested as physical forms, AIDS, etc.
ZACHARY YING AND THE DRAGON EMPEROR (Zachary Ying #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
If you love history, mythology, and chaos, this book is for you.
Zachary “Zack” Ziyang Ying (12, gay) loves the video game Mythrealm, and it helps him make “friends.” When a Chinese boy, Simon Li, shows up at his school, Zack finds his life turning upside down as the spirit of Qin Shi Huang tries to possess him when he stands up for Simon to his “friends.” It doesn’t help that his mother’s spirit gets abducted by bad ghosts. To save his mother from disappearing forever and China from being overrun with malevolent underworld creatures, Zack has to travel to China, the country that had killed his father for speaking out, with Qin Shi Huang attached to his AR headset.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, read by Natalie Naudus
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
Chloe and Shara are both so terrible, and I love them dearly.
When Shara Wheeler disappeared after prom, her nemesis (kind of, they are fighting for valedictorian) Chloe Green (lesbian), boyfriend Smith Parker, and neighbor Rory Heron embark on a journey of tracking her down. What do they have in common? They all kissed Shara. In the small-town Christian high school run by Shara’s father, Chloe has to figure out this puzzle Shara left behind without being caught, and maybe she will find out more about Willowgrove, too.