I Hope That You Get To See Your Book At Your Favorite Bookstore Someday.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read this back in February and unfortunately didn't have time to review it until now. I absolutely loved it! The backgrounds of the characters are even more complex than books with linear timelines. The main character, Nix (I believe), was tempted by so many different things to try to save herself from an uncertain future or not even a future at all. Her problem solving was beyond something I've experienced in any other book. I highly recommend this book!

I’m still not sure how to explain to non-writers that sometimes characters can just do things without your consent or foreknowledge and there’s not a lot you can do to stop them. 

All of these books are queer, but they all have back blurbs that don’t say they’re queer. While this can be a pain if I’m scouting for queer SFF, it can come in handy for people in a situation where they don’t want to be reading queer books openly. 

Please do note that I don’t have hard copies of the books on hand so it’s possible that an author quote or something mentions one being queer (I feel like this isn’t super likely, but I don’t want to rule it out). Some might also have author biographies mentioning that the author is queer. Also, some may be shelved as LGBT on Goodreads or categorized as queer on Amazon. So if you’re planning on asking for any of these as holiday gifts, I would suggest going to the Amazon page or where ever your relative is likely to buy it from and double check that it’s something you’d be comfortable with sharing openly. 

I wish I had more pansexual books, but the ones I know of tend to mention queerness in the back description. 

With the exception of The Spy with the Red Balloon, these are all books I have read or are currently reading. If you want to recommend others, feel free to do so in the replies!

You can find my other queer book recommendations here.

Links to the queer books database (or Goodreads if the book hasn’t been added yet) are available below the cut. You can find information on content warnings there.

Keep reading

Ascendant by Kimberly Grey Review

Summary: For hundreds of years, war has raged across the realm of Guardian Angels. White-Wing against Black-Wing. Grace is the Saboteur, daughter of the White-Wing Spy Master, destined to end the war once and for all. But all of that is snatched away when she is captured by the Black-Wings. Trapped in their secret city, Grace finds herself questioning everything.

Going into this story, I already knew it was in my usual reading wheel-house. I’m always a sucker for fantasy stories, especially ones with complex conflict. This story was absolutely no exception.

I’ll admit that I became a touch worried at some points, having noticed some of the tell-tale signs of upcoming cliches that, while I always enjoy, I’ve seen written poorly too many times. Kimberly Grey pleasantly surprised me, however. Not only did Grey execute some of my beloved cliches, but they also lead some of them into outcomes I absolutely did not expect. And, let me tell you, I loved it.

Grace, as the main character, is a brilliant narrator to follow. Not only does she begin the story believing in her mission and the people alongside her, but the reader is given the opportunity to watch as her own understanding of the world, war, and everything around her actually develops. After all, Grace is still a child in this war, a child that has been misled and trained to be a soldier all her life. On top of that, she’s just an all-around lovable character and I really enjoyed my time with her.

On top of the complex conflict and lovable narrator and her development, I absolutely loved the focus on found-family in this story. It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to read a story with a well-written found-family element and, I must say, this was refreshing and incredibly satisfying. Grey could’ve easily written a romantic relationship between Grace and her new family member, but, again, pleasantly surprised me by creating a loving, sibling relationship. Thank you so much for that.

If this was already in Goodreads and Amazon, it would absolutely get a five-star rating from me (and it will receive those ratings as soon as possible). I highly recommend this book, and I’m excited to see this published so that more people can take in this story.

If you would like to learn more about this story, check out the “ascendant” tag on @authorkimberlygrey‘s page!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This story takes Shakespeare, some concepts from Harry Potter, and that general sense of human curiosity and wraps it up in one absolutely amazing book. I absolutely loved it. The relationship between the characters was awesome as well as the relationship that was built up between the characters and I as I read. Virginia definitely knows how to play with readers' emotions. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys YA books, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, a bit of Shakespeare, or just a story that makes reading a bit more difficult to stop doing.

7/7/7 Tag!

The wonderful @radley-writes​ tagged me for this (thank you!). You can read their post here! 

Rules: Seventh page, 7th line, 7 sentences. 

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As soon as she left, Charles slumped back in the seat, closing his eyes as the noise of the crowd washed over him. He’d have his dinner here and, with any luck, would get a room at another inn. That didn’t seem too bad. As long as he got a decent night of sleep, he’d be fine. 

With a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and looked out at the crowded dining room. More people had shown up since he sat down, mostly younger people like him, from what he could tell. A group pushed through the crowd and settled at the booth next to him, their loud conversation preceding them the whole way.

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There isn’t much for action or dialogue here, since this landed on a bit of a transition. It’s also from draft one of my current WIP, which hasn’t really been edited much yet, oops.

I don’t have anyone in particular to tag, but if you’d like to do this too, maybe tag me so that I can see your writing!

Elemental Tag Game

Thank you so much for tagging me, @feathered-inkling!

Rules: bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, then tag nine people.

AIR

i have small hands / i love the night sky / i watch small animals and birds when i pass them by / i drink herbal tea / i wake to see dawn / the smell of dust is comforting / i’m valued for being wise / i prefer books to music / i meditate / i find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE

i don’t have straight hair / i like to wear ripped jeans and overalls / i play an organized sport / i love dogs / i am not afraid of adventure / i love to talk to strangers / i always try new foods / i enjoy road trips / summer is my favorite season / my radio is always playing

WATER

i wear bracelets on my wrists / i love the bustle of the city / i have more than one set of piercings / i read poetry / i love the sound of a thunderstorm / i want to travel the world / i sleep past midday most days / i love dimly lit diners and fluorescent signs / i rewatch kids’ shows out of nostalgia / i see emotions in colors not words

EARTH

i wear glasses or contacts / i enjoy doing the laundry / i am a vegetarian or vegan / i have an excellent sense of time / my humor is very cheerful / i am a valued advisor to my friends / i believe in true love / i love the chill of mountain air / i’m always listening to music / i am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER

i go without makeup in my daily life / i make my own artwork / i keep on track of my tasks and time / i always know true north / i see beauty in everything / i can always smell flowers / i smile at everyone i pass by / i always fear history repeating itself / i have recovered from a mental disorder / i can love unconditionally

I won’t specifically tag anyone but if seeing this makes anyone want to do it as well, feel free to say that I tagged you!

happy storyteller saturday! what are some of your characters’s favorite childhood memories?

Happy sts! Thank you so much for sending a question again, @feathered-inkling! I love answering these!

Oliver’s favorite childhood memories all surround the rare times he and his siblings got to just be kids. Times like playing hide and seek when his parents weren’t home and staying up late telling ghost stories with his younger brother. Shiloh’s favorite childhood memories are just whenever her dad gave her metalwork lessons and taught her anything new surrounding his forge.

no one:

me: here’s a flow chart of 41 lgbtq+ book recommendations, have fun!

disclaimer: this is a very non-comprehensive list since I’m only including books that I’ve read

Partially frozen lake.