June was a great month for my reading! I read 11 books, almost all of which were queer unless they were an ARC. Did you read any good queer books this month? Drop them in the comments!
The "Wish I'd DNF'd" Pile
Two Left Feet by Kallie Emblidge [Book Club Pick]
š³ļøāš - MLM romance
I just didn't understand the attraction between the two main characters when Oliver was such a dick for so much of the book. But there's a MUCH better sports romance rivals-to-lovers down below, so the month was redeemed after this one!
A Star-Cursed Heart by Annie Mare [ARC]
š³ļøāš - WLW romance, queer side characters
I felt like I was banging my head against a wall the whole time I was reading this one. I wanted so badly to like this. A queer Scarlet Letter retelling about the puritan's lesbian descendants? So much potential to play with the themes of the original book! Unfortunately, it was really saccharine and flat, and the pacing was off.
The "Take It or Leave It" Pile
Marion by Leah Rowan [ARC]
Taking Psycho's dead leading lady and having her fight back is a fun thriller concept. The preachy, heavy-handed tone took away from my overall enjoyment but this is a good pick for anyone who wants a female rage and rightful revenge thriller!
The Salvage by Anbara Salam [ARC]
š³ļøāš - WLW romance subplot
I think my first issue with this book was that the way it was pitched didn't quite match my reading experience. It's much less thriller and more historical lit fic, so I struggled with a bit of mismatched expectations. Beyond that, however, I also found Marta to be a difficult character to root for, and with thrillers, you usually want to root for your MC to survive! I honestly felt like Marta did deserve some of what happened to her and Elsie was a ray of sunshine who deserved someone better.
The "Read If You Like the Genre" Pile
In the Woods They Wait by Carrie Lee South [ARC]
I haven't had a thriller make me squirm like this in awhile! But the ultimate reveal ended up being one of my least favorite things - still loved the book, but I don't think I could reread some of those later scenes haha. If you, like me, enjoy mystery thrillers about folks going missing in the woods, you should definitely pick this up when it comes out later this year.
Arcana: The Cursed Fate by Sam Prentice-Jones [ARC]
š³ļøāš - Lots of queer characters, including 2 trans MCs. Queer author!
I read Arcana: The Lost Heirs earlier this year and really loved it. It's a middle grade/YA graphic novel, but it tackles queerness, abuse, trauma, and other complex topics in a beautiful and age-appropriate way. This was a lovely wrap-up to the series and I definitely teared up at the end. I particularly love the way Prentice-Jones designs their characters - the body diversity is so lovely to see.
The "Everyone Should Read This!" Pile
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones by Lex Croucher [ARC]
š³ļøāš - Non-binary MC + author, gay/bi characters
The way Croucher subverts the dark academia/magic school genre tropes??
The way they write their non-binary main character??
The way these messed up kids made me love them so much??
Absolutely adored this book, it was everything I hoped it would be.
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
š³ļøāš - Trans MC + author, queer/neurodivergent characters
Queer Appalachian narratives always have my whole heart, and this stellar YA horror by Andrew Joseph White delivers on every beat. It's the kind of book that I love so much, in a particular way, that I don't really know how to talk about it. It's a blood-soaked love letter to Appalachian hollers & autistic trans kids who deserve a better future - & in his words, it'll burn like hell going down.
Charity & Sylvia by Tillie Walden [ARC]
š³ļøāš - Lesbian couple + author
I first discovered Tillie Walden as a baby gay in college, reading On a Sunbeam. She's stuck with me over the years, so you can imagine my excitement when, as a new transplant to Vermont, I found out she lives here with her wife and teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies in WRJ! I was able to attend the launch event for Charity & Sylvia and it was so special to hear Walden speak about her process of bringing these 1800s lesbians to life. This is a beautifully rendered piece of both Vermont and queer history - perfect for Pride month!
(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall [ARC]
This was the perfect combo of 2 of my greatest loves: X Files + southern Appalachia! I wanted to scream at the end - much like Mulder & Scully, Nic & Alexys are a proper slow burn (the best romance torture). I would like 11 seasons and 2 movies worth of Nic, Alexys, and Entity please!
The Winged Game by Sophie Kim [ARC]
š³ļøāš - WLW side characters, queernormative world
It's simple: Sophie Kim writes it, I eat it up. Her romances have my giggling and kicking my feet every time - and the true rivals to lovers in this one is chefs kiss. The excitement of carriwitchet and the mystery plot made it impossible to put this one down, and the romance hit all the right notes.
I especially appreciate that Kim never rushes her character arcs; they each get time to breathe and grow over the course of the book without skipping to the "fun" parts too quickly. For example: there's a moment where the MCs come very close to sleeping together but for a bunch of great character development reasons, they don't. It's frustrating to them, it's frustrating to the reader, and it makes perfect sense. They're not ready yet, and Kim chooses to lean into the tension of their baggage instead of smoothing it over too soon. 10/10, no notes.
