kanga @kanga@abolition.online

📖 Going Public by Hudson Lin (romance, m/m) read a paper book that I own. I don’t eyeball read a ton, and I tend to be pickier when I do about books that keep my attention, and this one definitely did. I particularly loved Elvin and his family and his love of musicals!

📖 Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Aria (mystery) listened on Libby. I’m working through a lot of Autostraddle’s Best Queer Books of 2021 and I this was a great way to get out of my comfort zone! The 20s setting was really lush and I enjoyed reading a book with a stable and established sapphic relationship.

📖 Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (fantasy, romance, f/f) read a borrowed copy on paper. I’ve wanted to read this since I first heard about it! Slice of life is really working for me as a mood right now- this book had the perfect balance of plot and…not. Now I need the sequel about the chess gnome.

📖 The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (fantasy) listened on Libby. I knew going in that this book would be emotional and it sure did deliver on that! Miller’s writing continues to intrigue me by feeling both removed and emotional at the same time. Lovely all around.

📖 I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson (romance, m/m) listened on Libro.fm. This is going to be the first book for Kira and my queer romance book club hosted by Charis and it’s going to be a great book to start us off! The queering of the fake-dating trope is intriguing, and surprise! There’s a whole chunk of this book set in Atlanta/Decatur! I really liked Kian’s internal monologues and Timothy Bell Reese did a great job on the narration, especially with Hudson’s rumbly drawl.

📖 Spellbound/Starcrossed/Wonderstruck by Allie Therin (fantasy, romance, m/m) listened to all on Hoopla. This series has been on my list for a long time, and I’m glad I finally got to it! I really got into the 20s setting and turns of phrase, and the pining in Spellbound is truly excellent.

📖 The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (fantasy, reread) listened on Hoopla. So many friends were reading this I had to do a re-listen. Talia, Chauncey, and Lucy are my favorite of the completely wonderful characters, and the absurdity at DICOMY continued to make me laugh.

📖 Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond (romance, f/f) read with my eyes on NetGalley. I enjoyed this as a light, cute romance, but it didn’t all the way work for me. I wanted to get to know the love interest a little more (her motivations?). I did like the pre-marriage equality Tulsa setting.
(Thanks for the eARC!)

📖 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (fiction) listened on Libby. I totally expected this to be a romance novel and it is not! This is such a page turner though, and all the personalities are so strong and fleshed out. Excellent and enigmatic.

It only just occurred to me today that all my hobbies are grandma hobbies? Knitting, gardening, reading romance novels, spending time spoiling other people’s children, jigsaw puzzles…. These activities fill like 90% of my waking non-work hours and are QUINTESSENTIAL grandma activities.

📖 The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (romance, m/(demisexual)f) listened on Libby. The incisive critique of academia is strong in this simultaneously steamy and angsty fake dating romance. I want a smidge more info about the hero- why is he like this? Why is he perceived how he is?

📖 I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (YA, romance, something else like maybe mystery) listened on Libby. So many wonderful things all stirred in together here- found family, the complexities of small towns, enemies-to-lovers, and I had no idea how it could all work out, but it did!

📖 Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper (romance, m/nb) listened on Hoopla. This book holds the simultaneous terror and delight of watching someone make the exact wrong choice over and over, embedded within a twisty anxiety-brain (and only improved by the narration of Pete Cross).

📖 Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner (romance, f/f) reads with my eyes from NetGalley. I did not expect this book to work! Falling for your best friend’s mom? But it did. I really loved the way it felt tropey and trope-bending all at the same time. And sexy!
(Thanks for the eARC, this book comes out Oct 11!)

📖 Circe by Madeline Miller (fantasy) listened on Libby. This book had a plodding, methodical, almost un-emotional way about it and I was surprised with how it was also so gripping. Beautiful prose. Time moved through this book in a particularly ethereal way.

📖 Reputation by Lex Croucher (romance? fiction?) listened on Libro.fm. This book was so much more intense than I expected it to be, though idk where I got that expectation. Mean Girls at their Regency meanest. I appreciated having nearly everyone be deeply flawed (except the love interest, obvs).

📖 A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft (YA, fantasy) listened on Libby. My sister always reminds me to support Allison’s books and she’s got the right idea! The family scenes were nuanced, the trauma responses were appropriate, and the magic system was interesting.

📖 Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (romance, m/f) listened on Libby. Many of the same things that worked for me in All the Feels apply here. I bought into April’s need for secrecy and Marcus’ reasons for keeping things to himself when similar miscommunications have felt more contrived.

📖​ A Master of Djinn by P Djèlí Clark (fantasy) listened on Libby and Scribd. I book-clubbed this book with Monica and Sarah and had a wonderful time. The world building felt organic, the historical setting felt grounded and interesting, and oh, Fatma’s suits! I loved all the descriptions. I hope for more.

After I finished all three, I had to go back and listen to the prologues, which are perplexing at first listen but are ultimately completely haunting and fascinating.
Also, as I’ve said before, Joel Leslie brings Ardy to life and was a large part of shaping my experience here