Top August Reads

Here are my five star reads for August.

Troy – Stephen Fry

I had been looking forward to this one since I finished Heroes. This installment in Stephen Fry’s mythology series was as engaging and enjoyable as the first two. Fry has a distinctive voice and makes the mythology accessible and easy to understand. It has made me want to reread the Iliad (although when I’ll have the time for that, I don’t know), and I’m really looking forward to the next installment about the Odyssey.

No. 6 volumes 3-9 – Asano Atsuko

I finished off the No. 6 manga this month. Oh my word, I love this series so much. I adore the anime, so it was about time I got round to reading it, and I wish I had read it sooner! In the dystopian city of No. 6, Rat and Shion work to take down the system. This series is angsty and romantic and exciting and sad and I’m so glad I finally finished it.

The Crystal Kingdom – The McElroys

Another book I’ve been waiting for, this is the latest installment in the Adventure Zone graphic novels. In this volume, Taako, Magnus and Merle head to Lucas Miller’s laboratory to reclaim another relic. The lab has been overtaken by weird pink crystals and danger and hijinks ensue. We’re introduced to my favourite character in this volume and it’s just as fun as the previous volumes, with fabulous art.

Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes and The Tailor of Gloucester – Beatrix Potter

This month I decided to read the last few Beatrix Potter books that I hadn’t got to as a child. These were my two favourites. Appley Dapply’s nursery rhymes features this poem, which is why it got 5 stars:

'There once was an amiable guinea pig, who brushed back his hair like a periwig. He wore a sweet tie, as blue as the sky, and his whiskers and buttons were very big.'

What more could you want in a book than that? With his little top hat and cane!

The Tailor of Gloucester threw me right back into childhood, because there was a Beatrix Potter movie I used to watch at my grandma’s house which featured this story. It was wonderful reliving that by reading the book. Plus, Beatrix Potter’s illustrations are delightful as always.

Glitterland, Waiting for the Flood, For Real, and Pansies – Alexis Hall

A while back I asked for recommendations for queer romance books with happy endings, but a lot of angst on the journey. I now have a goodreads shelf entitled ‘recs to make me feel something’. The Spires series by Alexis Hall was one of those recommendations, and this month I got round to reading them. And oh boy, did they fit my specifications exactly!

Each novel follows a different couple, and the books can be read as standalone, although I did enjoy spotting the few cameos! It’s hard to choose my favourite out of the four.

Glitterland deals with mental health, as one of the mcs has bipolar, and it definitely does not shy away from the dark and painful reality of mental health problems. Ash is a hard character to like at first, although as someone who has dealt with my own mental health issues I felt like I definitely understood where he was coming from. Darian is a glitterball of sunshine and just an absolute delight of a character.

Waiting for the Flood features Edwin, a reclusive book binder, and Adam, a civil engineer working on the flooding in the area. This is a shorter story, and less steamy than the other books in the series, but it is wonderfully sweet, and I loved every single word.

For Real is about Laurie, a jaded sub, and Toby, a young dom brand new to the BDSM scene. I wasn’t sure going in how much I was going to like this one, but it surprised me. Laurie and Toby have a lot of things to work through, and I really loved joining them as they figured out their lives and their relationship.

Pansies is set predominantly in South Shields, which is just the other side of the river to me, and I always love reading books set in or near my home city. It’s bullies to lovers, which is a trope I’ve never really considered, but in Pansies I really enjoyed it. Alfie and Fen are another couple that are going to live rent free in my head for a long time!

The House of Hades – Rick Riordan

I’ve enjoyed the entirety of this series, but this was one was my favourite. I think what made it stand out was the journey through Tartarus, and also learning more about Nico, who is my favourite character in the entire Percy Jackson universe. I’m looking forward to reading more of Rick Riordan’s books, although I’m now unsure which series to read next.

Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen – Amrou Al-Kadhi

Oh boy, this book made me cry. This is a beautiful, poignant memoir that I think everyone should read. Whilst our situations are vastly different (I am from a white christian background), the way that Al-Kadhi talked about religious trauma really resonated with me. This is not an easy read, but it is definitely an essential one.

Book Review: Under Shifting Stars by Alexandra Latos

Audrey and Clare are non identical twins whose older brother recently died. Audrey goes to a SEN school, and Clare to a mainstream school. Clare is figuring out her identity, and pulling away from her sister, whilst Audrey feels left behind, and is desperate to prove that she can return to Clare’s school.

The book is told through both Audrey and Clare’s perspectives, with alternating chapters. I liked Audrey immediately. I’m always happy to see a neurodivergent main character, and I thought Audrey was well written and relateable. Her voice sounds a little less mature than Clare’s, but it’s still clear that she’s a teenager, with teenage feelings and desires. Her chapters have no speechmarks, which threw me a little at first, but once I got used to it, it just added to her voice. It took me longer to warm to Clare. I think this was because she is quite hurtful towards Audrey near the beginning of the book. However, after a few chapters I really came to like and understand her.

Under Shifting Stars tackles big topics in an engaging and understandable way. The story is about grief, growing up, sex, gender, school, teenage relationships and learning who you are. Audrey and Clare process their grief in two different ways, and I thought that both were explored well. Clare deals with homophobia, transphobia and losing friends, and Audrey deals with ableist bullying and feeling like she doesn’t fit in at her school. I also thought the portrayal of gender identity discovery was very authentic and well written. The twin connection, and growing apart as you grow up reminded me a little of Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson, which I read as a child, although the two stories are otherwise very different.

This book is really sad. It started sad, and, because it was dealing with grief, there was a lot of sadness all of the way through. But it was also a really lovely, moving story. I really cared about all of the characters, and I was rooting for them in their journeys. Both Audrey and Clare get to discover themselves and learn and grow. I highly recommend this book for older teens, and also adults.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Shifting-Stars-Alexandra-Latos/dp/0358067758/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Under+Shifting+Stars&qid=1600692231&s=books&sr=1-1&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21

Book Review: The Dragon Of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen

The Dragon of Ynys is a fantasy fairy tale about love and acceptance and friendship. Sir Violet investigates thefts that are happening in his town. He finds the dragon who is stealing them. But then Juniper goes missing, and Sir Violet wonders if the dragon has stolen her as well. What follows is a bit of an adventure, as the characters go looking for Juniper, and work on solving some personal relationship problems as well.

This is quite a short book, and it really does feel like a fairy tale. There’s something about the language and the structure. As I was reading it, I felt like it would work quite well read aloud as a bedtime story. At first the way it was written made me feel a little disconnected from the characters, but as the story progressed I got to know and like the characters.

This story is fun and cute. The characters are interesting and likeable, and the plot is fun and engaging. There are some funny moments, and some quite emotional moments as well. For the most part, the book feels like it’s aimed at children, with its simplistic, fairy tale like structure and its positive message and morals, although it can definitely be enjoyed by adults as well! Occasionally it felt more adult, though not in an inapropriate way . More that there were certain conversations that felt like they might bore children, especially younger children.

This is a fairy tale with queer representation, which I loved. I love being able to see myself and characters like myself in the kind of story that we often don’t get to play a part in. But this isn’t just a fairy tale featuring diverse characters. It’s also a fairy tale specifically about a diverse range of characters and their identities. I especially liked that there is an aroace main character, and that there are nonbinary characters as well. In the story, people aren’t restricted by gender, with women as knights and a woman as the mayor. There’s a little bit of minor transphobia from some of the characters but ultimately characters are supportive, and the book would be a good way to introduce younger children to trans and gender nonconforming people, as it shows that it’s important to be yourself and also to accept others as themselves. The sharing of pronouns is also normalised, which is great.

This version of the book is a rerelease, after the writer rewrote the book to be more trans friendly. I definitely think she succeeded, and I think this is a wonderful story to read and to share with children.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Ynys-Minerva-Cerridwen/dp/1945009683/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+dragon+of+ynys&qid=1599568734&sr=8-1

Book Review: Night Life by S.J. Hartsfield

Ronnie Kent is an experienced escort and she knows not to fall for a client. But then the gorgeous, mysterious Diana Silver hires her for the night, and then again, and again, leading to a full blow affair.

I have to admit that I don’t read many romances where they’re naked within the first chapter! The escort scenario flips the typical romance structure on its head, with physical intimacy leading to emotional intimacy instead of the other way round. This story is exciting and ilicit, with a lot of sex scenes, several of them pretty kinky! There is instant chemistry between the two main characters, Diana and Ronnie, and I was invested in their story from the get go. I do think if this had been a heterosexual romance, I would have been put off by the escort/client scenario, but because the book features two women, the power balance felt more equal and it didn’t make me uncomfortable.

Whilst there is a lot of sex in this book, there is also enough going on plotwise holding it all together. We have Ronnie’s asshole of a boss, and Diana’s controlling mother, and a political campaign that Diana unwillingly works on. The supporting cast are interesting and amusing, and all characters I was interested in in their own right. Also, and I may have been reading this wrong, but I read Diana’s sister (a minor character who we don’t meet but is referred to by other characters) as aroace, which I liked.

There were rather a lot of coincidences near the beginning of the book, and I have to admit that an adult calling her mother ‘mummy’ kind of weirded me out, but other than that this is a quick, fun read that I was a lot more emotionally invested in than I thought I would have been. I loved the characters, the plot hooked me, the sex scenes were well written, and the ending was absolutely perfect.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Life-sex-worker-romance-ebook/dp/B08DP57NHX/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?dchild=1&keywords=nightlife+sj+heartsfield&qid=1599488776&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Book Review: All Or Nothing by Riina Y T

Hey everyone. This is a book that came out last year. I was lucky enough to get a copy on netgalley, and I wrote the review on goodreads, before I set up this blog. It’s a christmas book, so I thought I’d bring back my review now that it’s Autumn. If you’re already planning your festive reads for this year, check this one out!

This book was so cute! Reading it made me really happy!

It’s nice, sometimes, to sit down with a book that’s all about the fluff and romance without too much drama or pain. There are so many heterosexual romance books that fit that description, but I rarely come across a good gay romance that isn’t all about the pain of coming out and rejection, or other horrible things that happen to LGBT people in real life. This book is an escape from all that. Not to say that nothing dramatic happens in this book though, it’s not certainly not a boring story!

I liked the alternating point of view, it was nice to see the story from both characters’ perspectives. And I liked both characters. Carter and Remmy both had distinct voices and personalities and I enjoyed both of them.

If you’re looking for a gentle christmas read, or a cute gay romance, definitely pick up this book, it’s great. 

Book Review: Tokyo Love by Diana Jean

Kathleen Schmitt has moved to Tokyo to become the project head for Personal Love Companions, a love robot made to match the customer’s preference. She recieves her beta model for testing and it’s a replica of her neighbour, Yuriko, who has been helping her settle in to Tokyo. The concept of this book was so bizarre that I was instantly hooked. There’s a kind of crazy set up, where Kathleen, who has been working on the project, ends up having to do the beta test on her own. She doesn’t want a robot partner, and finds the whole thing kind of weird, since she knows exactly how the thing has been programmed, but she’s forced into the situation by her boss. The specifics for her robot are lifted directly from her mind using a high tech scan, but what she recieves completely surprises her.

I really liked both Kathleen and Yuriko. At first they don’t get along. They work for the same company, and there’s a little bit of a rivalry since Kathleen works in software and Yuriko works in hardware. Kathleen is also a bit of a bumbling foreigner, and relies on Yuriko to help her understand the transport system and read labels at the supermarket. The book is pretty slow burn, with lots of ignoring the obvious from both sides. At times I wanted to shake the two of them! But it’s a really sweet story, with a bisexual awakening. We also get lots of little bits of Japanese culture, plenty of cute scenes like hanging out at an onsen, and visiting temples, and watching the fireworks. This story would make a really cute anime, I think. The characters are cute, and definitely awkward, and honestly I was rooting for them the whole way through.

I was a little confused as to when this book is set. I’m assuming a near future, because all of the technology is more advanced than what we currently have, including AI that is almost indistinguishable from an actual human. I found the concept intriguing, which is why I picked up the book, but I have to admit this isn’t a future I want! I found the idea of sex doll robot girlfriends with artificial intelligence pretty creepy.. Although by the end I cared about Ai, the robot, as much as I did the human characters. And, although I’m assuming this is set in the future, there is still a very traditional Japanese approach to LGBTQ+ relationships, which I felt seemed a little old fashioned when contrasted with the new technology. I can’t judge how authentically Japanese it is, because I’m not Japanese, but I would have liked to see Yuriko involved with Japanese queer culture. She seems very isolated, and I know that there is a queer community in Japan, even if it’s not as visible as in America or the UK.

It’s a weird concept, and I’m still not fully sold on the sex robots, but this is a really sweet story and I enjoyed reading it.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tokyo-Love-Diana-Jean-ebook/dp/B084QH4ZCF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tokyo+love&qid=1598970034&sr=8-1

Book Review: The Day I Disappeared by Brandi Reeds

Four year old Holly Gerbhardt is kidnapped. Three months later she reappears with no memory of what happened. Twenty years later, another girl goes missing in similar circumstances and detective Jason Guidry recruits Holly to help him solve it. All she has to do is try to remember.

This story is told predominantly from Holly’s point of view, but it is interspersed with chapters from Holly’s mother Cecily’s point of view. Holly, now an adult, doesn’t really know her place in the world. She doesn’t quite fit in. She’s tried to move on from her past but it’s not that easy and she’s still scarred. Her life is blighted with complicated relationships. She never had the greatest of relationships with her mother. But now Cecily is in hospital in a coma after a car accident. She’s haunted by the abduction as well, and her point of view takes the form of her memories of the past as she fights for her life in the present. The pieces of the past slowly come together, some from Cecily’s recollections, some from Holly, as she slowly starts to remember the things she forgot.

I expected this book to be a typical detective crime thriller, but it’s more people than procedural. It’s definitely more about the family secrets, relationships, and a hidden past that perhaps shouldn’t be uncovered. There’s a definite focus on relationships and feelings, and the detective doesn’t actually feature that much in the narrative. It’s very slow burn, with a long build up and then most of the action taking place in the last 3/4 of the book. Each memory throws up more questions, and I found the slow drip of memories and information really intriguing. I was kept guessing the whole way through. The plot itself is kind of wild, and trying to put together the pieces made this a fun read.

The one character I really didn’t like much was Kitten. She’s Holly’s best friend, who witnessed her abduction as a child. She seems kind of disconnected from Holly, even at one point saying ‘if I’ve moved past it, so can you’, showing she really doesn’t understand what Holly’s been through. Kitten is preparing for her wedding, and I found her a bit of a bridezilla at times. Although that might be just because I don’t really understand the appeal of marriage and big, perfect weddings.

Overall this book is a good read, with plenty of mysteriousness that made me want to keep reading.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-I-Disappeared-Brandi-Reeds-ebook/dp/B081NKYK85/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+day+i+disappeared&qid=1598274635&sr=8-2

Spotlight #2: Books by Black Authors

For these spotlight blogs, I’ll be focusing on different marginalised identities. Today’s post is another round up of books by black authors. These are all mini reviews which have already been posted on my instagram. I choose the books purely based on what I’ve read and enjoyed recently.

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman is a dystopian YA novel about Kaspar, who joins the Guardians, the peacekeeping force in his city. It has always been his goal to follow in his parents’ footsteps and joint the Guardians, but he quickly learns that his government has been keeping some dangerous secrets. This book was published after I ‘grew out of’ YA fiction so it’s not one I’d read before. This book is pretty standard dystopian YA; exciting, thought provoking, with plenty of action scenes. It’s a pretty good read. I listened to the audiobook and I was hooked the entire way through.

Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard

Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard is about Helen Thomas, a teenager who is half mortal, half Greek God. She moves in with her dad, Zeus, and the rest of her immortal family, and chaos ensues. It’s a teen drama with a black lead, with Greek Gods in a contemporary setting. I loved this book. I love pretty much everything that involves Greek mythology so this was right up my street. I really liked Helen and her friends. I loved the hijinks that the Greek Gods got up to, and all the chaos that they caused. I also really liked the ending. This is a really fun read!

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is a difficult book to sum up. It tells the intertwining histories of twelve people, most of them women, most of them black. It explores race, gender, feminism, and the many different ways to be British. For the most part I really loved this book. All of the chatacyers felt so real, with full lives and backgrounds. I loved the way each character subtly linked with the next. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing life from multiple different perspectives. The one issue I had with this book was the chapter for the one nonbinary character. They felt less well rounded that the other characters, and both they and their trans woman girlfriend felt more like cookie cutter stereotypes rather than the fully fleshed out people all the other characters were. I wanted more from their stories. I also didn’t appreciate the transphobic narratives of ‘all trans people know they’re trans from a young age’, ‘trans women mansplain to women about being a woman’ and ‘all the different genders are unnecessary and complicate things’ which seemed to be presented with no counter point. Other issues in the book were explored from both sides. This is a very subtle form of transphobia. I didn’t see outright hate in the book and I don’t believe that Evaristo is transphobic, so don’t let this put you off from reading the book, it really is very good. It’s just as a trans person, I see these narratives permeate almost everything and they may not be as damaging as ‘trans women are violent predators’ or ‘trans people shouldn’t be allowed to transition’ but they do still cause some damage none the less.

Surge by Jay Bernard

Surge by Jay Bernard is a beautiful, heartbreaking book of poetry. Exploring the Black British archive, the poems cover the New Cross Massacre and the Grenfell fire. (If you haven’t heard of those, read this book, and then do some googling). I struggle to review poetry; either it clicks with me or it doesn’t, it’s hard to go into detail as to why. This book clicks. These poems are a very original way of exploring the collective trauma of Black British people, and queer Black British people. It is also insight into the systemic racism here in Britain, making it a very poignant read for the current times.

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Home by Nnedi Okorafor is the second book in the Binti trilogy. In this book, Binti returns home to her family, with Okwu by her side. In this book we learn more about Binti and her family, and we meet the mysterious desert people. But going to Oomza Uni has changed Binti, and going home is difficult. I am really enjoying this trilogy. I love the world, I love the chatacters. This instalment is just as exciting, mysterious and interesting as the first book and I’m looking forward to finishing reading this series.

Book Review: Non-Binary Lives – An Anthology of Intersecting Identities by Jos Twist, Ben Vincent, Meg-John Barker and Kat Gupta

This book is a collection of writings by nonbinary people, about their lives as nonbinary and how their identities intersect. It is a very moving book, definitely worth a read. I am nonbinary, which made it a particularly emotional read for me, but I think everyone, cis or trans, binary or nonbinary, should read this book.

The pieces of writing are all very personal, it really feels like you’re getting to understand the writers and their identities and lives. Some of the pieces occasionally take on a more informative tone, which, given that this book is talking about topics that not everyone knows much about, is helpful. I know there was some information about queer history and feminism that I didn’t know much about, despite being both queer and a feminist myself. Each piece of writing shows a different person’s journey to their identity. There are so many different ways to be nonbinary, and so many ways to figure out that you are nonbinary, and I think this book does a really good job of showing that.

I particularly liked that the writers are a very diverse group. There are stories that talk about religion, disability, being a person of colour, and how those things affect the person’s identity and story. One of them, focusing on disability, really moved me, because it rang very true to my own experience. This is a good book to read both to learn about other people but also to see yourself in the writing as well. Older nonbinary people have voices in this book, which is incredibly important because it often gets seen as a phase, just teenagers ‘trying to be special’.

I found the chapter about a nonbinary child, written by a nonbinary parent, particularly moving.

There is a nuanced discussion about definitions and language at the start of the book, which I really appreciated, because different people use different terms in different ways. Even the word nonbinary can mean different things to different people!

There are also cartoons at the start of each chapter, which I loved!

Ultimately, this is a wonderful book, and I really do think everyone should read it. Because the writings are split up into chapters, roughly grouped into themes, it would be easy to dip in and out if you didn’t want to read it in one sitting (although it’s engaging enough to read it all through at once!). 

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Binary-Lives-Anthology-Intersecting-Identities/dp/1787753395/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nonbinary+lives&qid=1596798221&sr=8-1

Book Review: Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Cinderella is Dead is a fairytale retelling of the Cinderella story. Set two hundred years after Cinderella’s death (an intriguing start to a novel, I was instantly hooked), teenage girls have to appear at an annual ball, hosted by the king, a descendant of Cinderella, where the men in their society choose wives. But if you’re unlucky enough not to get chosen, you are disappeared, and no one hears from you again. Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen. She would rather marry Erin than any man. So she flees, and finds herself working to take down the king.

I absolutely love fairytale retellings. I don’t know what it is about them, but I can’t get enough of them. Cinderella is Dead is a feminist take on the tale of Cinderella. It gave me some Handmaid’s Tale vibes re: women’s rights and their position in society. It also has a lesbian lead character, and a lesbian romance subplot. It’s certainly a unique take on Cinderella and what happened after the end of the fairytale. It feels original, bringing something new to the table.

This is a really good YA book. It has an exciting beginning, and then things get even more exciting and dramatic as the story continues. The setting is almost dystopian, just in a fantasy world, with a tyrannical king, a curfew, propaganda and public executions. The tale of Cinderella is like their holy book, and following its teachings women are kept in their ‘place’ as second class citizens. The rules are also homophobic, causing problems for queer people of all genders. The magic in the Cinderella’s story seems to be absent from the day to day lives of the characters, but to question its existence is illegal. The story gets more and more interesting as it progresses, as secrets and horrors are uncovered.

Sophia is a brilliant main character. She’s sure of her sexuality, and is willing to fight and question everything, whilst also loving deeply, and she has her own insecurities. Whilst often in fairytales, girls are damsels in distress and the prince comes in to save them, Sophia says ‘I’d like to be the one in armour, and I’d like to be the one doing the saving’. This book is a story about magic, adventure, romance, grief, sorrow and friendship. It’s about two girls trying to save the world. There are plenty of soft romantic moments, and also plenty of pining. Love is complicated, and Sophia’s love story is far from simple.

There’s never a dull moment in this book. The story is gripping and I couldn’t put it down. This book is empowering for girls, especially black and queer girls, and just all round a great story.

I received this book from Netgalley for free in return for an honest review.

Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cinderella-Dead-Kalynn-Bayron-ebook/dp/B08C9X9DK4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=cinderella+is+dead&qid=1596640144&sr=8-1