Year 2 of #QBFFsRead and I read a queer book every week of July. I also caught up on some other reading and I don’t understand where July went.

Blanca & Roja

What I Learned: Balancing magic and the ordinary

Read as an ARC from ALA AC 2018. Comes out October 2018. The writing in this book is so lush, steeping everything from sisterly devotion to getting your period in a romantic aura. The way the magical elements are presented don’t overpower the more mundane elements of the plot. Such a delightful read.

Hunting Annabelle

What I Learned: Sympathetic, but Questionable Protagonists

Read as an ARC from the BookCon 2018. Comes out December 2018. Sean is not a good guy. Having murdered someone in the past and with his random interrupting violent thoughts, there are so many reasons to not want to root for him. With the layers and introspection afforded him by Heard, you go through this thriller wanting something, anything to go his way, making for a very engaging time.

Black Wings Beating

What I Learned: Sibling relationships

Read as an ARC received at ALA AC 2018. Comes out September 2018. In this fantasy featuring falconers and magic, twins Brysen and Kylee couldn’t be more different. Brysen is impulsive and Kylee is a planner. But the way these two care for each other and work together to take down the ghost eagle added so much heart. I think they could have easily been antagonists but watching them find common ground against looming threats endeared them to me.

The Girl and the Grove

What I Learned: Incorporating social media

Read as an ARC from NetGalley. Came out May 2018. In this day and age, social media is a part of people’s days. In the contemporaries I’ve seen, sometimes there’s an invented social network or it’s mentioned in the background. In this recent release, there are entire sections told in forums, over Twitter, and on Instagram. And it works. The experience is additive, especially given the media are presented right on the page instead of in summary or prose.

Nyxia Unleashed

What I Learned: Immersive world-building

Read as an ARC from NetGalley. Came out July 2018. Space travel was cool in the first book, but in this tome, we go planet-side and it is awesome. Instead of experiencing the briefs beforehand, Reintgen has us witness the Imago’s city and culture first-hand through the eyes of our characters. We’re right there when they’re invited to dinner and other mundane moments which don’t necessarily have any stakes for the plot of themselves, but add a layer of understanding. It was so great and I cannot wait to go back in the third book.

A Boy Called Cin

What I Learned: Low stakes stories can be fun

This book had been recommended me by the wonderful Elliott Junkyard. The plot of this one is a trans artist meets a billionaire over coffee. They fall in love. The antagonist is the gender feelings along the way. It’s such a chill read and so heartwarming. Definitely a highly-recommend.

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In August, I’m preparing for Pitch Wars so who knows how much reading time I’m going to have. There is one book I’m currently reading which might warrant its own blog post, but I might show some restraint. Who knows.

Happy reading,
Jo