Stupid Cupid by Maeve Black
Was a pretty decent monster-fucking story. it’s technically a second book in the series and even though it’s not necessary i did read it ahead of time. reading it helped with the world and the characters but idk its a story about straight people and just was not for me. stupid cupid a m/m romance between a cupid and a dragon (that is a santa claus 🧍) and if you love stupid hot things it’s short enough to not take up too much time.
~ gentlebeard
After the Fall, Edward Ashton
This was a pick my speculative fiction library book club, but based on the summary I would have picked it up for myself. It was another solid meh. Loved the idea, not so wild about the execution. Slow to start and too fast to finish, left me wanting more information and not in a good way.
I judge a 4-12 speculative fiction writing contest I used to do in school. I give a lot of feedback basically that you can leave your reader with questions but it should be strategic. Mystery and ambiguity are good, but you need to know the answers & don't annoy your reader. In this book I was frustrated because characters knew more than I did and never shared it. What's the point of that? Build me your world! And also if one of your main characters is an alien actually describe what he looks like. It was funny and the idea of the plot was good but I feel like it needed someone to sit down and be like, ok, what's happening here. Why are we here. What are you trying to say.
Fingers crossed the two dads that comprise the book club agree with me because I'm still very new and it'll be awkward if they loved it.
~ Michellethestan
The Sugared Game by KJ Charles
The second in the Will Darling Adventures series. Loved it! I’ve never considered myself a big fan of mysteries, but every time I read one by KJ Charles, I’m obsessed, so I dunno if it’s just that I need them to also be queer romances or if she’s just that good.
~ unfunpleasures
Subtle Blood by KJ Charles
The final book in the Will Darling Adventures series. I’m going to miss these guys! The audiobooks for this series are fantastic, as well.
~ unfunpleasures
A Good Puck by Rochelle Wolf
Oh man. This book has EVERYTHING. Egg cracks, the PWHL, Canada, and two lil sapphic cuties. 🥰🥰
~ lem0nb0iii
The Demon of Beausoleil by Mari Costa
If everyone keeps telling you that you’re cursed, that you’re evil, that you’re an incubus, then it has to be true, right? Helianthes, a half-demon, has to figure it out before it is too late.
~ Killerweasel
Wild Dark Shore (2025) by Charlotte McConaghy
This was filled with sadness and the feeling of potential disaster all along the way. I may not have chosen it on my own, but it was a book discussion choice. I’ll always find something good in a book, and I like how strong the family is.
Keeping OFMD in mind as I read…
-OFMD - ‘Orly tells Rowan, “I’m here, I won’t leave you”’
{Mer!STEDE to ED in 2-03: Ed, wake up! Come on! I'm here. I'll never leave you. I'll never leave again.”
-OFMD - ‘We hear the sound before the lighthouse appears. The long, slightly mournful notes of a violin drifting through the fog to us.’
{Opening scene of 2-06: Inside, Ned Low with a violin}
-OFMD - ‘Eight years is too long to expect a child's friendships to hold on, so she has no real friends waiting for her.’
{ED in 2-03: “I don’t think anyone’s waiting for me.”
-OFMD - Rowan thinks, ‘I am returned to the sea.’
{BUTTONS in 2-01: “We are returned, my love. My ocean deep”
~ cindyb5
Bloom - Delilah S Dawson
Sapphic cottage core with a slow burn horror twist. A little too slow burn for me, the build up to pay off ratio was way off imo. The last few pages were horrible and I woke up in the night thinking about them but the journey to get there was a little frustrating at times. Inspired by Hannibal, no where near as suave.
~ rueforyou
The Correspondent (2025) by Virginia Evans
All letters, with different storylines occurring. There are holes, but they seem resolved by a subsequent letter. As a work friend said, the correspondent was opinionated, but she meant well and apologized when wrong.
Keeping OFMD in mind as I read…
-OFMD - ‘My brother suffered at the hands of sadistic classmates for years.’
{NIGEL BADMINTON in 1-01: We were rowdy school chums. Always playing pranks on one another. Hmm? Do you remember the day with the rowboat?
STEDE: The rowboat?
NIGEL: Oh, come on now.
STEDE: No, I can't.
NIGEL: The rowboat. (laughs) It was hysterical!
[Stede’s bad memory - Look! It's Baby Bonnet! Get him! Bonnet! (all yelling, throwing rocks, while Stede is tied to the oars) Oh! Row, Baby Bonnet! Row!]
NIGEL (chuckling): Oh, it was all in good fun, of course. An initiation of sorts.
STEDE: Yes, funny, I don't recall it happening to anyone else.}
~ cindyb5
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
4* - This is a short story collection and they're always hard to rate in my opinion. I loved the first two stories and the last two, and could barely put the book down. The other four weren't quite to my tastes, even though I can't really figure out why. Still, I did overall enjoy them. Genuinely enjoyed the body horror aspects of it all, how womanhood/female bodies were part of the horror and horrific aspects, how sex could also be horrible. And how much trauma is in this. A very good collection.
~ fpwoper
Dolly Parton: Star of the Show by Dolly Parton
I love Dolly. She’s amazing. This massive autobiography starts off with her childhood and goes to now, full of stories and so many pictures. I’d love to get a copy for myself.
~ Killerweasel
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles
Loved the format of this one - a novel in stories, each covering a different case. Ghosts and smut and unconventional true love.
~ alimasin
The Confessional by Paige Hender
Newly turned vampire is with her maker and an assortment of interesting vampires at a whore house in New Orleans. She falls for a priest. Is it love or does the priest have nefarious plans in mind?
~ Killerweasel
In Case You Read This by Edward Underhill
When I first heard about this book, I thought the premise was very sweet and fun, so I added it to my TBR. In truth, I had a hard time reading it. I don’t think it’s a bad book at all— I’m just not the target audience (it’s a YA title), and I didn’t even read YA when I was at the right age for it. While it wasn’t for me, I think it’s super cool that books like this exist for young queer kids— especially young trans guys in small towns who may not always have the luxury of feeling safe or seen. As for me, though, if this had been a fic, I’d have loved it, but as a book? Eh, not quite my cup of tea.
~ unfunpleasures
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