QUEER BOOK TAG + QUOTES & PLAYLIST

Pride Month celebration continues with the Queer Book Tag.

I was actually planning a post about books across the LGBT+ spectrum but I found this tag. It’s similar to my idea so might well as have fun with this. I added quotes and a Spotify playlist at the end of the post.

Found it @seven late night thoughts with zoe.

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I’m not even going to bother choosing only one because I can’t. So here are the 5-star books I have so far this year.

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“I am fond of your intestines. They are beautifully asymmetrical.” Max laughed and held his hand out, fingers spread, and Rick coiled his smallest tentacle around his fingers. Despite all their differences, they were pretty damn compatible.

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Earth Fathers Are Weird by Lyn Gala is an oddly wonderful and utterly captivating tale about a man who inadvertently found himself falling for his octopus alien boss. It was an absolute delight to watch this two creatures bridge a gap that spans galaxies.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

“I have your breath, you have mine.”

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This Is Not Revenge by Romilly King is a tender Stockholm Syndrome romance about finding a pure and beautiful connection amidst fucked up circumstances. It makes you fall in love with a sweet, enchanting psycho who may or may not have magical powers. I know I did.

– Amazon: US | UK –

“I’m short. I’m small. I’m not handsome. And when a man isn’t fucking Adonis,” I said, motioning at Gunner as if to make my point all the more clear, “he becomes the butt of some very cruel jokes. So I deny my tendencies. But I just want to be loved so badly, Constantine. And every day I feel utterly ashamed of myself for it. I feel so gross for relishing the attention you show me, because my entire life, all I’ve heard is how terrible sodomites are. So I keep lying about everything because I don’t know any other way to live.”

The room had dimmed as clouds rolled across the morning sky. My face was wet with tears, but before I could raise a hand to wipe my cheeks, Gunner moved forward, wrapped his arms around me, and lifted me off my feet.

He hoisted me up enough that I could wrap my legs around his hips,
and then he whispered in my ear, “You’re loved, my dear.”

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The Gangster by C.S Poe is the steampunk book of my dreams. Where a chibi but super badass federal agent/mage reunites with a dashing outlaw to rid 1881 New York of mechanical human abominations while exploring the intimacies of their still fairly new romantic relationship. The explosive actions scenes, electric atmosphere, cinematic worldbuilding and beautifully nuanced romance all came together in a spellbinding combination.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

“The hours passed with their legs and arms tangled together, and they traded kisses in between every other sentence as they talked softly in the neon-lit shadows.”

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The Murder Between Us by Tal Bauer is a coming out story and a murder mystery. It is sometimes sweet, many times painful, occasionally humorous, at times gruesome, very suspenseful, ultimately joyous. This book doesn’t pull punches. The feels hit hard.

– Amazon: US | UK –

The night candle on the bedside table burst into spontaneous flame. The golden glow revealed a creature whose pale white skin was marked with dark blue swirls, like some barbarian war paint. Fins jutted from her arms and legs, and the claws tipping fingers and toes clung to the house’s woodsiding. A host of slender tendrils squirmed around her face in place of hair, and her grin revealed row after row of shark’s teeth.

“Oh, thank heavens. Nothing to be afraid of after all”

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Admittedly, I haven’t read that much f/f. Among the few I’ve read, Undertow by Jordan L. Hawk was just as good as the rest of the Whyborne & Griffin series. Actually, it’s even better than some of the books.

Whyborne’s twin, Persephone is a cheftain and a sorceress. I loved her wicked sense of humor. Maggie Parkhurst is adorably clueless but brave where it counts. They are super cute together. I was really looking forward to their story so I’m happy their adventure was just as dark and dangerous as the main quartet’s.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

Saul looked up, didn’t step back. Randolph’s face was close to his, his dappled eyes intent, and he didn’t step away either. They were body to body, so close, looking at one another.

“I suppose you know you’re beautiful,” Randolph said, very softly. Saul had no idea how to respond. All he could do was stare, hopelessly lost and wanting, hopelessly trapped.

Randolph’s lips curved. “Would you have any violent objection to being kissed?”

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After so many great books, I still consider Spectred Isle by K.J. Charles my all-time favorite. This has everything I could ever want for in a book and more. I literally had goosebumps while reading this. First because it is a deliciously spooky tale of occult magic and English folklore set in postwar 1920s. Second because on top of everything else that was already spectacular, the sorta fated love romance was sooo good. I had a such a pleasant case of book hangover with this one.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

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A toss up between Gold Digger by Aleksandr Voinov and Devil by Silvia Violet.

“Holy shit, you’re the most accomplished stalker I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not stalking if you like it.”

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Gold Digger is the author doing a manly version of cute in one man’s bisexual awakening amidst the corporate drama of hostile takeovers. Equal parts sophisticated, understated, light-hearted and sweet.

– Amazon: US | UK –

“All you need to know is that I’m not going to walk away from you, even if you try to arrest me.”

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Devil the man is my favorite Marchesi and his story is the best in the series. Of all people who would fall for a cop, he was the most unlikely but this consummate troublemaker not not only proved himself the complete badass, he has his surprisingly caring side as well.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

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Another tie between The Left Hand Of Calvus by Ann Gallagher and Peter Darling by Austin Chant.

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And here, beneath the amphitheatre and surrounded by fighters and lanistae, he still stands out even while he blends in. It’s impossible to ignore or deny that even though he clearly belongs among us, there is also something about Drusus that sets him apart from all the other men down here. His decrepit, decaying brethren serve only to emphasize Drusus’s fine, smooth youth and the way he stands tall and proud even when every man in sight towers over him. Watching him now, I swear that elegance that let him walk boldly among nobles last night is even more conspicuous here. In both worlds—the lavish banquet and the filthy tunnels beneath the amphitheatre —he’s like a god strolling among those who think they’re gods.

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I describe The Left Hand Of Calvus as intense. This enemies to lovers romance of a lanista and gladiator is extremely well-written and tightly woven. From the sexual kind to threats to life and limb, tension is constantly taut throughout the story. It also gives us one hell of a plot twist.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

Hook gave a low chuckle. “Your obsession is flattering, Pan. And I share it.”

“Obsession?”

“Is that not what they call it,” Hook said, “when two men can think of nothing but each other?”

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Peter Darling is a brilliant retelling of Peter Pan and a very delightful enemies to lovers romance between two classic bitter rivals, Peter Pan and Captain Hook. That momentous, explosive scene when these two mortal enemies stopped being at each other’s throats and were suddenly at each other’s lips was everything!

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

“What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you.” That honesty was infectious, though what he really wanted to say was, I’ve always looked for you. All my life I’ve looked for you, and here you are.

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Witches of London – Eagle’s Shadow by Aleksandr Voinov is not only a book by a queer author, it is also a book written by someone who has worked as a journalist in the finance industry and, if I am not mistaken, is a practicing witch as well. This is a story about reincarnation and past lives where a journalist and a banker found an instant connection in a single glance. I was drawn to the cover then found myself hooked because the chemistry between Tom and Sanders was off the charts!

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– Amazon: US | UK –

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Arthur turned his hand around and laced their fingers together. He could feel his own heart rushing in his chest as Martin’s fingers entwined with his. Better than a fumbled kiss or faked affection. It was strong and true. And it was theirs. 

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I have featured this book so many times and I still never get tired of talking about it. His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto is and will always be my favorite ace story. Here you’ll find one federal agent winning the heart of his mysterious and silent coworker through books and food. I love that this is all about connecting heart and mind with another person without thinking you want to fuck them. It’s beautiful and totally my thing.

– Bookshop: US – Amazon: US | UK –

“Olive you so much. You’re one in a melon. We make a great pear.”

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Sadly, I haven’t met that many pansexual characters. Fortunately, Be Still My Heart by Charlie Cochet has Red, a pansexual, disco-dancing, aromatherapy enthusiast and gentle giant who knows his way around the kitchen. This ex-Special Forces Green Beret is a total sweetheart and his story about healing and taking a chance on love is a perfectly balanced mix of humor and drama.

– Amazon: US | UK –

There was so much life inside them, so many layers of browns, ambers, and bronzes.

And those goddamn freckles . . .

“What’s wrong with my freckles?” Jacob asked.

August froze. Christ, he’d said that out loud. “Um, you have freckles on your nose,” August replied. “They stand out when you blush. And when you smile. And when you laugh . . .”

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Tallowwood by N.R. Walker is a complex, well-written book that tackles heavy subjects without becoming too dark. It is one man’s obsessive mission to solve an 18-year-old cold case. It’s also how a small town constable with Aboriginal roots and a winning smile discovered that this gritty detective who “wears his grief like an old coat” could be so damn adorkable. My favorite scene will forever be Jacob suddenly realizing the grumpy August Shaw had dimples. Also, August obsessing about Jacob’s freckles.

– Bookshop: US | UK – Amazon: US | UK –

These books have no blurbs and covers yet so I can’t say much about them but I’m super excited to get my hands on these sequels.

The Long Game by Rachel Reid – the sequel to Heated Rivalry which continues Ilya and Shane’s story.

Down Home by Parker St. John – the second book in the series of the same name. This is Lane’s story

The Doctor – the third book in Magic & Steam that picks up after Gillian’s bombshell at the ending. I am dying to know how Gunner would react.

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PLAYLIST

Happy Tuesday!

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