Genre: LGBTQ+

Set point, forty‑love to Austin Hardy’s intrusive thoughts. The Open Era by Edward Schmit is a wonderfully written queer lit novel that doubles as a sports romance book. Covering difficult topics such as mental health and anxiety, grief and familial loss, and finding one’s confidence beneath stadium spotlights and public judgment, Schmit serves and delivers an ace of a debut novel (I know these puns are bad, just let me roll with it). Humorous, relatable, and romantic when it wants to be, this book is incredibly wholesome and warm in all the right ways. A sports romance with actual sports content and a book of queer joy without feeling contrived or sanitized, The Open Era is a brilliantly written novel that I picked up and wouldn’t put down until I finished it. “Anxiety wrecks me almost daily. It makes me question everything. It makes me believe things that aren’t true. It makes me spiral. It knocks me out. Falling in love does all those things too. At this point it’s all the same.” Sporting one of the most beautiful and striking covers of the year, The Open Era was one of my most anticipated queer titles. While I don’t consider…

In anticipation of his new book Dearly Departed, I thought it would be an appropriate time to finally read Chip Pon’s debut novel You & I, Rewritten. Originally self‑published as an indie title, this book was subsequently picked up and given a limited hardcover print run by Rainbow Crate as their indie title for their Jan 2025 book box. Following newly hired publishing editor Will Cowen, this book follows his professional and personal journey with his boss Graham Austin as work and romance blend together. This book feels like a safe and wholesome hug to the queer booktok romance community that Chip is a part of, though its indie roots and debut novel nature are quite apparent compared to his more recent trade‑published titles.  I’m fully aware I’m reviewing Chip Pons’s books out of order, in addition to reading an indie self‑published book after a trade‑published one, which puts You & I, Rewritten on an uneven playing field. This book wasn’t on my radar when it was first published, but I had read and generally enjoyed Chip’s 2025 release Winging It With You, which was entertaining and had some unexpectedly great character writing, but left me wanting more given it…

A Scifi epic about identity, loyalty, and trust across time, space, and alien race, Some Desperate Glory is an ambitious book that covers an impressive amount of narrative material within its sub four‑hundred‑and‑fifty pages. A solid novel on its own, it’s even more impressive being Emily Tesh’s full length debut novel on top of winning a Hugo award and earning a Locus award nomination. At first glance, it appears to be a simple space‑opera story, but it quickly becomes much more, incorporating dystopian concepts, reality‑distorting twists, and excellent queer representation and feminist themes. Yet for how refreshingly modern its story is, this book’s character writing is what leaves a lasting impact. While I was hesitant about the book until the halfway point, I’m thrilled to say it absolutely lives up to its accolades and hype. Some Desperate Glory is one of those books that is difficult to review without spoilers, as its major twists are integral to the reading experience. Without mentioning its heavier content, the book risks sounding generic and far less interesting than it truly is. The story follows Kyr, the top cadet‑in‑training of her female cohort on Gaea Station, until she receives a shocking assignment that undermines…

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Viking Books for Young Readers. A story of grief and loss mixed with contemporary romance and mythological fantasy flavor, Find My Way Down to You by Julian Winters is a wholesome and sweet YA novel covering somber topics. By exploring the long, individual road to healing while honoring loved ones lost, the book feels like a warm and supportive hug that maintains an uplifting and hopeful outlook even when the pain feels unending. Well‑intentioned and earnest, it sometimes plays things too safe and doesn’t push its strongest narrative elements far enough, but it remains an accessible read with strong YA appeal. Marketed as a YA romance with crossover elements in fiction, social issues, and fantasy, the book blends a wide range of narrative components into a story focused on grief and loss. Its greatest strength is its relatability for YA readers. Purposely flawed and immature to a fault, the main character August and his internal logic match his age, highlighting teenage shortsightedness and tunnel vision. Winters captures teenage angst well, especially in the wake of August’s catastrophic loss of his boyfriend London, around whom he built his entire world.…

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by DAW. A floating city, foreign invading airships, an immigrant woman who longs to be a dragon rider, and a three-headed dragon who’s tired and wants to remind humankind that he is to be feared. Following a jaded three-headed dragon whose heads comically quarrel amongst themselves, John Wiswell’s the Dragon Has Some Complaints is a book pitched as a cozy fantasy meets epic fantasy story of battles, friendship, and reflections of being a monster. With earnest intentions, this book succeeds in the friendship department with lots of positive therapeutic empathy and inclusive queer representation. Yet, its other aspects feel less successful and cohesive resulting in a somewhat disjointed and underwhelming reading experience. Based on its premise and marketing as a light-hearted fantasy story, that one goofy three-headed dragon fanart meme instantly comes to mind. And though I can’t verify if this provided any inspiration for the book’s concept, it invokes a similar tone, at least initially. Garrodigh’s three heads act the three stooges; Centerhead being the leader and snarky one, Bottomhead who is feral one (the book’s description not mine, they seemed more like the impulsive child than feral…