I read a massive 13 books this month! (I usually read 8) If this this list seems too long, blame the Reading Rush. And remind me not to participate next year.
I Hear The Sunspot Yuki Fumino 7/12
rep: Deaf/ HOH, mildly problematic m/m
Kohei is slowly loosing his hearing and is working to finish school before it’s completely gone. Taichi volunteers to be his notetaker- and they maybe-sorta fall in love. But then Taichi is given a great job offer and decides to leave school.
This is a two part, two editions manga. I read Limit 1 and Theory Of Happiness, and it was mildly confusing, but still readable. I recommend you read the 2017 version, I Hear The Sunspot, then Theory Of Happiness.
Don’t Date Rosa Santos Nina Moreno 5/12
rep: Latinx community, bisexual MC in f/m relationship
Rosa wants to go to their ancestral Cuba through a study abroad program- but first, their town might be destroyed unless they raise enough money to bring in a marine research group. The Santos women are cursed to fall in love with sailors who drown in the sea- but will Rosa brave the ocean?
If it sounds like a lot, it is. A lot of people love it, but I thought there were bits that were too short with little detail.
The Prince And The Dressmaker Jen Wang 8/12
rep: drag queen
Prince Sebastian by day, Lady Crystallia by night, he trusts Frances to keep his secrets and make his dresses- at the cost of her career.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz1aZ_VhHHG/
Opposite Of Always Justin Reynolds 9/12
rep: black MC and LI
Kate keeps dying. Jack keeps being thrown back in time.
It’s great! The writing style is smooth but human, it’s how a teenage boy would talk. There is a lot of trauma, like the synopsis says, death.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzlZMtZAFbC/
Loki Mackenzi Lee 7/12
rep: Pansexual and slightly genderfluid MC, gay LI
I know you guys like this one, but isn’t the Gaycond coming that was advertised. Except for a few lines, Loki could easily be a cis pansexual.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz5-IC7gNN9/
Grapefruit Yoko Ono 8/12
Yoko isn’t just the woman who broke up The Beatles; she’s also an experimental artist that’s sometimes insane and sometimes relatable.
On A Sunbeam Tille Walden 9/12
rep: Women and non-binary pal only, f/f, black and possibly autistic LI
Told in a timeslip between boarding school and 5 years later, on a reconstruction crew in space, Mia is searching for her girlfriend Grace, who had to had to leave school to go back to the Staircase, a closed off part of the universe with its own laws and magic foxes.
It’s really beautiful, with fleshed out side characters who genuinely feel like they have lives outside of the story. I wish Eli was given their own book, like a graphic version of a novella. I loved seeing a nonbinary character like this; full of their own secrets and mysterious past.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz9TdaKgYIt/
Out Of The Blue Sophie Cameron 6/12
rep: f/f/f love triangle, LI with MS
Angels have been falling out of the sky, creating the massive cults Wingdings and the more extreme Fallen. Jaya’s dad is a Wingding on a mission to capture an angel alive, but Jaya just wants her girlfriend back.
This was a little cringy to get into, based solely on the angel repeatedly lashing out and Jaya being completely understanding. It’s nice to be nice, but you are in a bit of danger. I liked how the two love interests had their flaws and attractive qualities, people have secrets and hidden reasons.
Nimona Noelle Stevenson 10/12
Rep: m/m
Throw your hands in the air for EVIL! Just as long as you don’t kill anyone, and geez, leave my boyfriend alone, it’s not his fault he’s a hero and my archnemesis.
The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde 9/12
rep: Oscar Wilde
The gay old-school Grimm Fairy tales. You know, with death in every story.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0mMzi8gCWX/
Tell Me How You Really Feel,Aminah Mae Safi 7/12
rep: f/f, Muslim american, Jewish
In this Gilmore Girls fanfic, Sana and Rachel have been nemesis since Sana tried to ask her out freshman year and Rachel was convinced it was a prank. Now Sana has to be in Rachel’s movie if she wants to graduate.
I LOVE Gilmore Girls and it was fun seeing all of the references! It’s not the best book ever- they pushed the theme of “not all pretty girls” a little too far and didn’t make room for other discussions. There was conflict in Sana’s family as to whether she should go to a fellowship abroad or go gay to Princeton. It’s a stressful thing IRL but I didn’t feel the stress of it.
Alleys And Doorways assorted authors
rep: m/m, f/f
It’s gay sex with a couple of dragons, demons, and magic. Similar to Mundo Cruel, but not satirical.
How was your July?
tanyxscreams 