Tag: LGBT

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Book: “A Snake Among Swans” by Hannah Kaner

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, September 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Tilde has always heard the whispers of the kithwood, the voices of her ancestors speaking through the mysterious forest of her homeland. But now both the kithwood and her kingdom are in danger.

For Tilde is the only surviving heir of a conquered land. To unite the people and finally stop the bloodshed, she marries the aging warlord, King Liran. Her duty is to bind their nations and bear him a son.

But the swan king’s court is dangerous. Tilde is a threat to the claim of Liran’s older sons, who will do whatever it takes to remove her, to the princess Elise who has only ever known loyalty to her family, and to the priests who own them all.

Yet none of them know that Tilde is a snake in their midst, with allies on her side and dark, forbidden power of her own. She wants her kingdom back, and she will sacrifice everything to claim it.

For the queen to rise, the swans must fall.

Review: Overall, I enjoyed this read. I had a bit of an up-and-down experience with her previous trilogy, so while some of those struggles showed up again here, this book also served as a strong reminder of why I’ve enjoyed this author so much in the past.

In many ways, this is a very familiar high fantasy tale. The world-building isn’t incredibly unique, and the character archetypes are familiar. Many of the themes are also what you’d expect from this sort of novel: feminine rage and the weights of duty and power in the face of desire. All of this can sound like negatives when listed out like this, but I think it’s books like this that also remind us why we’ve seen these stories before, and that’s because they can be truly excellent if done well!

Kaner’s lyrical, poignant style of writing elevates familiar themes and raises them to levels that feel powerful and lasting. This was especially true of Tilde, a character who knew what she wanted and was willing to make difficult decisions to accomplish her goals. While her story unfolds, there were several lines that I stopped to reread, as they so perfectly encapsulated the struggles of women in these sorts of medieval worlds that are loosely based on European history. Kaner perfectly hones in on just how infuriating this situation is: the lack of power and choice, the relegating of one’s personhood down to only the ability to produce an heir. It’s enraging. But the ability of the author to draw out such strong feelings is a testament to her skill.

I will say that pacing was a problem in some of the other books I read by this author, and I had similar struggles here. I was immediately drawn into the story, but somewhere around the middle, things really began to lag. It was at this point that I started becoming tempted to skim a bit. Luckily, as the story got into the back third, things began to pick up again, and I was roped back into the story.

It’s hard to say this was an enjoyable read when so many of the emotions are focused on rage and injustice. Perhaps a better description would be saying it was a powerful read. The pacing and plotting weren’t perfect, but I was able to get through the lull to the conclusion. I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes from here, and I would recommend this to readers looking for a classic medieval fantasy with a sapphic love story at its heart.

Rating 8: Powerful themes of feminine rage permeate this read. But there’s also a lovely sapphic romance to get you through some of the parts that will infuriate you!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Snake Among Swans” can be found on this Goodreads list: Reactor’s 30 More SFF Titles to Look Forward to in 2026.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Endless Blue Beneath” by Shannon K. English

Publishing Info: Orbit, June 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: On land, Eppie will never be anything more than the outcast girl who kissed the grocer’s daughter. But beneath the water’s surface lies a future and a society she could never imagine. Stolen from the shore, she is transformed. Eppie is stronger, swifter—and hungrier. Human flesh smells like heaven on earth, and Eppie is ravenous.

Despite the horror of her new appetites, Eppie learns to love this strange second life. The mermaid colony is mesmerizing, and Eppie’s new sisters are fiercely loyal. When she meets Marie, a stunningly beautiful mermaid with a past as shadowed as her raven-black scales, Eppie finds she no longer needs to resist her deepest desires.

But dark sails are on the horizon. The mermaid hunters are coming, and Eppie must decide whether to protect her new, monstrous family or leave it all behind for a chance to live above the waves once again.

Review: This was an odd reading experience. At times, I was really loving it. At other times, I was a bit tugged down by the pacing. And at other times, I was actively frustrated. I guess the definite thing you could take away is that the book will elicit some sort of emotion from you! But if ever there was a time to describe a reading experience as “uneven,” this was it.

To start with what I enjoyed, the writing style was very lyrical and lovely. The author managed to capture that fairytale quality that I look for, nicely blending beautiful imagery with darker elements and themes. That said, the book was very character-focused, something I typically enjoy, so it was almost an odd case where I wish there had been more opportunity for the writing itself to come to the forefront with world-building, descriptions, and plotting.

The downsides of the writing come down to the character work. There is a lot of telling going on here, with very little showing of anything. And as much of the main character’s experiences in this book are negative, it’s a lot of telling the reader just how bad she has it, over and over again. I think the general premise of escaping human bigotry for a land of mermaids was stronger as an idea than in its execution, and part of this came down to this limitation in writing characters who were anything more than fairly one-dimensional.

I’ll also say that this book is much darker than expected. The book description is actively misleading, but I do think more should have been done to properly set expectations for what this book is actually like. This is not a romantasy read and instead is very much a dark fantasy. Eppie’s experiences are pretty traumatic throughout. The mermaids are by no means some sort of utopian alternative to the humans, and Eppie’s experiences there are just as dark in some ways. What’s more, the “romance,” such that it is, is not a healthy love story, and I was conflicted by the entire experience, including the end.

Overall, as a dark fairytale, I think this book has some interesting things to say and lovely world-building (what we got of it). But the pacing was rather uneven, and it did wear on me a bit to read of negative experience after negative experience. Readers who enjoy dark fantasy will likely enjoy this more than romantasy readers.

Rating 7: Darker than I think many readers will expect, but with some interesting explorations of themes like otherness and what makes a monster.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Endless Blue Beneath” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Romantasy books that have to do with the oceans and Sapphic Fiction 2026.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Nightshade and Oak” by Molly O’Neill

Publishing Info: Orbit, February 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: When Malt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned into a human by a wayward spell, she finds she’s ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life.

After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?

Trapped in a body that’s frustratingly feeble, she’s forced to team up with Bellis, warrior daughter of Boudicca on a perilous journey across Roman-occupied Britain to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. As animosity turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.

Review:I had read and enjoyed (for the most part) the first book I read from this author. But I’ll be honest, it was the mention of Boudicca and the promise of more Welsh/British folklore that really drew me in. And while I did struggle with some tone, pacing, and character work, I was very pleased with this aspect of the story! In many ways, the story reads as historical fantasy, with the author drawing from a real-world person (Boudicca) but then extrapolating from that into a wholly imagined story revolving around her daughter.

Of course, given that Boudicca’s story is one of rebellion and warfare, the themes of this book heavily focus on the violence, loss, and tragedy of war. One of the strongest scenes in the book was actually the first chapter, where we see the remains of a battlefield through the eyes of the goddess. This was a very poignant scene and definitely set up the story well.

That said, it did lead into one of my struggle points for this read: inconsistency with regards to tone and themes. After this amazing first scene, the book takes a sharp turn towards a more cozy, travelogue sort of story, following our two characters as they traverse the land. Much of this next forty percent or so of the story was made up of these smaller, more “slice of life”-like scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the version of the book we had here. Much of this time was devoted to Mallt’s struggles to understand the ins and outs of existing as a mortal.

But then, about halfway through the book, the story took a massive shift back to the darker, more grim tones that the first chapter established. And again, I did not enjoy this portion of the book. Indeed, I think it had a lot of good things to say with these themes. However, the end result was that the pacing and tone of the story shifted entirely halfway through, which made for an awkward reading experience. Further, the very last portion of the book was made up of chapters that bounced back and forth between these cozy and darker tones, with the story feeling like it never really settled into what it wanted.

I also struggled a bit with the characters. For the most part, I really enjoyed Mallt. I thought her struggles with mortality were interesting and provided her with an excellent arc for the story. However, she also could be frustrating and annoying as she dealt with the limitations put upon her. I was also disappointed by Belis. Mostly this was because she was the sort of character I really enjoy! I love warrior woman characters, and Belis had a lot of potential. But as the story progressed, she was kind of just…there. Especially in comparison to Mallt’s more complicated character arc, Belis was unchanged and unchallenged throughout most of the book.

Overall, this was a mixed bag. I really wanted to like it more than I did. The uneven pacing and tone really threw me off, and I often found myself wanting more from the characters. However, fans of historical fantasy might still really enjoy this one!

Rating 7: While I enjoyed both the more serious historical fantasy elements as well as the cozy quest, I wasn’t sure that these two mixed particularly well here.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Nightshade and Oak” can be found on this Goodreads list: Adult Queer Romantasy 2026.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V. E. Schwab

Publishing Info: Tor, June 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

Review: I’ve had an interesting reading journey with Schwab’s works. I started off with her “Shades of Magic” which is probably in my Top 10 favorite fantasy series of all time. So that’s a high bar right there! As I continued to read her books as they’ve come out, there are many that I’ve enjoyed but they’ve never quite reached this original high. Partly, I’m starting to see that the “Shades of Magic” series might have been the exception rather than the rule as far as her fantasy writing goes. Those books were fairly classic portal fantasy. More recently, her fantasy stories have become more abstract, often blending historical fiction and a high emphasis on lyricism and philosophy. All of this is good as well, but, from a pure enjoyment point of view, nothing tops the absolute blast of “Shades of Magic.” This is all a long way of saying that her most recent book is pretty much more of the same, which will either really work for you or remain a bit of a struggle, similar to the reception of “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.”

There’s no denying Schwab’s talent as an author. The words flow from the page, beautifully depicting a variety of different settings and time periods. We travel around the world in this book, visiting places like Italy, France, London and Boston. The story also spans several centuries (as one would expect following leading characters who are immortal vampires). These lens’ gave Schwab ample time to flex her literary muscles. And while she didn’t necessarily seem to have much new to say regarding vampires and the plight of living forever (we cover many of the greatest hits re: vampires like the disconnect from their humanity, the sense of purposelessness, etc. etc.), all of what she did cover was gorgeously depicted. Even in some of the lulls in pacing I still found myself pausing over a beautiful turn of phrase.

So, in many ways, much of this felt very familiar to “Addie LaRue.” Other than the focus on vampires, we had a bit of a retread in format, with the book jumping from historical time periods to the present. There was also a bit of familiarity to be found in the themes I’ve mentioned above, in that some of these same topics (what makes a life worth living) were also covered in her previous book. I get when authors really feel called to write about certain topics, but, for me, much of this felt a bit too familiar. I will say that this is largely a subjective point. I don’t dislike this sort of literary fantasy story, but as I mentioned at the top, I’m still hankering for a return of Schwab’s epic fantasy books, so to read two books in a row that felt fairly similar…it was a bit of a let-down for me. Others who enjoy literary fantasy more will likely be thrilled by this book!

I do think the pacing was a bit off in this book. That or it needed an editor who could have paired the story down to a more manageable length. As a fantasy reader, I’m more than happy to pick up massive tomes. But this book comes in over 500 pages long, and it feels like it. There were long sections in the middle of the book where there simply wasn’t much happening. This is a slow book, intentionally so, but there were definitely portions of the story that felt unnecessary. It was a relief to get to the back half where things began to pick up more.

As for the characters, well…I struggled a bit here as well. Instead of following the three equally, there was definitely one character who read as the main character more than the others. However, I struggled to connect with all three, feeling oddly distanced from them. In some ways, they felt more like vehicles for Schwab to explore the themes she wanted to cover (very good, important themes, but themes none the less!) than as fully fleshed out characters themselves. I also really struggled to enjoy the ending and will be curious to see how it is received by other readers.

So, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me. This book definitely felt like a book that Schwab has been long wanting to write; it felt personal and important, and I’m always happy to see writers reach a point of popularity where they are more free to pursue the stories they are aching to tell rather than the ones the publishers think will sell. However, I have to come at it from the perspective of a reader, and as a reader, I didn’t love this book. I can appreciate its merits, but it wasn’t my favorite style of fantasy, and I struggled to connect fully to the story, all the worse by its lackluster ending. I do think that readers who enjoyed “Addie LaRue” will very much connect this one (I’m just one of those weirdos who liked “Addie LaRue” but didn’t necessarily want more of the same).

Rating 7: Beautifully written and covering important themes; however, as a story, I struggled to enjoy my time reading it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Adult Queer Books and Most Anticipated New Releases of 2025.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Six Wild Crowns” by Holly Race

Publishing Info: Orbit, June 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The king has been appointed by god to marry six queens. Those six queens are all that stand between the kingdom of Elben and ruin. Or so we have been told.

Each queen vies for attention. Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be Henry’s favourite. And if she must incite a war to win Henry over? So be it.

Seymour acts as spy and assassin in a court teeming with dragons, backstabbing courtiers and strange magic. But when she and Boleyn become the unlikeliest of things – allies – the balance of power begins to shift. Together they will discover an ancient, rotting magic at Elben’s heart. A magic that their king will do anything to protect.

Review: There are a handful of periods of British history that I’m much more familiar with than others. Often, it comes down to my enjoyment of specific fictional books that took place during that time period. Obviously, as a lover of Jane Austen, Regency England is one of those time periods. But I also really loved Philippa Gregory’s “The Other Boleyn Girl” which set me on a course to learn quite a bit about the reign of Henry VIII. That being the case, I was incredibly excited to check out this new historical fantasy novel that is centered around many of the major players during that period of history.

Unfortunately, I’ll say that this may be one of those situations where the more informed you are about the place/people/period of time, the less you may enjoy this book. Even for those with only passing knowledge of this time period, there were so many questions raised or pieces that were changed as to leave me wondering whether there was any point in setting this book in a specific, real-world time period in the first place! I was much more often annoyed by the failures in its historical representations than I was enamored by the creativity of blending fantasy and history in this way. There are plenty of books that have pulled it off, but this wasn’t one of them.

Instead, I think it would have read much better as a straight fantasy novel. The fantasy elements were strong throughout (part of problem here was that these elements called into question many of the events pulled from history), and, had the character not been connected to real-life individuals, I could have gotten behind Boleyn and Seymour more as well.

But they are pulling from real life people! And the more you know about these two women, the less satisfying this portrayal is! Anne Boleyn is a pretty well-known historical figure, even by those with only a basic knowledge of this time period. And there are some assumptions that one makes about her: that she was incredibly savvy and politically dexterous, charming, and able to wrap a King around her finger, at least for a period of time. The character we had here did not line up at all with that! At times, she was incredibly naive and taken in by the very obviously nefarious King. I know less about Jane Seymour, other than the fact that she was said to be more quiet and reserved. Picturing her as an assassin is also a bit difficult. I also found her incredibly fickle, which was frustrating at times.

I also felt like the themes of feminism and patriarchy fell a bit flat. There was nothing overtly wrong here, but it all felt very surface level, having very little new to say on either topic. Had this book been written 20 years ago, perhaps it would have felt more revolutionary. But as it is, there are quite a few fantasy books out there covering these themes, and this one didn’t seem to have much new to offer.

Overall, this was a rather underwhelming book. I won’t say it’s bad, but it’s definitely one of those rare examples where the more you know about the history side of things, the less you’ll enjoy it. I think I used this word above as well, but “distracting” is the term that comes to mind when I think about the incorporation of the historical elements. Instead, it would have perhaps been more successful as a straight fantasy novel. Even there, though, it didn’t seem to have much to add with regards to its themes and characters.

Rating 7: The real-world historical elements hurt it much more than they helped, unfortunately.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Six Wild Crowns” can be found on this Goodreads list: queer releases june 2025.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Swordcrossed” by Freya Marske

Publishing Info: Bramble, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

Review: Let’s be real, the adorable cover vibes of this book are doing a lot of the heavy lifting as far as its marketing goes. I definitely gave it a second look purely based on this factor! That said, I was intrigued by the summary as well. Who doesn’t love dueling and political scheming and a heavy dose of romance?

Let’s start with the dueling itself! I really liked the way it was incorporated into this magical world, with dueling serving as an important form of entertainment often seen at weddings and other important events. Given how dance-like dueling can be when done well, this concept makes a lot of sense. I do wish it had been explored even more, but the story is a romance, first and foremost, so I’m not overly surprised that the book didn’t do a deep dive into this lore. My epic-fantasy-loving soul just always wants more, it seems.

I also really liked our two main characters. They each had interesting backstories, with different weights of expectations that they had to manage. The romance was also sweet and fast-paced. Perhaps a bit too fast paced, however, as there were moments that felt a bit like insta-lust early in the book. It also doesn’t shy away from the more steamy moments, so readers should definitely keep in mind that this is a spicy romance novel! I wasn’t quite expecting this, as the cover and description had lead me a bit further into cozy fantasy territory. But ah well!

The story itself felt fairly predictable, with even some of the romantic notes feeling a bit repetitive as we hit them with first one character and then the other. The last third, in particular, felt fairly expected, with the book hitting pretty much every note that one might expect. But, again, with the romance as the primary focus, this isn’t necessarily a net negative. It all just depends on what balance a reader is looking for between plot and love story. I typically veer more towards wanting more plot, but readers who are there mostly for the romance will likely be pleased with this one!

Rating 8: Full of adventure and witty characters, this is a fun romantasy romp!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Swordcrossed” isn’t on many Goodreads lists, but it is on Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2024.