Welcome to Litsy!

Loved the setting (queer Paris! art! indulgence!) but Cora‘s portrayal as a ruthless businesswoman didn‘t hold up—some of her choices didn‘t quite match that image. The romance leaned heavily on lust, and I wanted more emotional depth. Still, Herrera‘s celebration of queer history shines through. Glad this book exists. #SapphicRomance #HistoricalRomance ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is easily one of my favorite reads of 2025. The first 40 pages are a rollercoaster of crazy, and that's just the prologue. Vera is a beautifully realized character with a brilliant arc. Quirky, horrifying, philosophical, mysterious, fast-paced, I got a similar enjoyment reading this that I did with Chuck Palahniuk's early work. There is a fun nod to his novella Straight at the end.

Sapphic tension, dragons, matriarchal power struggles—yes please. I devoured this in one sitting, captivated by the gender-bending emissary and the guarded queen. But the twist was easy to guess, and the ending felt a bit rushed. Still, I appreciated how Yang explored the clash between belief systems and the power of myth. Thought-provoking, but not quite as fiery as I‘d hoped. 🔥🐉🏳️‍🌈 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #SapphicRomance

#CurrentListen after finishing The Busybody Book Club and bailing on The Unwedding (a Reese pick not beloved on Litsy.

This is the 5th in the #TitaRosieKitchenMystery series and I‘ve enjoyed books 1-4, so here goes!

I knew a little of Caster Semenya‘s story, as it was in the news when she was competing in the Olympics: controversy over her gender and whether she should be allowed to compete. In her memoir she shares much more to that history than I was aware of. By the end of the book she is still trying to fight the discriminatory rules, for other girls if not for herself. It could have been shorter. I loved the story of her relationship with her wife.

At 45%, I‘m cutting my losses and bailing. It started off so strong that I was sure it would be one of my favorites of the year and then it just became a slog. What should have been a warm hug of found family cozy fantasy (even with the underlying theme of grief) just became…something else. It‘s giving dull and icky vibes. (Pardon Tasha‘s dragon carcass in the background 💀🐉)

I've read a lot about this topic the last few years, so I thought this book wouldn't teach me anything new. Well, I was wrong. It's a a cute little book with great illustrations and Mardell manages to explain complicated things in an understandable way. I love that we get to know a lot of different people sharing their stories with us. It's perfect for Allies who want to know more, for Baby Queers and people who still want to learn more.

banned books read in 2023

Three siblings take a crash course through how not to handle holiday romances, and the punches keep coming. I read this over the summer and enjoyed it. Each character's story is interesting and well-paced, with a satisfying conclusion. I almost felt overwhelmed by so many things happening at once but it felt balanced enough to keep me going. Do read the content warnings. #LGBTQIA #Holdays #HolidayRomance