Broken Valley, Owen Lach’s follow-up to his sci-fi debut Founder’s Mercy, sees his band of young runaways crossing the country to find freedom and answers while staying one step ahead of the forces hunting them. Roadtrip! I was a big fan of Lach’s first book in the Neskan Chronicles. It blended action, sci-fi world-building, character,... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Fraternity by Andy Mientus ★★★1/2
Broadway and television star Andy Mientus evokes the spirits of 1991 for his queer supernatural novel, Fraternity, set in... a fraternity. This is dark academia with 90s nostalgia, filled with the demons that young men face. We meet Zachariah “Zooey” Orson as he transfers to the elite Blackfriars School for Boys after leaving his old... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer ★★★★
Arthur Less is back. The titular star of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Less, is being put through the emotional ringer once more by his author Andrew Sean Greer and the results are the same. But the same isn’t a bad thing when you’re talking about a bestselling, universally praised, gay comedy drama with a slew... Continue Reading →
Graphic Novel Review: Liebestrasse by Greg Lockard & Tim Fish ★★★★
GLAAD Award-nominated graphic novel, Liebestrasse, which has made the jump from digital comic to print, is more timely than ever. The tale of an American in inter-war Berlin finding freedom and romance as the threat of Nazism creeps closer, is at once familiar and prescient in its depiction of an accepting and open world sliding... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Rise of the Renegade Child by Robert Roth ★★★★
Robert Roth has taken his queer action sci-fi set up and layered multiversal political intrigue into the mix. Rise of the Renegade Child deepens and expands the world of The Gates Saga, without sacrificing its frenetic pace. Picking up right after the events of the previous book, Into the Lightning Gate, Cam Maddock is reeling... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain ★★★1/2
Matt Cain’s The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle is a heartbreakingly sweet story about how times of crisis can trigger moments of rewarding growth. Melancholic and romantic, it charts one man’s realisation that it is never too late to live life to its fullest. Albert Entwistle is a postman in an English country village. A... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Fever by Jonathan Bazzi ★★★1/2
Jonathan Bazzi’s lauded memoir, Fever, is an intense, visceral vision of the fear of the unknown. What starts as a mystery illness—a fever that refuses to break—throws the reader into a delirious world of medical discovery and internalized emotional trauma. This is no romantic view of life in Italy; it is messy, rough and rewarding.... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Heat Wave by TJ Klune ★★★
TJ Klune wraps up his YA superhero trilogy, The Extraordinaries, with Heat Wave which sees teenager Nick launching into his superhero career, as well as launching into his fully-fledged relationship with Seth. Quick note: being the last part of a trilogy, there’s no way to avoid spoilers for the previous books in this review. Nick... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper ★★★★
If you’re looking for a cute, contemporary gay romance to snuggle up with then Kris Ripper’s Book Boyfriend is a good place to start. Behind it’s rom-com trappings, it has hidden depths and a beautifully flawed lead character in PK. Preston ‘PK’ Harrington is an editorial assistant (and wannabe author) working at a book publisher... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City graphic novel by Isabelle Bauthian & Sandrine Revel ★★★
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City has had many lives. From serialized chapters in The San Francisco Chronicle, to a series of novels, TV and radio adaptations, and a stage musical by Jake Shears. Now it has been turned into a charming graphic novel by Isabelle Bauthian and Sandrine Revel, potentially the first of a... Continue Reading →