queer_bookwyrm's reviews
526 reviews

5 ⭐ 

Zoi by Jane Mondrup is a science fiction novel that is wholly unique. I received a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was published by Space boy Books, just like the Marie Howalt novellas I've been liking. They are becoming a reliable source for great, character driven science fiction stories. 

We follow Amira, a xenobiologist and astronaut, who has taken up residence inside an alien zoi with three other people. Zoi are macro single celled organisms that live and travel through space, and have started orbiting Earth at intervals. The Zoi isn't sentient, but makes adaptations to suit the needs of whatever biological creature interacts with it. For humans this means creating air filled spaces and taking care of any biological needs such as food, water, and waste extraction. Amira and the others with her have decided to take up permanent residence in order to further study the Zoi and have the opportunity to travel to interstellar space. Along the way the Zoi makes hormonal changes to each of them, fundamentally changing them and itself. 

This was such a unique scifi story. Alien contact with a non sentient creature that fulfills all needs, but behaves like any other single celled organism. It reminded me a bit of Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series, but simpler and more alien. We see Amira struggle with the changes and the implications of maybe never again talking to the family and friends they left on Earth. We also get alternating chapters following Amira leading up her long term expedition to the zoi. It was nice to the normalization of polyamorous relationships and alternative family structures being discussed. The Zoi suppresses any sexual urges, but it does seem like there are same gender relationships involving sensual relationships. 

I wish there was more so I could see how Amira and her friends adapt to the zoi and the changes, but I also like how open ended the author made it. Definitely check this out if you're looking for a different kind of scifi. This title will be available in late June. 

4 ⭐ CW: medical content, sex, animal cruelty 

The Heart of the Chimera by Leslie J. Linder is a Biopunk scifi novella. I received a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book I've read by this author, but this one is a very different vibe from the vampire novel I read.  This was an intense, but quick read.

We follow Lianna in 2035, a vegan who had a heart transplant when she was a kid. By 2035 most people are using lab grown meat instead of killing livestock as a more humane alternative. Lianna and her girlfriend Stella are committed vegans that tend to get into it with Lianna's family about their consumption of meat. Lianna starts having weirdly vivid dreams of being a pig in a breeding facility and enduring horrible pain, discomfort, fear, despair. She thinks there has to be more to it than just dreams, so she does research and looks into animal research to see if it is connected to her heart transplant. 

Lianna finds that she was unknowingly part of a clinical trial at ten years old, where she donated genetic material for a bio tech company to be able to grow human organs inside pigs for organ transplants. Turns out she got a heart grown inside a pig like the ones she was dreaming of. Lianna is horrified, and with Stella's help, plans a heist. 

This story definitely had strong themes about animal ethics and rights. It grapples with the question of who has more right to life. Is it the humans, because they are cruel or the animals who feel things just as intently as humans? It's an indictment of the meat industrial complex and the practice of using animals for medical research. Linder gets us to think critically about how we treat other living things, and our complicity in allowing abhorrent conditions and treatment of animals to happen. The plight of the hogs grips you and makes you root for the people who are considered extreme activists. 

4 ⭐ 

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki is a cozy fantasy that I won in a Goodreads giveaway. This was a nice, lighthearted read following four different characters whose stories connect in an unexpected way. 

The Full Moon Coffee shop only appears during a full moon to those who have been good to cats. The shop is run by cats that are the embodiment of the planets, and read your Star chart. Each character struggles with something different that the cats help them sort out using astrology.

 Mizuki is a struggling screen writer whose work is out of touch with the times, Akari is a romantically stuck movie director, Takashi is a website designer having problems while Mercury is in retrograde, and Megumi is a beautician hoping to find the joy in her work again. At the coffee shop, they don't take orders, but instead bring you a curated assortment of fantastical drinks and snacks. Each character has an epiphany after talking with the cats and is able to make the changes they need in their lives, and find how they are all connected to each other. 

A quick read and good pallet cleanser between genres. 

3.5 ⭐ CW: violence, blood, death of a parent mention

The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae is book one in the Kinder Poison trilogy. I went in knowing very little about this other than that it was a YA fantasy. This was fine. I didn't dislike it, but it didn't really hold anything special for me. 

We follow Zahru, a stable girl, who dreams of going to the palace to see the event leading up to the Crossing, a race of the royal siblings to decide the heir to the throne. When her friend tries to sneak Zahru onto the boat to the capital using a fake name, she is mistaken for a contender for the teams for the race. Since Zahru is only a Whisperer, meaning she can communicate with animals, she doesn't have the power to help anyone win a race through the desert. Through a turn of events Zahru finds herself having a dangerous role in the Crossing and must find a way to escape the siblings. 

I wanted a little more world-building from this book. We get a little bit about some of the different abilities, but we don't see many of them. Whisperers are seen as a low level talent, but I would love to be able to talk to animals.  I found Zahru to be a bit annoying, and all the characters felt pretty one dimensional aside from Maia, the shape shifter. We have Kasta, the first born son, broody, mercurial, and paranoid, obsessed with beating his brother; Jet, the second son from a different mother who doesn't want to rule, but is obviously the better choice (also the love interest); and Sakira the younger daughter who parties and has a chip on her shoulder about being a girl. None of the characters really have any significant development aside from the predictable one that Jet goes through. I just wanted more from these characters. There were a few side and background characters mentioned that were queer, but none of our MCs are queer. 

I think the whole race across the desert thing would have made more sense if we knew more about this world's religion and their gods, but since we didn't really learn about any of it, it just felt like a poorly thought out McGuffin. There wasn't really anything bad about the book, but I won't be finishing the series, because I have many more interesting books I'd rather read 

4 ⭐ CW: death, blood, gore, violence 

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is Lesson Two of The Scholomance. I enjoyed picking back up in the Scholomance, although I thought the pacing was a bit off in the beginning. The last third of the book really helped this book avoid a three star rating. 

We pick back up with El at the start of senior year. This year is different for her, because she actually has friends and allies. But it also seems like the Scholomance has it out for her with her multiple difficult classes and constantly having mals specifically come after her and pretty much no one else. El is doing her best to figure out how to graduate without fulfilling her destiny of destruction. The last thing she wants is to become a maleficer. But destruction might be the only way out. 

I love that we get to know more of the side characters in this book, like Liu and Aadiya. El even gets a little mouse familiar with an attitude named Precious. I did think that Orion was a bit one dimensional throughout most of the book. I wanted him to have a bit more depth and growth in order for me to truly buy into El's attraction and relationship with him. 

One of the big themes of this book was teamwork and helping others even when it doesn't get you anything. This is a lesson that is hard learned by the students who have lived in survival mode since they entered the Scholomance, but between Orion being a mal killing machine, and El being scary powerful, they come up with a plan to get everyone out. Yes, everyone. That cliffhanger was just mean, so it's a good thing I've got book three handy! 

4 ⭐ CW: violence, discussions of domestic violence, pregnancy, miscarriage mention, death of a child mention

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher is a standalone fantasy, and the first book I've read by this author. I really enjoyed the fairytale-like story. I love the subversion of the princess-marries-the-prince trope or the princess-is-rescued-by-the-hero trope. 

We follow Marra, a shy princess raised in a convent. As the youngest sister she watched as her oldest sister Damia was married off to the Prince in the Northern Kingdom only to die. She watched when her next oldest sister was married off to the same prince and kept pregnant and miserable. When Marra realizes Prince Vorling is abusing his sister, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and seek out a powerful dust-wife to help her free her sister. Killing the prince is the only way she can think of to keep her sister alive and to prevent herself from becoming his next wife/victim. 

Marra is such a relatable MC. She's 30 years old and extremely unsure of herself, but determined to save her sister, even if it means doing impossible things like weaving a cloak of nettles and making a dog out of bone. I love the characters we get as our little gang: a grumpy old dust-wife with a grumpy demon possessed chicken; the bone dog ostensibly named Bonedog who is the goodest boy, but doesn't know he's dead; Fenris, a human they saved from a goblin market that has very impressive muscles; and Agnes a godmother who is more powerful than she seems. They were so fun to follow, and I love that all the women were enthralled by shirtless Fenris chopping wood (relatable). 

I loved the theme about believing you can do the impossible and that things are only impossible until you do them. I admire Marra's courage and determination to save her sister from her abuser. We see that her sister Kania, like many other women find it difficult or almost impossible to leave their abusers for many reasons. Marra also must learn that you can only save those who want to be saved, as we saw with the curse-child innkeeper. 

Overall this was a fun read with great characters, and a strong message. I will definitely be looking for more of Kingfisher's work in the future. 
 

5 ⭐ CW: (provided by the author) references to intoxication, abduction, obstructed breathing, guns, death mention, blood, violence, ableism 

A Study in Black Brew by Marie Howalt is a standalone cozy sci-fi mystery novella in the universe of her series, Colibri Investigations. This was a fun alien take on the Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. 

We follow Kellieth, a Wendek with a chronic illness that is no longer able to work in the field, and has moved back to their home world where their basic needs are taken care of. They make a connection with their neighbor Raithan, who peaks their interest with his skills of deduction. When a human is found dead in an empty house, Raithan enlists Kellieth's help to find the killer. Despite the danger, Kellieth finds themselves invigorated by the work, even if they are annoyed by Raithan's smugness and know it all vibe. 

This was such a fun read! I love anything Sherlock Holmes, so this was a no brainer for me. I love that we get to know more about the Wendek aliens from Howalt's other books. It's nice to read scifi that isn't centered around humans and it gives a nice bit of world-building. 

 Raithan is charming if a bit oblivious as to how other people's minds work. I like the Sherlock/Watson dynamic he has with Kellieth. As an MC with a chronic illness, Kellieth really helps to enlighten us about what it is like living with a disability like that. Constantly having people check in on you and your health, making assumptions about, the infantilizing nature of it all, while also being grateful that someone is aware of their limitations. Kellieth's chronic illness is part of the story and part of who they are, but that is not what the story is about. 

Honestly, I could read stories with these two forever, so I hope we get more installments from our alien friends! 

4 ⭐ CW: Bullying, ableism 

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes is book one in the Storm Runner series. This middle grade fantasy is Percy Jackson meets Maya mythology. This was a fun, fast paced read with disabled Mexican-American MC. 

We follow 13 year old Zane in New Mexico with a volcano in his backyard. Zane has been getting homeschooled in order to stay away from the bullies that call him names like Sir-Limps-A-Lot and McGimpster, until he is admitted to a private school. He meets a new girl there that turns his life upside down. Turns out, Zane is destined to release the god of death and destruction, and is being stalked by demons until he releases their boss. His dog Rosie gives everything to protect him, and Zane is determined to save her from the underworld. Things get way more complicated than he is ready for, and has run ins with all kinds of gods and creatures from Mayan myth. 

This was a great introduction to Maya mythology and great Latinx representation. The characters were wonderful. Zane's wrestling obsessed uncle; Brooks the girl who can shapeshift into a hawk; a grumpy chicken seer; an old man with a deadly Chile; and the most loyal doggo. One of the major themes was about accepting your disability without letting it define you. The story doesn't aim to fix or cure the disability, but makes it the thing that is special about Zane. 

Another great middle grade series from Rick Riordan Presents! 

4 ⭐ CW: death/murder 

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite is the first book in the Dorothy Gentlemen series, a cozy sci-fi mystery novella. I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was pitched as Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple. This was a fun, short read, with plenty of queer characters, perfect for murder mystery fans. 

We follow Dorothy, a ship's detective, as she wakes up aboard the HMS Fairweather, a generation ship in space. On this ship, all passengers have immortality for the long journey, and are provided a new body upon request, and their minds are stored in a library. Dorothy wakes up to find she is not in a body of her own. In fact she shouldn't be awake at all. Someone else aboard the ship has been found murdered. Dorothy must find out why the passenger was murdered and why her own memory book was erased. 

I like Dorothy as a character. She's a no nonsense auntie type. Although she's in the body of a much younger person, she's definitely got older lady energy. We see her relationship with her nephew Ruthie, who helped design the ship, and learn a bit about her before she stored herself in the library. All the characters we see in the story are queer, including Dorothy. The mystery felt quite low stakes since no one really does forever on the ship unless their mind book is destroyed. It wasn't a difficult mystery to figure out, but the way it was discovered and explained was interesting. I do wish it had been a little longer, so we could have gotten to know Dorothy a little more and gotten to know more about the Fairweather, and why these people are on a generation ship in the first place. 

This was a light and easy read, and I would be interested in reading a book two. Murder by Memory releases on March 28th. 

4 ⭐ CW: Transphobia, homophobia, homophobic slurs, bullying, suicide mention, suicidal thoughts, anxiety

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt is a nonfiction book chronicalling the very public transition of Nicole Maines. This is a book I've been meaning to read for a while since Nicole and her family are from Maine, and are largely the reason transgender students in Maine gained the right to use the bathroom that best matches their gender identity. I also borrowed it from the Downeast Rainbow Alliance's (the organization I work for) lending library. 

This book gives us a deep play by play of Nicole's life before she was Nicole and how her being a transgender girl affected her family and her experiences at school. We see that Nicole was very aware of being a girl and not a boy from a very young age, even when her father, Wayne, didn't want to accept that. We see how her mother Kelly fought endlessly for Nicole's right to be herself, as well as seeing Wayne's eventual acceptance of having a trans daughter. 

We also see the family struggle with the harassment and bullying from kids and adults alike just for Nicole being who she was. Although this book came out a decade ago, it serves as an important historical perspective on what trans rights looked like before the information was widely available, known and understood. It shows the battles that had to be fought just to gain the simple right of going to the bathroom, which we are now still fighting under the current Presidential administration. It's so important to see how far we have come with transgender rights, even though we are taking steps backward as we speak. If there is one thing to take away from this book, is that the cat is out of the bag. Trans people are here to stay, and we won't stop fighting for our rights. 

I didn't love all the background information we got on every single person talked about in here or the preoccupation with biology and science of transgender individuals, but I think this is a great place to start for those who want to understand what is at stake, especially for trans youth. 

Nicole is now a happy, healthy adult, and an actress in Hollywood, and I am so proud that she and her family fought for our rights in the state of Maine.