June Reviews - Happy Pride!

Happy Pride! This is actually my fifth year of reading the rainbow, and I'm honestly just so excited at the increase in queer books available to me for this quest since I started it. I can read queer books year round and still have enough to build a rainbow every June. The world might be a dumpster fire sometimes, but there are still good things.

Enough sap, let's get into it!

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

I've read one of Bellefleur's books before and had a grand time with it, so honestly this might be the book that turns me into a romance novel fan (but really for queer love stories, if I'm being honest).

In a desperate bid to get out of terrible family dinners, Tansy Adams invents a girlfriend inspired by romance novel cover model, Gemma West. And when real life Gemma crashes Tansy's cousin's wedding, it feels like a twist of fate. Gemma Van Dalen needs to get married quick, an archaic stipulation so she can inherit her late grandfather's newspaper company. So when lovely Tansy lands in her lap, complete with six months of fake dating, Gemma knows she's struck gold. The two strike a deal, marry for two years to get what they both want, but as the wedding creeps closer real feelings start to get involved, and Gemma's meddling cousin does everything he can to break them apart.

I'm such a sucker for a fake relationship story. The feelings are fake until they aren't, and then it's a whirlwind of mutual pining and shenanigans. And this story did a great job; the reason for the fake relationship was believable enough, and the characters were a delight to read. Not to mention the villains were especially heinous and absolutely get their comeuppance.

The cast of characters did get a little confusing at times, just because Gemma had a lot of roommates, the Van Dalens were a big family (full of assholes), and Tansy's friends and coworkers weren't super present. But I didn't really mind it, and being unable to track them all didn't hinder the story. There were two sex scenes, but they were alright in terms of length (actually pretty short and skippable if they're not your thing) and content (some sex scenes are very poorly written, but these ones did fine).

I sped through this book pretty quickly, the writing was smooth and not overly dramatic, but with a good amount of necessary tropes (miscommunication, betrayal, jealousy, you know the drill), and the ending was incredibly satisfying.

Overall this was a good time. If you're looking for a queer fake romance, this is a pretty good place to start.

Always The Almost by Edward Underhill

This was a very joyful way to start off reading the rainbow (I thought about reading in color order this year, but I hadn't committed to my red book yet, so this is the closest we'll get this year).

Miles, recently socially transitioned and trying to live as his best self, has two goals. One, win back his ex boyfriend who broke up with him after he came out. And two, beat his stupid piano rival at this year's big competition. And with a new friend and a new piano teacher, Miles thinks he may have a shot at both. But new feelings for new kid Eric start to complicate goal number one, and when everything else in his life starts to crumble beneath Miles' self doubt, goal number two seems even farther than he thought. But with a bit of transgender joy and owning his mistakes, Miles might have a real shot at a happy ending.

This was a really cute read. There were parts of it where I very much was cringing because "Miles no don't do that please it's not gonna go well" but that could be said for any book with a not quite love triangle. The characters were a lot of fun (I especially like champion of all causes Rachel and kind of hot but very intense piano instructor Stefania) and easy to follow through the story. There was bumpy teenage drama that feels all consuming until you work past it (a requirement for contemporary teen romance) and so, so much joy.

The piano bits were really well crafted. It wasn't about the technical knowledge of the author (though that was present too), but about the feeling that playing music evoked in Miles, and through him, us. It made something that could have easily been difficult to write and follow exceptionally easy. My sister took piano lessons when we were little, and this book made me think about the way I would sit beside her piano some days and just listen to her, a sort of familiar feeling I haven't thought about in years.

This book was funny in the right places and big feelings in others, but overall was a wonderful exploration of knowing who you can be and not waiting for the world to see it too. Miles makes mistakes and is selfish and doesn't think things through, and he's so delightfully flawed and human, and the book feels like such an extension of that.

All That's Left In The World by Erik J. Brown

I'm not usually a fan of apocalypse stories, but I figured I'd give this one a shot, and I'm ultimately so glad that I did.

Andrew in injured when he stumbled upon Jamieson's home out in the woods. After the superflu killed nearly 80% of the population, he's not expecting to find anyone out here. But Jamie surprises him, at first by helping him with his injury, and then by quickly becoming more important to him than Andrew thought possible at the end of the world. When threats force them to leave the safety of Jamie's home, they begin a journey that stretches down the east coast, facing violence and danger, along with the potential for something more between them.

The only real apocalypse disease comparisons I can make to this book are Covid and The Last of Us, and Brown does mention Covid along the way, so that just sort of left the post disease violence and horror similar to that of TLOU. Except this book didn't have mushroom monsters, it had people as all the villains, which was just as terrifying. I definitely felt the fear factor in several places while reading this book, so we'll done.

The overall journey that Andrew and Jamie took was very unexpected. I sort of figured a big chunk of it would be Andrew getting to Alexandria, where he had a secret mission he was trying to accomplish for himself, but when that came up like halfway through the book I was sort of unsure where they could go from there. But this story had So Much-- there were good people, wild animals, flooded tunnels, white supremacist weirdos, sepsis--there was truly everything. And just when I thought situations couldn't get worse, there was always something else to go wrong, a real rollercoaster of a novel.

It was really well written. The sorrow and desperation of the end of the world was so present, that it added weight to the happiest of moments and the worst of their journey both. Queer love amd queer existence has for so long been about survival that it almost flourishes in a post apocalyptic environment. And getting to read about them being dumb teenage boys falling in love between the terrors of destroyed society made the funny and sweet bits all the sweeter. They built a relationship on the foundation of keeping one another alive, and what kind of love can be stronger than that?

Overall this was a big box of emotions that I tore through. Big recommendation for any The Last of us Fans, as well as anyone who likes a love story at the end of the world.

Mostly Dead Things by Kristin Arnett

This was a strange book. I picked it up on a whim and hung onto it as my green book. It was actually the second book I read this month, and is unlike any other book I've read.

In the wake of her father's suicide, Jessa is left to take care of her family and her father's taxidermy store. But between the lewd art her mother is creating with dead animals and the absent parenting her brother is attempting after his wife left (the only woman Jessa has ever loved), Jessa is feeling in over her head. An interesting look at grief and really, truly knowing your family, Mostly Dead Things is about making the decision to keep trying, even when it feels easier not to.

I have some dumb internal puritanical sensibilities that I'm working on, and that did mean feeling a little grossed out or overwhelmed by the descriptors and things in this book. But Jessa was also dealing with a lot of that, so it felt like the book to do some exploring with. There's taxidermy, of course, and the easy way that is described lends to a weird feeling of normalizing the otherwise unusual and also comparing so much of humans to animals. We're gross and strange and all of that is normal, even if it feels extraordinary uncomfortable.

Arnett's writing is brilliantly descriptive, and I tore through this book, hungry for something I didn't know. It was strange though, how anticlimactic a lot of it felt. There were big moments, and things that felt like they should have been big moments, and the way they landed in the story made it feel as though I were constantly waiting for something to happen. And when it did, it was with a whisper instead of a bang. There is something both dissatisfying and complete about quiet family moments being the meat of the story, after the characters have spent so long avoiding actually talking to one another.

Like I said, this was a very strange book. It was good though, and I appreciate the story it told.

Ander and Santi Were Here by Johnny Garza Villa

This was a really sweet if nerve wracking read about deportation, art, and loving through good and bad times.

Ander plans to spend their gap year painting murals around their hometown and working in their family's tacqueria. That plan is upset when their family gently fires them to give them more time to work on their art, and replaces them with the irresistible Santi. Ander and Santi have chemistry immediately, and even when Ander's family tell them he's off limits, Ander can't fight the pull towards him. But a scary encounter with ICE reveals that Santi is undocumented, and Ander learns that there is a new kind if fear to live with. Together, they have to decide if pursuing a relationship is worth the potential heartbreak of someone else deciding if and when they're done.

Ander and Santi Were Here is as funny and heartwarming as it is upsetting. Ander is a hilarious protagonist, clever and horny and creative. I loved the descriptions of their murals and the artistic way they see the world. I also loved that their family embraced the fact that they're nonbinary and used gender neutral language in both Spanish and English. There was quite a bit of Spanish in this book, but it's super easy to follow for those who don't understand it. I know the barest amount and got by just fine, though there is probably some stuff I'm missing out on for not knowing the language very well (and that's on me, the book is delightful).

This is a book that has deportation as the main villain, but it's first and foremost a love story between two queer kids just trying to make their own happiness. I was very proud of Ander for the decisions they made regarding their future (no spoilers) and the ending for this book was as realistic as it was happy enough.

Overall I had a really good time with this book. A chunk in the middle and then closer to the end made me so nervous to read, because I was just waiting for the shoe to drop, but honestly the fact that I can exist and only feel fear toward deportation while I'm reading a fictional book speaks to my privilege, and I know there are people who spend every day facing that fear. Ander expressed something similar toward the beginning of the book, where they weren't unaware of it all but removed enough to go about life without that fear. Santi changed that for them, and I think this book will do that for a lot of people.

A Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C. M. Waggoner

This was such a fun and strange book, I love regency magic.

Delly, local firewitch, is in desperate need of money. So when a venture drops into her lap to protect a high class lady with a group of other female fighters and wizards, she jumps on it. That opportunity brings a rich marriage prospect in the form of kindhearted Winn and relaxing time at a fancy manor, and Delly thinks it'll be smooth sailing until someone is murdered and the murderer escapes. Now entrusted with tracking down the murdered, Delly gets waist deep in a street drug nightmare alongside her prospect, a necromancer, and a skeleton mouse named Buttons. And she'll need to catch the murderer before she herself ends up dead.

I had so much fun reading this book. It's quick and witty and funny and so clever. The world building is fascinating, regency era with magic and trolls (Winn is even part troll and that's presented as a cool, good thing) and all sorts of fun inventive language to go with it.

Delly as a character was incredible. She's selfish and self-proclaimed trash with, but she also genuinely wants to do good by the end, and she's absolutely hilarious. Winn is also delightful, a very good and positive soul who wants to and successfully sees the best in Delly. Their interactions were really cute, especially when it came to their competing social standings and how they saw the world. They were so different but in the best way, and I loved getting to see the genuine feelings emerge between then.

Buttons the reanimated dead mouse was probably my favorite character, and the many strange and unhinged descriptions of his many noises was so delightfully horrifying. The overall language in this book was brilliant, I'm obsessed with the descriptors and dialogue, it was all so clever, but the Buttons bit especially were absolutely delightful.

The overall plot was interesting and paced well, and the tangled up romance and murder if it all was such a hook. I wanted Delly to succeed, despite how selfish and mean she could be, or maybe because of it. She wanted to take care of her mom and herself, very reasonable things to want, and truly a broke regency gal has never been so relatable.

Overall this was a delight, queer magic regency murder mystery, ten out of ten.

This Doesn't Mean Anything by Sarah Whalen

I was so excited about this book because it's about a girl who gets to college and realizes she's ace, which is exactly what happened to me. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed by it. I'll keep this review short because I don't like writing negative reviews, especially when it's about something so important to me (and not as common as I'd like).

The story is essentially marketed as the main character, Spencer, discovering her asexuality and falling for a guy, Nick. Nick is very supportive of Spencer's sex-repulsion and doesn't expect her to change or compromise her boundaries for him, but is dealing with his own internal stuff that prevents them from being together. After quite a bit of miscommunication and torturing themselves and each other and arguing a lot, they ultimately decide to try and make it work.

I was really hoping there would be a bigger moment for Spencer discovering the term asexual, since that was a total turning point for me and my internalized self-worth issues, but instead it was just kind of an offhand remark made about halfway through the book. The book was also like 430 pages, which was way too long for a story that felt like it didn't have much to say? I felt like a lot of it could have been cut down, or the extra pages used to explain some of the plot points or information that felt skipped over. The bit where Nick couldn't actually give a good reason for not dating Spencer dragged on for a very long time, and there was a wild amount of men posturing and being really weirdly possessive or aggressive in terms of "keeping the woman safe." Like, yes, it is important to keep an eye on your drinks and for men to step up and do their part to keep people, especially women, safe, but this book sort of felt extreme in it's portrayal of it all. Also rip I share a name with the antagonist that repeatedly sexually assaults women (why did no one go to any authorities about that?? There were witnesses and he'd done it multiple times? They just kicked him out of the apartment and hoped he'd stop assaulting women???)

The main character was kind of annoying, which sucks because she and I have some similarities (English major, doesn't drink, colorful hair, and obvi being ace). Some of her trauma via her family was explained, but she was just portrayed as very, I don't know, disagreeable. It didn't help that a lot of the dialogue was stilted or argumentative trying to be teasing. It all just felt very unedited I guess. I feel bad saying that, because this was clearly a labor of love that I wanted so badly to like, but none of it landed with me unfortunately. A love story where the sex-repulsed ace person doesn't have to compromise themselves for their partner sounds like the dream, but I think I may have to keep looking for the right version of that story for me.

Kind of a bummer way to finish reading the rainbow this month, but honestly it makes me appreciate how much I enjoyed all the other books.

And there you have it! Another year, another rainbow! I'm proud of us for making it this far.

Keep reading!

Literary recommendation: an ace book I did adore was Loveless by Alice Oseman, and I highly recommend that book

Media recommendation: I have gotten so into Game Change on Dropout TV, even if you just go hunt down some clips on youtube, it really is a gamechanger of a show