Happy Pride, everyone! I plan to share some Pride Month book recs as the month goes on, but for today, I'm going to talk about books I read in May. May was a rough reading month for me. I kept starting books and putting them aside because I just couldn't figure out what I was in the mood to read. I'm a huge mood reader—is anyone else that way? And I just hate it when I just can't get into a string of books that I know I'd enjoy at a different time. So frustrating! Fingers crossed that June's reading goes better. I did read a few books in May that I want to mention:
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban (FF historical romance): Back when Twitter was still Twitter and a place we wanted to be and discuss books on, I saw the author of this book announce it and describe it as a Victorian FF romance in which the heroines decide to get there parents together Parent Trap-style and fall for each other along the way. It sounded delightful. And it was. Fun and frothy, but with some angst and pining along the way. I have an ARC of the second book, which will be out later this summer and in which the matchmakers strike again, that I'm excited to start.
The Potion Gardner by Arden Powell (F/Nonbinary historical fantasy romance): This is the latest installment of the Flos Magicae, a series of standalone novels and novellas set in 1920s Britain with magic, a type of world I adore. This novella was a wonderful cozy fantasy romance between Florian, a nonbinary character who runs from his life as Flora to try to find who he is, and Kells, a lesbian gardener and potion maker. There is also a delightful dog. The story really explores Florian's gender identity and (mostly magical) transition in a lovely way, as well as being a low stakes, cozy book to escape into.
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth (paranormal mystery): The tag line of this book is be gay, solve crimes, take naps, which definitely made me think this book would be a lot of fun. It was—fun and quirky—but it had a serious side to it that I hadn't expected. Friends since childhood and witches Mallory, Diana, and Cornelia come together to solve a string of murders in their magical British town with the help of Theodore, a ghost who has become their friend—and was the victim of the first murder they tried to solve as teens. The mystery was solid, the world of the magical town was fun, and the evolving friendship between the three women interesting. There's also a lot of queer rep here (though no romance!) as well as chronic illness rep. Dramatic Theodore was probably my favorite! There's a second book coming out in the fall.
SOS Hotel: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay! by Ariana Nash writing as Adam Vex (MMM paranormal romance): In this first book of the SOS Hotel series, an ex-porn star demon and a guy who swears he's a totally normal human (Adam Vex, listed as the book's author) open a hotel for supernatural beings. From the start, things don't go as planned—there are protesters and gremlins in the attic and a murder. Also a billionaire vampire moves in for some reason. It's a fun, somewhat zany book. Not much romance in this first installment, thought the set up is there.
What have you read and loved lately?
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