#gideon e. wood

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

Tel, crown prince of Feigh, has negotiated an end to the war between his country and the strange queendom of Omela. He looks forward to an easy reign of wild parties and wilder men. When his father dies suddenly, Tel is outmaneuvered by his brother, losing the throne. Tel’s faith prohibits him from raising his sword and spilling blood, so he accepts the humiliation, working to temper his brother’s baser impulses. But the new king’s reign takes a dark turn, and his collaborators begin to round up undesirables, including those with a magic called the stagsblood. Tel must decide: Flee or fight? Running means abandoning his people to his brother’s evil whims. Standing his ground means the sin of total war. He has no army and only a few allies—and his magical secret. Caip, his closest friend and protector, brings military experience and blunt advice. Her right hand, Dar, is the picture of loyalty. Tough, battle-scarred Bin doesn’t suffer fools gladly. And Vared, a mysterious singer-turned-diplomat from Omela, speaks the truth to Tel in ways no one else can.

"How do I make war when all I want is to be tender?".

Gideon E. Wood's The Stagsblood Prince is a poignant exploration of duty, addiction, and grief, a beautiful tale of finding one's purpose after a terrible loss, of persevering against all odds. It's a tragic tale of love and loss. The narration is a little weak in pieces, strongly relying on the later recounting of events when it might be better to show them as they happen; but the sheer intensity of the events described, especially in the second half, more than make up for it. The book features a few very descriptive and explicit sex scenes, and a tragic twist that will leave you sobbing uncontrollably.

✨ 4 stars

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

#Gideon E. Wood #The Stagsblood Prince #lgbtq books #queer lit #queer books #queer #sff #queer sff #sff books #books #book reviews #reading #gealach reads #gealach writes

[the-novel-approach-reviews]

Review: The Stagsblood Brother by Gideon E. Wood

Review: The Stagsblood Brother by Gideon E. Wood #AmReading #Fantasy

Title: The Stagsblood Brother Series: The Stagsblood Trilogy: Book Three Author: Gideon E. Wood Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 409 Pages Category: Fantasy Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: If you like an epic fantasy featuring a hero who is tested and tormented, a villain who is pure, unadulterated, personified malevolence, and a man who learns his value and earns his happiness, this is…

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#4.5 stars #Amazon/Kindle Unlimited #Fantasy #Gideon E. Wood #Redemption #Self-Published

[aurorawest]

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi - 5/5 stars

This book managed to rip my heart out at least 3 times. I loved it. Medieval enemies-to-lovers slow burn; very romantic. Kinda read like fanfiction at times but in a good way. 10/10 would read a follow-up love story about Arundel and Captain Wekena. If you like Captive Prince, give this one a try.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - 4/5 stars

Pretty good bodyguard romantasy. Ironically CS Pacat blurbed this one (another am-I-in-the-matrix moment). The world was interesting and I enjoyed the politics, though they're definitely not as complicated as other SFF politics I've gone feral over (see: Captive Prince, Winter's Orbit, A Memory Called Empire). I ordered the sequel after I finished this.

The Doctor's Date by Heidi Cullinan - 4/5 stars

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars

Where do I start? I love, love, LOVE A Marvellous Light. It's one of my favorite books ever. None of the rest of the books in the trilogy could live up to it, really, because it's so good. You'll notice I rated this one 5 stars though, because quite honestly I fell prey to a bit of The Academy Paying The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Its Due syndrome. I did love this book and thought it was better than A Restless Truth (which I still loved!) but part of that is, quite frankly, just due to the fact that I prefer m/m romance to f/f romance.

Anyway. This was such a good finale to the trilogy. I loved that the romance was a giant middle finger to purity cultists. I loved that one of the mains was Italian. I loved finally getting the story of what happened to the Alston twins. One thing I thought was really cool was how, viewed from the outside, you totally get why Edwin is such a loner. I really admire from a writing perspective how Marske pulled that off.

I feel like there's a lot to be said about what Marske was trying to SAY with this book, but I definitely need to reread it first before I can articulate any of it. The purity culture stuff is obvious, but the magic system too. I feel like Jack when he's almost able to connect everything in his mind into a bigger idea, but he can't quite get there.

I've got a special edition from Illumicrate coming, so I'll be rereading it when I have that.

Oh also, this book was the embodiment of all that one tumblr post -

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 stars

I saw this in bookstores for years before I finally gave in and bought it. The blurb makes it sound insufferable and twee. Ignore the blurb. This was such a good book about grief and learning how to live again after terrible loss.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber - 4/5 stars

At last I can stop getting the Lauv song stuck in my head whenever I set eyes on this book (it's stuck in my head as I type this). Pretty standard-issue YA, but it was cute and had a good message.

The Stagsblood King by Gideon E Wood - 4/5 stars

Another book about moving on from grief! This is the second book in a trilogy. When I was trying to determine if I wanted to read on beyond book 1, I scoured the internet for information about what happens in books 2 and 3. Eventually I decided, hell, I enjoyed book 1 well enough, even if what I want to happen in the rest of the trilogy doesn't happen, they're worth reading. SO, to that end, I will tell anyone looking for info that Tel gets romantically involved with a new man in this one, which, eh. I still want him to somehow end up with Vared. It was still quite good though.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - DNF at pg 82

So funnily, we were at the bookstore the day I was about to start reading this, and my wife pointed out Ravensong (also by Klune) to me and said, "Do you have this one?" I made a face and said, "That's an older one of his books and I'm wary of his early work after that horrible Verania series. I don't think I've ever read an author as hit or miss as TJ Klune."

I wrote the above when I was 60 pages in and now I have officially DNFed this. Listen. You know how in Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was clearly given free rein to do whatever he wanted, so all of his worst impulses made it to the final cut unchecked? Yeah. That's what this book is like.

Here's my Storygraph review: I see Klune is officially Too Big To Edit now. This book has exactly the same problem that his awful Verania series had—a joke that's funny at first but quickly grows tiresome when it's repeated five times per page. The emphasis on Victor's asexuality was also weird and read like Klune was just super proud of himself for writing an ace character.

Lion's Legacy by LC Rosen - 4.25/5 stars

Queer, YA Indiana Jones, but less #problematic. This book had some eerie similarities to my own archaeology adventure novel(s), which made me wonder half-seriously if I somehow know Lev Rosen? Anyway, I feared this would be very heavy-handed and not nuanced on archaeology's ethical dilemmas, since it's YA and also the current culture is to view said dilemmas as completely black and white with no nuance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It manages to examine that, queerness, and daddy issues, plus has time to be a genuinely fun and exciting adventure story. Highly recommend.

Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black by Ismail Lagardien - 4/5 stars

I picked up this memoir in a bookstore at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg as research for Six Places to Fall in Love, since Percy is coloured. A pretty brutal read, but good, and definitely good research. The author was a photographer and journalist through the most violent years of apartheid.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - 5/5 stars

Two nonfiction books in a row?? This is the second book by Erik Larson I've read, the first being the excellent The Devil in the White City. I'm not, in general, all that interested in WWII when it comes to military history, but this book is about the day to day lives of Churchill and the people surrounding him (with brief stops to visit FDR and high-ranking Nazis sprinkled throughout). This is a very, very good book, and I recommend reading it if only as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of ordinary people under terrifying circumstances.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

Holy shit. Holy shit is this book good. Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in.

I need everyone to read this book. Now. Yesterday. Get to it.

#the scottish boy #alex de campi #reforged #seth haddon #reading tag #a power unbound #freya marske #the last binding #the guncle #steven rowley #i like me better #robby weber #the stagsblood king #gideon e wood #in the lives of puppets #lion's legacy #lc rosen #too white to be coloured too coloured to be black #ismail lagardien #the splendid and the vile #erik larson #some desperate glory #emily tesh

[theartofangirling]

part 3 of the 2023 version of this post: adult books!

part 1: middle grade books | part 2: young adult books

this is a very incomplete list, as these are only books I've read and enjoyed. not all books are going to be for all readers, so I'd recommend looking up synopses and content warnings. feel free to message me with any questions about specific representation!

list of books under the cut ⬇️

yerba buena by nina lacour

if we were villains by m.l. rio

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily r. austin

i want to be a wall by honami shirono

portrait of a thief by grace d. li

the thirty names of night by zeyn joukhadar

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

love & other disasters by anita kelly

take a hint, dani brown by talia hibbert

boyfriend material by alexis hall

almost like being in love by steve kluger

the charm offensive by alison cochrun

something wild & wonderful by anita kelly

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston

something to talk about by meryl wilsner

honey girl by morgan rogers

one last stop by casey mcquiston

once ghosted, twice shy by alyssa cole

kiss her once for me by alison cochrun

a spindle splintered by alix e. harrow

finna by nino cipri

every heart a dooryway by seanan mcguire

the starless sea by erin morgenstern

under the whispering door by tj klune

space opera by catherynne m. valente

light from uncommon stars by ryka aoki

dead collections by isaac fellman

the city we became by n.k. jemisin

light carries on by ray nadine

an absolutely remarkable thing by hank green

feed them silence by lee mandelo

summer sons by lee mandelo

upright women wanted by sarah gailey

lavender house by lev a.c. rosen

fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

a master of djinn by p. djeli clark

witchmark by c.l. polk

a marvellous light by freya marske

a restless truth by freya marske

when women were dragons by kelly barnhill

plain bad heroines by emily m. danforth

a lady for a duke by alexis hall

infamous by lex croucher

passing strange by ellen klages

even though i knew the end by c.l. polk

the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo

whiskey when we're dry by john larison

wake of vultures by lila bowen

silver in the wood by emily tesh

the once and future witches by alix e. harrow

the kingdoms by natasha pulley

a tip for the hangman by allison epstein

she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan

the song of achilles by madeline miller

spear by nicola griffith

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

some desperate glory by emily tesh

all systems red by martha wells

a psalm for the wild built by becky chambers

the mimicking of known successes by malka older

winter's orbit by everina maxwell

fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard

empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo

legends and lattes by travis baldree

the house in the cerulean sea by tj klune

other ever afters by melanie gillman

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

a day of fallen night by samantha shannon

a strange and stubborn endurance by foz meadows

the unbroken by c.l. clark

real queer america by samantha allen

fun home by alison bechdel

in the dream house by carmen maria machado

better living through birding by christian cooper

why fish don't exist by lulu miller

#lgbtq+ books #queer books #book recommendations #gay books #book flow chart #part 3 of 3! #AND THAT'S IT oh my god this took me days #mp

[lgbtqreads]

can i have some recs of gays in action? that is to say i'm actually looking for fantasy or sci-fi stories where the queer characters are involved in fighting, war strategy etc. (i have many sapphic books like this so more focus on mlm, trans & other queer identities would be appreciated 🙏🏼)

(no cop or imperialist soldier characters please tho.)

Sure - try Black Wings Beating by Alex London, The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon, The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, The Disasters by MK England, and The Fever King by Victoria Lee in YA, and The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore, The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards, A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, The Widening Gyre by Michael R. Johnston, A Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares, and The Stagsblood Prince by Gideon E. Wood in Adult.

[hpdrizzle]

🌈 HP Drizzle Weekly Round Up Post #1 🌧️

Hello and welcome to HP Drizzle 2023!

We finished the first week (and some days) of posting and are blown away by the creations and the love everyone has to offer! What were your favourites so far?

See the works of the first few days of posting below the cut!

🌈 HP Drizzle Art 🌧️ 

☔ Right Path In The Rain [T, Digital Art ]

💧 Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley 💧 Weather: Rainy  ☔ Summary: Draco's been working hard on keeping things on the right path. It's been years since the war and he's fought to find himself through it. Part of the disovery being he has absolutely no problem sharing his umbrella with one Ginevra Weasley, and everything that comes with it.

☔ What to do When it's Sunny Outside [G, Digital Art]

💧 Pairing: Draco Malfoy / Theodore Nott 💧 Weather: Sunny ☔ Summary: Theo and Draco has a very different idea on what to do when it's sunny outside. Digital Comic.

☔ [ART] summer slipped us underneath her tongue [T, Digital Art]

💧 Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter 💧 Weather: Sunny ☔ Summary: It’s a tropical paradise until Harry forgets the sun cream. Draco is not impressed.

🌈 HP Drizzle Fic 🌧️ 

☔ You are here [G, 1092]

💧 Pairing: Ginny Weasley & Percy Weasley  💧 Weather: Stormy ☔ Summary: Percy was on his evening patrol when he heard someone crying.

☔ Rainfall Reverie, or Toad, the Wet, and a Locket [T, 5379]

💧 Pairing: Oliver Wood/Ron Weasley 💧 Weather: Rainy ☔ Summary: When a rain inconsistently causing amnesia settles over Aberdeen, Oliver Wood finds his cozy life with his partner, Ron Weasley, turned inside-out. A story of trust, of discovery, and being loved for who you are.

☔ Here Comes The Sun [G, 1905]

💧 Pairing: Narcissa Black Malfoy/Lucius Malfoy 💧 Weather: Sunny ☔ Summary: Narcissa Black was a ray of sunshine. Then she grew up, and became cold and withdrawn. She never expected Lucius Malfoy to melt the ice.

☔ A Summer's Day [T, 1,817]

💧 Pairing: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks 💧 Weather: Sunny ☔ Summary: A love story that begins on an artificial summer's day in January and ends with a tearful farewell beneath the unforgiving August sun.

☔ In Their Winter Den [T, 2,899]

💧 Pairing: Theodore Nott/Blaise Zabini 💧 Weather: Snowy ☔ Summary: Theo aimed his wand at the wall and gathered more lights around the twinkling little bear. “Do you want a story or a song?” “Surprise me.”

☔ Snowflakes [E, 21,097]

💧 Pairing:  Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Regulus Black/James Potter 💧 Weather: Rainy ☔ Summary: The first time Sirius meets Remus, it’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. The second time they meet, it’s two weeks later. Two weeks that Sirius has spent thinking about green eyes and elbow patches and that charming smile that he wishes he had captured on camera, because he’s starting to forget it and it’s killing him.

☔ Hooligans [T, 3082]

💧 Pairing: Molly Weasley & Gideon Prewett & Fabian Prewett, Molly Weasley & Weasley family 💧 Weather: Snowy ☔ Summary: Molly plays in the snow with her children and remembers her brothers.

🌈 HP Drizzle Podfic 🌧️

☔ Only Happy When It Rains by Pineau_noir - a Podfic [T, 1:29:25]

💧 Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter 💧 Weather: Rainy ☔ Summary: Weather-Be's, the up-and coming business of Draco Malfoy, guarantees* perfect weather for your event! If you need warm sunshine, Weather-Be's will provide it. If you want atmospheric fog, we can make that happen. We have a 100%** success rate at giving you the weather you want. *guarantee invalid if Harry Potter is in attendance **success rate drops to 97% when Harry Potter's attendance at events is counted

#hp drizzle #hp drizzle 2023 #hp fest #weekly round up no 1

[stonecoldhedwig]

Fic List

I have not done an updated fic list in a while, so here it is! I want to finish up my WIP this year, and then in the works I have a Dating App AU Jily fic (Remus is a dairy farmer?); another Oxford Chronicles installment; a massive Jily Hogwarts era thing; a Lily Luna/OC Quidditch AU; and about 19 other ideas.

WIP

A Great Many Things (M, eventual E; Alicia Spinnet/Oliver Wood; canon compliant; probably my favourite OC ever)

Celandine (E; Wolfstar, Jily, Blackinnon, literally every ship ever; open relationships; magical AU)

Coming, Evans? (M, but eventually E; magical AU inspired by Around the World in 80 Days; Jily and Wolfstar)

Highgate Mews (M; established Wolfstar, Jily & Dorlene; Muggle AU; part of the Marauders Map series)

Honeybee Mine (M; Muggle AU; Jily and Blackinnon; James Potter keeps bees)

The Shoelaces Case; or, the many ways to spend your 37th birthday (M; Blackinnon; magical AU; time travel)

Use Your Best Colours (T; canon from Hedwig's perspective; it's so stupid)

Multi-Chapter fics (completed)

In Love and Death We Don't Decide (M; eventual Blackinnon and Jily; Hogwarts era fic)

Miracles series (James Potter as the Boy Who Lived):

A Bitter Little Eucharist (T; established Wolfstar and Jily)

The Marauders' Map series:

Hepburn Avenue (M; text fic; utter chaos as the Marauders meet the girls at uni)

Canterbury Lane (T; Wolfstar; Remus checks Sirius out in a car)

Costa del Sol (T; text fic; established Jily and Wolfstar; the gang go on holiday; currently unfinished for a really petty reason and tbh, probably staying like that)

Caraway Street (E; established Jily and Wolfstar; the post-uni years)

Peverell Hall (G; fluff; James Potter's idyllic childhood)

The Oxford Chronicles series:

The Paintbox (M; Blackinnon, background Jily and Remadora; Muggle AU)

Jily One-Shots

A Little Bloom of Hope (T; Muggle AU; flower shop)

Better Ways (G; pre-relationship)

James Potter and the Case of the Lacy Black Bra (E; everyone lives)

Last Rites (E; canon compliant; emotional smut)

My Heart is Overcome (Gen; canon compliant; fluff and angst)

The Parting Glass (T; fluff)

The Way the Light Looks (T; fluff, but in an angsty setting)

Blackinnon One-Shots

Confession (M; love confessions)

Oceans and Glaciers (E; ok, it's actually a 2 shot, but hey ho; very explicit)

Wolfstar One-Shots

Mosaic (E; 8 one-shots with a lot of different kinks, I guess)

Snowed In (T; first kiss; Hanukkah; Jewish!Remus)

Until It Shines (G; mild angst but also very fluff; canon divergence)

Hinny One-Shots

A Lesson Overheard (E; first time[ish]; canon compliant)

A Place for Hidden Things (T; canon compliant; post-canon; sad but with a happy ending)

Opaline (E; post-war; angry sex and unhealthy coping mechanisms)

Three Gnomes in a Knitted Trench Coat (G; technically canon compliant; a bit of a crack fic tho)

Misc. One-Shots

Afternoon Delight (E; Colin Creevey/Draco Malfoy; yeah, I hate myself too)

Enough Pizza to Feed a Horse (G; canon compliant[ish]; the OotP girls hang out)

Giving Us Doomsday (T; angst; original OotP celebrating New Year)

God Bless the Shed, and All Who Sail in Her (G; fluff and humour; the Potters being Potters)

hoax (G; Marlene/Gideon; angst; implied cheating)

Remember that You are Dust (M; 2nd person POV; the universe addresses the Marauders at the time of their deaths)

The Theory of Relativity (T; established Jily and Wolfstar, previous Remadora and Blackinnon, but not in a misogynist way; Lily is enby)

Rabastan Lestrange/Narcissa Malfoy fics

coney island (M; angst; sex; adultery)

The Burning Edge of Dawn (M; angst; who is Draco's dad?)

Collabs

All's Well That Ends Well (even if it takes four years) with a lot of people (E; Wolfstar; angst then fluff)

WIP: The Secret "Oral" History with @jennandblitz (E; 1980s university; lots of drugs; we affectionately call this Coke Fic)

WIP: We Were Electrified with @siriusly-sapphic (M; how the Lestrange twins became the worst people ever)

#hp fanfiction #fanfiction #hp #jily #blackinnon #wolfstar #remadora #james potter #lily evans #sirius black #remus lupin #marlene mckinnon #hogwarts era #muggle au #marauders #stonecoldhedwig #harry potter #ginny weasley #hinny #narcissa malfoy #rabastan lestrange #hedwig #oliver wood #alicia spinnet

[theveriest]

A couple of weeks ago I asked about people’s favorite book or books they read this year. Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and discord, I have a list of 123 books in no particular order that my friends and family loved this year. If it was a series then I listed the first book. Each star is an additional recommendation. I haven’t read all of these, they may or may not reflect my personal opinions, though my favorite books are on the list too. The most recommended books were How Far The Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler, one or all of the Murderbot books by Martha Wells, and Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, because if there’s one thing my friends have in common across platforms, it’s that you’re all nerds (affectionate). Enjoy, and I hope you find your new favorite book!

Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes de Mez

The Soul Of An Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

The Going To Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

My Hijacking by Martha Hodes

Longhand by Andy Hamilton

Babel by RF Kuang*

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff*

Lies We Sing To The Sea by Sarah Underwood

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

I Lost My Tooth! by Mo Willems

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho

How Far The Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler**

Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed

Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora

The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett*

I’m Stuck by Julia Mills

Entangled Life by Martin Sheldrake

Iris by Eden Finley

Hot Vampire Next Door by Nikki St. Crowe

Devil of Dublin by BB Easton

Tied by Carian Cole

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld*

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

From Blood And Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Where I End by Sophie White

Wool by Hugh Howey

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

Yellowface by RF Kuang

Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas

North Woods by Daniel Mason

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin*

The Fragile Threads of Power by VE Schwab

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera

The English Understand Wool by Helen Dewitt

Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by The Gardeners & Farmers of Terre Vivante

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Love In The Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa*

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Welcome to Night Vale by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Prophet by Sin Blache and Helen MacDonald*

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki**

System Collapse by Martha Wells***

The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine*

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

A Psalm For The Wild Built by Becky Chambers*

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

The Lazarus Heist by Geoff White

The September House by Carissa Orlando*

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Mistletoe and Mishigas by MA Wardell

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

The Last Smile In Sunder City by Luke Arnold

The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes by Zoe Playden

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Manywhere by Morgan Thomas

Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby

Loot by Tania James

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

All Systems Read by Martha Wells

The Once and Future Sex by Eleanor Janega

Mort by Terry Pratchett

Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner*

The Door by Magda Szabo

Fluids by May Leitz

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Lieut. John Irving, R.N. of H.M.S. "Terror" in Sir John Franklin's last expedition to the Arctic regions a memorial sketch with letters

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Raven the Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Slewfoot by Brom

The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr

500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles

A Line In The World by Dorthe Nors

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Glitter and Concrete by Elyssa Maxx Goodman

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

The Tragic Menagerie by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (translated by Jane Costlow)

The 100 Years Of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

Precise Oaths by Paige E. Ewing

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

A Dead Djinn In Cairo by P. Djeli Clark

#favorite books #favorite books of 2023 #books #books and reading #what we read this year other than fanfic

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

The goddesses and gods have restored King Tel’s magic. His power over dirt, wind, fire, and rain is keener than ever. Still, his people are in danger. The sorcery of the antlered ones has also returned to his exiled brother, Lag. Hungry for power and revenge, Lag will cross any moral boundary to defeat his older brother—and make him suffer in the process. He’ll exploit Tel’s faith, decency, and generous heart to win the advantage in a war that will spill blood over the heart of Feigh. He’ll terrorize unarmed innocents. He’ll use sinful magic to transform the man Tel loves into a weapon. To end the bloodshed and secure the kingdom, Tel must ready himself to meet his brother and lover on the battlefield and eliminate the threat to peace and justice, whatever the cost. To do that, he’ll need to realize the final confrontation is really with the darkness, tragedy, and grief of his own past. The last war must be won inside himself.

"Fortune has surrounded me with good people".

Gideon E. Wood's The Stagsblood Brother sticks the landing with this incredible conclusion to the Stagsblood Trilogy, where all the loose threads are tied up and the final confrontation between Tel and his sadistic brother takes center place, pushing Tel beyond his limit. He will have to battle with himself and with his own, and make hard decisions that might haunt him; but he might find healing in the end.

This book deals with loss, grief, memory, and healing in such a poignant way. Tel, a recovering alcoholic, must do his best to avoid the lure of the drink when all things seem to go wrong; he has help, from his friends and loved ones, as he battles both himself and the dangers that threaten to tear not only his kingdom apart, but the known world, the cluster of six kingdoms inhabited by different races of humanity who hail from the gods and goddesses. The gods of the Stagsblood Trilogy are very real and passionate and meddle in the human affairs, appearing to Tel ever since the first book; the prophecy that was at the center of the second book takes here new meaning, for an extraordinary and quiet ending where wounds begin to heal and peace might be found.

The world-building keeps being effective and rich, painting the history of the nations, the struggles of the smallfolk, and the powers that control the world in all their irrationality. Lag is a perfect antagonist because he's truly unhinged, stopping at nothing in his quest for blood purity. He maimes and corrupts and revels with childlike delight in the destruction of his own kingdom, showing no remorse and a chilling amorality. The mental torture he subjects his own brother to is painful and difficult to read.

The author course-corrects all the things that prevented the previous books from being truly excellent (especially the second book, that was a step down from the quality of the first while still narrating a beautiful journey of healing), adjusting the way he recounts events and the pace of the book. The heart of his writing, the emotional passages that tear at the reader, he keeps and strengthens, creating a novel that doesn't shy away from the ugly in order to make it beautiful, that uses language at times very crude but always precise. This is a journey in three books, and he doesn't forget what started Tel's emotional journey towards healing, but always keeps it at the forefront of the reader's mind. The decision to tear Tel apart so cruelly in the first novel, followed by the way he begins to give Tel peace in the second, might make some readers decide to pull away, but I admire his decision to show that life doesn't end after a terrible tragedy.

Unfortunately this book is still saddled with numerous typos and small mistakes that take aback and stop the flow of reading, although it's less than in the first two books. But the strength of the narration is so intense that I'm inclined to forgive the lack of proper editing. The author also has a list of trigger warnings on his website, that I urge to check before embarking on this fulfilling but dark journey.

The Stagsblood Brother is a beautiful exploration of grief and healing.

✨ 4.5 stars

.

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* All the Hidden Paths, by Foz Meadows

for: trauma, healing

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

#gideon e. wood #the stagsblood brother #lgbtq books #queer lit #queer books #queer #sff #queer sff #sff books #books #book reviews #reading #gealach reads #gealach writes

[doumekiss]

doumekiss 2023 fanfic masterlist

A Song of Ice and Fire

When You Were Young - 3/9 - (Lyanna/Howland)

Beyond Duty - 2/2 (Stannis/Catelyn)

Switched Fates - 4/? (Multiple ships and characters)

I am ash from your fire - oneshot (Elia/Rhaegar)

runs in the family - oneshot (Daenerys)

but I'll see you in my holiest dreams - oneshot (Sansa/Mya)

Be more like the man you were made to be - oneshot (Ned/Ashara)

I Can See You - oneshot (Cersei/Lyanna)

Four Girls Sansa Stark Could Have Loved - oneshot (Multiple pairings)

.

Adventure Time

ten more minutes - oneshot (Marceline/Bonnibel)

.

Anne with an E

one single thread of gold tied me to you - oneshot (Diana/Anne)

.

Boy Meets World

Jump Rope Gazers - oneshot (Eric/Jack)

.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

2 A.M. - oneshot (Buffy/Faith)

.

Community

Holding Hands at Disneyland - oneshot (Annie/Jeff)

.

Chrestomanci

The Art of Saying Goodbye - oneshot (Conrad/Christopher)

.

Discworld

A Missed Oportunity - oneshot (Vimes/Vetinari)

.

Doctor Who

Placebo - 2/2 (Rory/11th Doctor)

Baby It's You - oneshot (Barbara/Ian)

.

Dungeon Meshi

Oh...oh no - oneshot (Laios/Kabru)

.

Fairy Tales

I’m not a queen, I am a woman take my hand - oneshot (Aurora/Snow White)

.

Father Ted

Priests Do Not Feel Jealousy - oneshot (Ted/Dougal)

.

Gilmore Girls

I no longer feel I have to be James Dean - oneshot (Rory/Jess)

.

Good Omens

Practicing Gratitude (Aziraphale/Crowley)

.

Gossip Girl

after all that we've been through I know we're cool - oneshot (Nate & Blair)

.

Greek Mythology

he is not midas (you have always been golden) - oneshot (Ariadne/Dyonisus)

Most Beloved - oneshot (Penelope/Odysseus)

I Know love is mean - oneshot (Aphrodite/Helen)

.

Hawkeye

I look up at the gaps of sunlight (I miss you more than anything) - 2/2 (Clint/Kate)

.

How I Met Your Mother

The Canine Excuse - oneshot (Robin/Barney)

.

Invader Zim

Hot Chocolate - oneshot (Dib & Zim)

.

IT

just like heaven - oneshot (Richie/Eddie)

He is with You - oneshot (Bill & Mike)

.

Kobayashi-san Chi No Dragon Maid

Lingerie - oneshot (Tohru/Kobayashi)

Managing Expectations - oneshot (Fafnir/Takiya)

Just a Cold - oneshot (Tohru/Kobayashi)

.

Maleficent

The Beauty of Shadows - oneshot (Maleficent/Aurora)

.

Mob Psycho 100

I could even learn how to love like you - oneshot (Mob & Reigen)

.

Mean Girls

Come as you are - oneshot (Janis & Regina)

.

Merlin

Are we out of the woods yet? - oneshot (Morgana/Gwen)

.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Inside your head - 33/? (Dokja/Joonghyuk)

.

Oshibudo

Private Message - oneshot (Maina/Eripiyo)

.

Princess Tutu

Fairytale Logic - oneshot (Ahiru/Fakir)

.

Ranma 1/2

When a Curse Stops Being a Curse - oneshot (Ranma/Akane)

.

Red Dwarf

comfortable thoughts - oneshot (Rimmer/Lister)

frankenstein - oneshot (Rimmer/Lister + Frankie)

mutual benefit - oneshot (Rimmer/Lister)

.

Seraphina

Positive Reinforcement - oneshot (Seraphina/Glisselda)

.

Stardew Valley

Happy Wife, Happy Life - oneshot (Haley/F!Farmer)

.

Stargate Atlantis

The Kirk Routine - oneshot (John/Rodney)

.

Star Trek : Lower Decks

hits different 'cause it's you - oneshot (Mariner/Boimler)

.

Star Trek: Voyager

James T. Kirk is Not Trying to Steal Your Boyfriend - oneshot (Icheb/Q Junior)

.

Succession

love is a losing game - oneshot (Roman/Gerri)

.

Supernatural

girl in the war - oneshot (Charlie/Jo)

the altar is my hips - oneshot (Dean/Castiel)

Dean Winchester’s Amazing Transparent Closet - oneshot (Sam & Dean, Castiel/Dean)

.

The Breakfast Club

Pretty in Black - oneshot (Allison/Andrew)

.

The Goldfinch

loving him was red - oneshot (Boris/Theo)

.

The Locked Tomb

About Last Night... -1/? (Gideon/Harrow)

.

The Mighty Boosh

Colour my life with the chaos of trouble - oneshot (Vince/Howard)

Let's Buy a Zoo - oneshot (Vince/Howard)

.

The Office

I know who I want to take me home - oneshot (Oscar/Andy)

.

xxxHolic

love is natural and real (but not for such as you and I, my love) - oneshot (Doumeki/Watanuki, Doumeki/Kohane)

A Kinder Life - 4/? (Watanuki & Sakura & Syaoran & Touya, Doumeki/Watanuki)

For Good Luck - oneshot (Doumeki/Watanuki)

.

Yellowjackets

first love/late spring - oneshot (Taissa/Van)

Lady Lazarus - oneshot (Lottie/Laura)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was only gonna post this at the end of the year but I think it might be best to just keep it pinned and updating as I post

#my writing #a song of ice and fire #orv #anne with an e #community #doctor who #dungeon meshi #gilmore girls #good omens #gossip girl #greek mythology #it #oshibudo #kobayashi san chi no maid dragon #mob psycho 100 #mean girls #xxxholic #merlin #princess tutu #red dwarf #stardew valley #lower decks #succession #supernatural #the goldfinch #the office #yellowjackets #ranma #the mighty boosh #how i met your mother

[aurorawest]

Reading update

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters - 4.25/5 stars

Genuinely good YA thriller.

The Stagsblood Prince by Gideon E Wood - 4.25/5 stars

This one ripped my heart out and I am going to be PISSED if there isn't a happy ending in the third book in the trilogy.

You First by JC Lillis - 4.25/5 stars

You'd think a book that is essentially an Incredibles AU would be lighthearted, right? You wouldn't think you'd practically be sobbing by the end? Haha! You thought wrong!

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton - 4.25/5 stars

I initially rated this 4.25 stars but honestly I might bump it up to 4.5. It's a zombie story but it was really well done, and I ordered the second book in the series the minute I finished this one.

The Falcon and the Foe by AJ Truman - 3.75/5 stars

Felix Silver, Teaspoons, & Witches by Harry Cook - DNF

This one was too Middle Grade for me.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers - 3.5/5 stars

So I won my local indie bookstore's trivia in March and the first place prize was a bunch of books that I never would have picked up on my own, including this one. I bumped it to the front of my TBR pile because I thought it would make a good comp for the manuscript I'm editing - it's about a woman who meets and drunkenly marries a stranger in Vegas, then falls in love with her afterwards. The book is really not a romance though, and is actually about burnout. I might have rated it higher if it didn't sell itself as a romance.

All the Better Part of Me by Molly Ringle - 4.25/5 stars

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley - 5/5 stars

"What if France won the Napoleonic Wars because of time travelers" shouldn't have shattered me the way this book did, but of course it's a Natasha Pulley novel so it absolutely did. There isn't a single one of her books that don't live in my mind rent free for apparently the rest of time after I read them, but man. I'm not sure if this one hurt as much as The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, but it's pretty close. Missouri Kite is the most Gay Little Man™. And Joe, poor Joe. The PINING. The YEARNING. When the reveal happens, I had to go back and read prior sections of the book and good god do they hit different. Different and SADDER. AKDJF;AKDJFKDAFJ;D JUST PLEASE READ IT PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

A Destiny of Dragons by TJ Klune - DNF

Not only did I DNF this, I removed the rest of the series from my TBR pile and will be offloading them at my local indie bookstore's next book buy-back. I think the worst part of this one was that he dedicated it to his eighth grade English teacher, who apparently told him his stories would never amount to anything. And like. What an awful thing for a teacher to tell a kid (sidebar, my eighth grade English teacher is one of the reasons I started to really take writing seriously, she was amazingly supportive - thank you, Mrs. Brzezinski!). But reading this series is like...you know, she might have had a point. I KID I KID WE ALL KNOW KLUNE ACTUALLY CAN WRITE but holy shit again, this series is so bad. The writing was a little better than The Lightning-Struck Heart but the characters are so fucking annoying. The term Mary Sue gets thrown around a lot and I'm generally not a fan of its application (since usually it's used to tear down teenage girls) but Sam of Wilds is such a fucking Mary Sue (or Gary Stu, I guess, but down with the gender binary, let's just have one word). Everyone wants to have sex with him and while it may have been sort of funny at first (it wasn't), by book 2, the joke has worn extremely thin. Also there's a prophecy about him, because of course there is. And he's the most powerful wizard ever. And yeah, I've read a lot of books where there's a prophecy about the MC and they're the Most Powerful Magic Person Ever, but they're usually not this annoying.

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim - 5/5 stars

This is book 2 of a really interesting and original fantasy/steampunk series. I really enjoyed the first one but this one was even better. It takes place in a world where time running correctly is controlled by clock towers. The main character is a clock mechanic (obviously an important job) who falls in love with the clock spirit of the town of Enfield (delightful, since my wife is from Enfield and it's not a place you often see mentioned in fiction). This book raises the stakes of the first one and takes place largely in India. Highly recommend.

Stormhaven by Jordan L Hawk - 4.25/5 stars

Game Changer by Rachel Reid - 4/5 stars

Is this the OG m/m hockey book? There was something very quaint about it haha.

The Best Man's Problem by Sera Taíno - DNF

I'm beginning to realize that I don't really like books where the family is given equal importance to the romance.

Arctic Wild by Annabeth Albert - 4/5 stars

Hummingbird Heartbreak by Max Walker - 2.75/5 stars

I found Dusty's reaction to the reveal of Brandon's past to be over-the-top and unreasonable (like, unreasonable within the context of the story - obviously characters can react unreasonably to things, but it still needs to make sense for them!). I probably would have rated this 3 stars if not for that, because it's a sweet enough love story.

The World We Make by NJ Jemisin - 2.5/5 stars

NK Jemisin, please do not read this. Jemisin has been open about how difficult this book was to write, and about the fact that she couldn't handle the trilogy she'd planned and took it down to a duology, and…unfortunately, it shows. I loved the first book but this one was a disappointing finale. The pacing was uneven and the character development stalled. Plot threads were introduced and either vanished (Bronca's new girlfriend) or were resolved in a way that felt unearned (the mayoral race, Manny's true identity, honestly the whole big conflict). Aislyn was an interesting character who ultimately felt underutilized. I actually, physically cringed at a couple points during this book—the coda was really just one long cringe, and the other moment was when Brooklyn calls...Beyonce. Who is an old friend. But then Beyonce is never brought up again and I couldn't tell you what the purpose of her inclusion in the book was. I'm sure some people love that kind of stuff but I can't stand it.

I did really love the other cities though! If Jemisin ever returned to this universe, I'd read a book about Faiyum in a heartbeat. His snark and his gay little crocodile earring were chef's kiss.

Jemisin is a fabulous writer and all my issues with this book feel like the result of an author forcing herself to write something she wasn't feeling and just wanted to be done with. Disappointing all the same since I had really been looking forward to this one.

The Sugared Game by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

It is not possible to go wrong with an AJ Charles book and this one is no exception. I love Kim and Will so much, and I really really hope the third book builds on the trust they established in this one.

Sixteen Souls by Rose Talbot - 3.75/5 stars

I liked this book but I did find myself, at the climax, wondering why on earth living people would sacrifice themselves to save ghosts from...being more dead? Like. They're...already dead.

#natasha pulley #the kingdoms #kj charles #the sugared game #the restless dark #erica waters #the stagsblood prince #gideon e wood #you first #jc lillis #wranglestone #darren charlton #honey girl #morgan rogers #a destiny of dragons #tj klune #chainbreaker #tara sim #hummingbird heartbreak #max walker #the world we make #nk jemisin #sixteen souls #rosie talbot #reading tag

[undetectorist]

hi! 😊 for the end-of-year book asks -- 2, 3, 17 por favor

omg i totally forgot that i queued that, thank you for asking my love!

2. did you reread anything? what?

omg, DID i. back when i was incredibly depressed in march/april, i found it really difficult to read anything new, partly because i wanted to be comforted and soothed, and partly because i was in a state of mind where i couldn't summon up new opinions on things. i wanted to read books where i knew how i'd feel at the end of them. and then i ended up rereading lots more as the year went on. anyway here's my reread list:

persuasion by jane austen

less by andrew sean greer

watership down by richard adams

the lord of the rings by j. r. r. tolkien

the earthsea quartet by ursula k. le guin

our mutual friend by charles dickens

a people's green new deal by max ajl

home by marilynne robinson

the wolves of willoughby chase by joan aiken

i hotel by karen tei yamashita

red white and royal blue by casey mcquiston

emma by jane austen

a room with a view by e. m. forster

the topeka school by ben lerner

gideon the ninth, harrow the ninth and nona the ninth by tamsyn muir

good omens by terry pratchett & neil gaiman

have his carcase by dorothy l. sayers

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by douglas adams

confabulations by john berger

piranesi by susanna clarke

the left hand of darkness by ursula k. le guin

whew.

3. what were your top five books of the year?

cloudstreet by tim winton

decolonial marxism by walter rodney

nothing to see here by kevin wilson

tom lake by ann patchett

in the woods by tana french

17. did any books surprise you with how good they were?

YES, nothing to see here knocked me out with how incredible it was and how much i needed to read it at the time. was also very much taken with beyond black by hilary mantel, which isn't necessarily a surprise but i was nervous to try her non-historical fiction books because i love her historical fiction so much!

#thank you lovely!!!!!!!!!! #asks

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2022-09-19

Eight hours of power cuts a day baybee let's go

(please do not go)

Listening: A T-Square song I hadn't heard before, "A Feel Deep Inside" which is simply delightful. Upbeat cheery jazz saxophone and bass guitar and a fantastic guitar solo and whatever the other like eight people in T-Square decided goes along with that. Dancing music.

Reading: Busy this week between apartment hunting and taking on an urgent project at work so I only got halfway through Nona the Ninth.

It's so funny that Nona is Harrow's Body. The scrawny gloomy little bone queen who was the actual dictator of a planet is now a scrawny teen who likes dogs and and is looked after by people who mostly remember her as the murderous bone queen. Peak comedy at all times.

The story is playing with names and bodies in really interesting ways, most obviously Cam and Pal and Pyrrha but even the fact that you get lots of descriptions of people before you learn exactly who they are, and often those descriptions contradict how you knew them before because it's coming from overfriendly and easily influenced Nona, not snarky and jaded Gideon.

Watching: For the 40th anniversary of ET they had it in the local IMAX theater, which was really impressive. I haven't watched ET as much as my brother has but it's still a hell of a movie.

The SFX hold up so well, and because ET is a basic case study in classical effects you get to be blown away even while knowing how it's done. The writing is also subtle and clever, the best jokes are given almost no run up and they still land in the middle of the busiest scenes.

Also watched something while sewing that was so utterly forgettable that I really have nothing to say about it. Can't remember the title or what happened.

Playing: Frequent power interruptions get in the way of my video games. I poked around the opening section of Dark Souls I and then lost power. The rest of this week's game time was the Forza weeklies, which I use to listen to Podcasts. Also the Audi RS E-Tron is in the latest update so I do want that.

Making: More quilting: progress continues apace and I finally bought more actual fabric pencils so my stitching is even neater now. I really need to press this, I'm worried about consistency but it's probably fine. Pressing makes everything better and/or worse. Sometimes both!

Cleaning up this old wardrobe my mother bought on Facebook, weird old pile of junk with decent wood that we're going to convert into a bookshelf.

Seriously need to be refinished and it was covered in sand and mud from wherever it was stored. Cleaned up nice enough.

Tools and Equipment: I discovered that pretty much any USB-C to USB-A adapter automatically functions as a USB-OTG converter for a smartphone: I used the one that came with my trackball to hook my phone up to my iPod and transfer some new songs I bought on Bandcamp across. Neat trick!

On Micro-USB you could short together a dedicated signal pin and ground to enable OTG capabilities but even when you bought a dedicated cable it was finicky, this is very easy. It's extremely handy to be able to talk to flash drives from a smartphone, I'm going to put this thing on a keychain.

#last monday of the week #Youtube

[lgbtqreads]

hi!! i know this has beeb asked before but not for a while and I thought there might be some releases since then, so : any Queer High Fantasy? I've been recommended Priory of the Orange Tree before. Thank you!!

Not sure when the last time was but here’s what’s currently on my radar! (You can also find these here, and an asterisk means it’s not out yet: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/spec-fic-by-subgenre/) I bolded some of the ones that are newer or coming out in the next few months.

MG

*Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp – NB

Sir Callie by Esme Symes-Smith – NB

YA

Female Protags

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco – L

Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst – L,B

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst – B

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine – B

Noble Falling and Noble Persuasion by Sara Gaines

Rule by Ellen Goodlett

Havenfall by Sara Holland

*Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire by Erica Hollis

The Afterward by EK Johnston

Empirium by Claire Legrand – B

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller – BA

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria – B, A

The Third Daughter and The Second Son by Adrienne Tooley

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells – B

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler

Male Protags

Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson

The Runebinder Chronicles by Alex R. Kahler

Skybound by Alex London

So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas – T

Non-Binary Protags

Spell Bound by FT Lukens

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller – GF

*A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Paige O’Brien

Adult

Female Protags

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

Tales of Inthya by Effie Calvin

The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell

Rook & Rose by M.A. Carrick

The Night and its Moon by Piper CJ

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

*Warmongers by C.L. Clark

The Gardener’s Hand by Felicia Davin

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey

The Drowning Empire by Andrea Stewart (Amz)

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Malice by Heather Walter

When Women Were Warriors series by Catherine M. Wilson

Male Protags

Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley

The Cadeleonian series by Ginn Hale

Tales From Verania by T.J. Klune

A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

*Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton

Stagsblood Trilogy by Gideon E. Wood

Genderqueer Protags

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

[spirit-of-helimire]

Re-Introduction - 7/8/22

Doing another intro just because it’s been almost a year and I think I want to attempt to streamline it a bit more. As always, this is a casual writeblr, a place for me to babble about my projects and my characters. I’m not doing this because I’m going to publish my work, I just want to have a space to freely babble.

About

I go by Sammy/Samuel (he/they) and I'm 25 as of publishing this post, I'm a queer creator who likes bouncing back and forth between different projects of various forms. From writing to attempting to do audio stuff I will try just about anything.

The things I primarily read are queer fantasy/historical fantasy, I'll read anything outside of fantasy but those are my primary interests. I like fiction podcasts and they're my main source of entertainment and those tend to skew more towards horror and paranormal. I have so many reccs for books and podcasts if you're looking for something new.

Little fact: My current favorite book is The Stagsblood Prince (and it's following books) by Gideon E Wood. An adult dark fantasy with an older queer man as the MC!

I'm also very open to being tagged in/asked just about anything, I love that sort of thing even if my anxiety can get the best of me at times.

What I write

I primarily write adult queer fantasy that focuses on older queer characters and potential romance between them. Especially because there's not a lot of content regarding that sort of thing and I want to put more of that content out into the world, even if it's just a little bit at a time.

I also make/write characters that are fat, older, and not 'Hollywood Hot' because there's also not a lot of that in a lot of media as well, I'd like to see people like myself in print and write that adamantly.

Current WIPs

Spirit of Helimire: A gothic inspired high fantasy about a pair of immortal twins, but specifically Christopher Alexander, who has lived in the city of Helimire since the city was a small fishing village. The city is his everything, and he is the Spirit of Helimire. (Tracked tag: Helimire)

Blackwater Depths: A modern mystery/paranormal story set in West Virginia/Appalachia, about a man who was taken to another place and was missing for ten years. A smaller project that I love working on because there's not a lot of fun queer fiction that is based in Appalachia/WV. (Tracked tag: Blackwater Depths)

I also tend to make AU's and such for my Helimire characters, just because of my fixation on the characters and Christopher specifically, plus it's just very fun to put characters in various situations and seeing what happens!

Finding Home: Character driven paranormal story of a home in need of repair and two, soon to be three, people who come to it to fix it up. Inside they find strange events and they attempt to figure out what is going on in their new home, and try to make it exactly that, a home. (Tracked Tag: Finding Home)

#writeblr intro #writeblr introduction #introduction #writeblr #writers on tumblr

[stonecoldhedwig]

First Line Game

rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. if you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway💗💗

Thank you @blitheringmcgonagall for the tag! A couple of these are more than one line, because they don't really make any sense by themselves.

Oliver Wood was many things. (A Great Many Things - Alicia/Oliver, E-rated, WIP multichap)

You don’t want to die, James Potter. (Remember that You are Dust - T-rated, Marauders on the nights they die, one-shot)

“Why’ve I never heard his name then, this Sirius Black, if you’re such good friends?” (The Paintbox - Blackinnon and Jily, M-rated, completed multichap)

It was fortunate that James Potter’s new suit arrived just in time for him to ruin his life. (Coming, Evans? - Jily and Wolfstar, M-rated, Magical AU, WIP multichap)

Marlene squints into the sunlight. It’s early—too early to be awake, really—but the dawn wakes her like this every morning. (Confession - Blackinnon, M-rated, first war, one-shot)

“MY SHED!” (God Bless the Shed, and All Who Sail in Her - Jily, G-rated, Muggle AU nonsense one-shot)

Sirius goes ahead of James; he takes the steps up to the front door of the safe house two-at-a-time. It’s easy for him, James thinks bitterly—Sirius has always handled war better than he handled peace. (Last Rites - Jily, E-rated, first war angst, one-shot)

“James, I swear to your sweet, sticky insect overlords, stop leaving honey all over the kitchen table!” (Honeybee Mine - Jily and Blackinnon, M-rated, WIP multichap)

Lily stands in the doorway. Harry is cradled against her chest, and her hand on his back rises and falls with each breath that he takes. He’s six months old today, she thinks. (Giving Us Doomsday - Jily, but also Wolfstar, Blackinnon, Benjy/Dorcas, Marlene/Gideon, it's complicated ok. T-rated, first war, angst, one-shot)

James had probably had better first weeks at Hogwarts. (Better Ways - Jily, G-rated, pre-relationship, tiniest hint at soulmate magic, one-shot)

Tagging @siriusly-sapphic @jennandblitz @nymphadoratonqs @siriuslychessi @chierafied @midnightelite @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world and anyone else who wants to play!

#tag hedwig #tag games #fanfic #hp #it seems i love a short sentence opener #MY SHED is still the best