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Best Lesbian Erotica: From Sweet to Spicy
Best Lesbian Erotica: From Sweet to Spicy
Janelle Reston | 2018 | Erotica, LGBTQ+
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
great box set!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

These stories are only short, 9 stories across 164 pages, but they are so delicious!

I can't say there was a stand out MOST favourite, because they are all really good. Very well written, in a variety of tenses, in the first and third, from lots of different characters. There is no connection between the stories, save the same author and they are lesbian erotica.

Some are really sweet, some more hard core. Some are just about the sex, and some have a more romantic feel to them.

I read them all, which for a box set, is unusual for me!

But there was one that stood out as my LEAST favourite. It's written from the main character's point of view in the first person. But when she talks about her partner, she uses YOU. So it's written using the second person. I find it a really difficult way to read a book, sorry! It doesn't affect my rating, but I felt the need to mention it, and you know I'm all about the feelings!

Apart from that one, they are all really good. I find myself wanting to read more by Ms Reston, something longer, with more pages to lose myself into!

Having had a run of male/male romances, this landed right in the queue at just the right time!

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Gideon the Ninth
Gideon the Ninth
Tamsyn Muir | 2019 | Horror, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Descriptions (2 more)
characters
Kept me guessing
a bit predictable at places and gruesome (0 more)
Necromancers in Space
Before reading Gideon the Ninth all I knew about it was: Necromancers in space and lesbians. Everyone who recommended it to me said it was "Amazing" and I "had to read it." Why the lesbian thing was a thing, I'm not sure? representation? Yeah, I'll go with that.
Anyway,
They were right. It is amazing, interesting read. I admit I had some difficulty getting into the first couple of chapters, however I think that was a me problem not from the narrative. Which is gothic and dark, everything that you'd expect from wizards who raise the dead and fight with skeletons would be, and so much more.
It is an interesting concept, although it read more of a mystery to me than a horror, (horror isn't really my genre, I don't have much to base it on. but most of the critics agree that it is in that genre.) and you're in space for maybe 15 pages of the book, if that much. I think there will be more space in the sequel.

The characters interacted with each other well, the tension between them all are great and I had a clear picture of each. Tamsyn kept me guessing on who was or wasn't trustworthy, and the palace that they explore was beautifully described.
Highly recommend if you want something different. This adventure isn't something you'd forget.
  
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Awkwafina recommended Saving Face (2005) in Movies (curated)

 
Saving Face (2005)
Saving Face (2005)
2005 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I actually had the poster of Saving Face hanging in my room for a long time. It was the first Asian-American movie that I saw that really connected with me. I’ve seen some Asian-American indies, but that really kind of opened up my search for them. I didn’t even really know about the genre when I first saw it. It was written and directed by an Asian-American woman, Alice Wu, and it centers around, an Asian-American lesbian. It stars one of my favorite actresses ever – Lynn Chen – and Michelle Krusiec. This girl, she’s from Queens, and she takes the 7. It was the first time I’d ever seen a movie with an Asian American on a 7 train! I think that was the first time I really understood what representation was. But it hit closer to home because she was an Asian-American woman and because, you know, she is from Queens. And she went to Flushing all the time, and her mom [Joan Chen] was kind of this Flushing socialite who actually becomes pregnant. And she kind of has to go between both worlds of being the good Asian daughter and also coming to terms with her sexuality. It was one of those movies that I think explored a lot of layers about the Asian-American experience and the negotiation that come with it. And, so, I love that movie so much. I still have the poster somewhere."

Source
  
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Jaye Robin Brown | 2016 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
7
8.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a sweet, southern f/f romance. Set in Georgia, it deals with a lot of things young lesbians might have to deal with in the south - religion, bigotry, the stress of coming out or not coming out (or being forced back in the closet by a move to a small town)! It doesn't deal with any outright violence against our lesbian protagonists, and it just barely touches on drug use, eating disorders, and abusive relationships. Joanna has a mostly supportive family, even if they do ask her to hide her sexuality for her senior year in the new town. Jo reluctantly agrees to do so, but doesn't count on falling in love with a girl at her new school.

The book deals a LOT with religion and sexuality; Jo's father is a radio preacher, and she attends a baptist church in town with her stepmother and new grandparents. At one point - one of my favorite scenes in the book - she snaps, and calls out her classmates for thinking homosexuality is a sin, while they eat shellfish and have premarital sex.

I liked the book, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I grew up Christian; I'm familiar with all the concepts in the book, but rather than progress to a kinder, more loving version of Christianity, I left it behind altogether. I'm glad that some people can reconcile religion with progressive values, but I can't. So it might be a good book for some, but not for me.You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
Like Water
Like Water
Rebecca Podos | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm always interested in queer young adult books, and this one especially caught my eye with its mention of "performing mermaids." Because y'all know I love my mermaid books! So Savannah isn't a real mermaid, she just plays one at a water park. But it was enough to make me pick up the book, and it's a good book. Young adult books about discovering your identity are always needed, and this book is about Savannah realizing she's bisexual.

Much of the angst in this book comes from Savannah not knowing if she has the same disease her father does, and she's not sure if she wants to know. Altogether, in this book we have chronic illness, hispanic teens, bisexual, lesbian, and genderqueer teens, small-town angst....there's really a LOT of demographics covered in this book.

I like Savannah, but I don't like her love interest, Leigh, very much. Leigh does NOT have her shit together, and between drinking and doing drugs, all while underage, she poses a very real threat to Savannah's well-being.

I'm a little nonplussed by the ending of the book. It leaves a few questions unanswered, but not in a cliff-hanger-y way. It's more of a possibilities-left-open kind of way. Which makes sense for a "first love" romance. It's not necessarily a "true love" story. It reminds me of John Green novels in that way.

So - it's a great book for representation, but don't expect a tidy, wrapped-up ending. You won't find that here.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
Love at First Like
Love at First Like
Hannah Orenstein | 2020 | Contemporary, Humor & Comedy, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First of all, please congratulate me for reading a book on my Netgalley backlist! Go me! Second, congratulate me again for reading a book based on a premise I despise: sitting on a throne of lies! :)

When Eliza discovers via Instagram that her last serious ex-boyfriend, Holden is engaged, she flips out. Despite the fact that she runs a successful business, Brooklyn Jewelers, with her sister, Sophie, Eliza feels as if she's lost the breakup--and life--when Holden gets engaged first. After all, she's still single. To console herself, she takes out some of the jewelry store pieces and snaps some insta-worthy shots of them on her left (ring) finger. This process is accompanied with a little alcohol to soothe the loss. Everything seems fine until she wakes up in the morning and realizes she's posted a shot to the store's page--and it's basically gone viral. From there, Eliza makes the perfectly rational (??!!) decision to pretend she's engaged and line up a free wedding and honeymoon to drum up business for Brooklyn Jewelers. All she needs now is a groom.


"My wedding is exactly six months from tomorrow. All I have to do now is find the groom."


I have no idea why I picked this book, I'm guessing it was a Netgalley widget, because I really really hate books based on lies like this. It truly makes me nervous and on edge. I almost didn't keep reading, but I decided to give it a shot. And I will grudgingly admit that Eliza grew on me, okay? If you aren't as bothered by me by the "throne of lies" concept, you might enjoy this book. And if you are into Instagram and jewelry, you could even love it.

Some pluses... Eliza has a lesbian sister. Sure, it's token lesbian representation, but at least it's there. Eliza pines for a man, but she's also a strong businesswoman and her business is very important to her (so much that she'd go along with this harebrained scheme to keep it). She and her sister are running a fairly successful storefront in New York. They admit part of that is because they received an inheritance, but Eliza also puts a lot of work into it. That's cool.

Some negatives... a lot of the dilemmas and plot points come across as very flat and one dimensional. Oh no, suddenly the rent is being raised, heightening the stakes in Eliza's fake wedding scheme?! Her sister's health insurance no longer covers IVF, so she needs more money to have a baby with her wife? You don't say, etc. At times, the plot feels like a trainwreck, where you know something horrible is going to happen, but you just can't look away. Eliza is determined that she's getting married--no matter the cost to anyone. The book stressed me out a lot. (Just tell people the truth!)

Still, much like a Hallmark movie, I found myself invested. I knew how it would probably all wind up, but I was weirdly captivated by it all. The Instagram heavy scenes, Eliza's dramatics, the looming wedding date. Somehow it worked in the end. It was crazy and ridiculous, but oh well. 3 stars.
  
AC
Annihilation: Conquest, Book One
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
These guys can't catch a break, can they?

So, plot summary: Sentinals are destroying the Kree empire. Starlord (aka Peter Quill), Heather (aka Moondragon, Drax's daughter) and Quasar (aka Phyla-Vell) are saving the Universe with the help of some friends.

We get the origin story for why Peter Quill quit being Starlord which was interesting. He had to kill a world to stop a Herald of Galactus.

I loved seeing the meeting of Groot, Rocket Racoon, and Starlord. I love them in Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's great to see them all as disfunctional and loveable in the comics as they are in the movies.

We were also introduced to Mantis, Captain Universe, Bug, and Shi'ar all of whom I did not know before this comic. They all had to stop an airborne virus beign spread by the Phanlax.

Heather (Moondragon) and Phyla-Vell (Quasar) have to beat an adaptoid working for the Phanlax and is distributing the same virus Starlord and crew had to stop on a Kree planet.

I love that they are a lesbian couple. It is great to see some representation in a popular series.

Moondragon becoming a dragon was epic. And I loved finally getting her whole backstory.

So Moondragon and Quasar had to find the savior, who, of course, is a guy. His name is Adam Warlock who I have no idea who the hell that is. I just wished that it could have been a female as the savior instead of a guy. But hey, it was still good!

Overall, this was a pretty cool comic, and now I have to get the second one.
  
Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel
Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel
A.W. Jantha | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
6.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Combined 2 stories in one.. the original and what happened 25 years later (0 more)
Part 2 dragged a little (0 more)
From a fan of Hocus Pocus movie … I loved this book!!!
Part 1 was just like the movie and well as I was reading, the movie played in my head … Who doesn't love a witch story during the month of October with Halloween around the corner?
There was one difference in that a 4th sister is introduced .. Elizabeth, who is written as the good sister!!!
Part 2 dragged a little but was an exciting twist on a continuation of the Sanderson Sisters and All Hallows Eve. It takes you to present time and introduces us to old characters from the first and original story line but adds new characters like Max's and Allison's daughter Poppy. It also added things relative to now such as the lingo and a lesbian crush.
This definitely was a great story line of finding a blood moonstone which is needed for a spell for eternal life. And the spell book makes an entrance in style with one of the characters being a descendant of a witch!!
The writing style was an easy read, characters were current and relatable to now from the technology to the way they talk and act.
Fanfiction is what I felt like I was reading and I liked that about this book!!!! A fun filled, magical read for Hocus Pocus lovers and readers who just want a fun entertaining book for Halloween and not blood and gore!!!
Was fun to enter the world of the Sanderson sisters once again!!!!
  
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BookwormLea (3034 KP) rated The New Mutants (2020) in Movies

Aug 29, 2020 (Updated Aug 29, 2020)  
The New Mutants (2020)
The New Mutants (2020)
2020 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Probably the worst Marvel movie I've seen. And i watched Dark Pheonix
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was so hyped for this movie! Have you seen the trailer? Movie gold! Well. Only half the trailer is actually stuff that happens. And the parts that do are the worst ones. The lead actress who plays Dani, is the most amateur actress ever. Her portrayal of an angry girl who just lost her family is probably the weakest I've seen. She literally looks like she just dropped her sandwich. And it sort of got better in the middle when we found out how they all found their mutations but then the end felt so rushed. Oh suprise! The weird girl you brought in last minute is the cause of the problems that only started when she got here! And the Russian girl who seemed real kick ass, had the most boring fear and her mutation that seemed cool, is pretty much just her being crazy. I kind of liked that the dragon was real to only her but then they went and CGId the crap out of it at the end fight scene. Why???
Oh and why can't they have a movie with no romance?? And oh gosh its 2020 so we just had to have the first Marvel Lesbian couple. Which again was rushed, they literally knew each other all of 4 days or something. And for a little wolfy Catholic girl who repents her sins weekly, she commits a lot of sins weekly. *eye roll*. Clichéd and boring. The worst marvel movie/ xmen film to date. Good job its a different timeline and there isn't going to be another one.
  
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BookwormLea (3034 KP) Aug 29, 2020

And before I forget to add. I love Charlie Heaton in Stranger Things but that accent, was the worst.

The Dead and the Dark
The Dead and the Dark
Courtney Gould | 2021 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Captivating look at the supernatural and the pull of family
In Snakebite, Oregon, teenagers keep disappearing or turning up dead. Things just seem off. The locals blame Brandon and Alejo Ortiz-Woodley, two former Snakebite residents who are back in town. They now host a popular ghost hunting show and travel the country with their daughter Logan. Wanting to clear the family name, Logan winds up joining forces with Ashley Barton, whose boyfriend was the first to go missing. Ashley is sure she can feel his presence guiding her around Snakebite. But as the two team up, they discover some pretty terrifying and dangerous things about Snakebite.

I loved this book so much. Sometimes it feels like I read similar books over and over. Not this time. Gould’s book is original and spellbinding. This is such a dark and ominous read. Gould truly brings you into Snakebite, the supernatural, creepy, and quite unwelcoming small town. It’s atmospheric and spooky. I could not put this book down!

DARK is filled with LGBTQIA representation, between Logan’s dads, the fact that she’s an out lesbian, and her own burgeoning friendship (and more) with Ashley. I loved everything about all of it.

This book is part horror story, part exploration of the meaning and depths of darkness, and part look at family dynamics. It’s an extremely well written ghost story with a sapphic love interest. It really doesn’t get much better than that! (It’s so good, read it—and it’s a debut!)

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.