Hi book friends! I’m Erica, another Associate Editor here at BR, and I’ll be filling in for Danika while they’re out.
I have to say that, while I’m excited for Spring, March has already started off raggedy. My home state of Tennessee continues to embarrass me, and everything is just a dumpster fire. With these new laws and bans being enacted, we’re seeing the continuation of what started with book bans (which, of course, are also still raging on).
It’s times like these when we need queer cozy fantasy books the most, so read on for some hug-in-a-book recommendations. Also, if you’re able to, the school library for the Green Hill juvenile detention facility is looking for some help buying books and supplies the students have requested. I already bought a few volumes of manga, paint brushes, and color pencils. For the wishlist, click here.
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Bookish Goods
Bi Pride Dragon Enamel Pin by ChaobunnyArts
Since today’s newsletter theme is cozy fantasy, I had to include this cute bi pride dragon pin. There are lots of different listings for pride dragons, from the progress flag to ace, intersex, demigirl, lesbian, queer, and more designs! $11
New Releases
Unfortunately, this week’s new releases are disproportionately by white authors. Do better, publishers.
Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto by Clarkisha Kent (Bisexual Memoir)
Kent gets into the toll on self and body that comes with living in a culture that values heteronormativity, whiteness, and thinness so much. As a first-generation American, she’s also had to deal with generational trauma and realizing that true family isn’t always connected by blood. But if I’m making it seem like this is all doom and gloom, it’s not! Kent keeps her readers cackling, even as she wades through tragedy.
The Faithless (Magic of the Lost #2) by C.L. Clark (Sapphic Fantasy)
This is the second book in Clark’s Magic of the Lost trilogy, and in it, Luca the princess and Touraine the soldier return to Balladaire after a rebellion. Though the rebels have won, Luca must still reclaim the throne from her uncle and the two women must struggle through heartbreak to ensure they don’t lose all they’ve fought for.
Tell the Rest by Lucy Jane Bledsoe (Queer Fiction)
Confidence by Rafael Frumkin (Gay Fiction)
In Memoriam by Alice Winn (M/M Historical Fiction)
The Fifth Wound by Aurora Mattia (Trans Fiction)
A Tale of Two Florists (Juniper Creek Golden Years #1) by Brenna Bailey (F/F Romance)
Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly (M/M Romance)
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles (Historical Romance)
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Sapphic Sci-Fi Mystery)
Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky #2) by Rebecca Roanhorse (Queer Fantasy) (Paperback Rerelease) [AOC]
Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni (Queer Graphic Novel)
Reaching Ninety by Martin Duberman (Gay Memoir)
Tweakerworld: A Memoir by Jason Yamas (Queer Memoir)
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
It’s cold here, which seems like as good an excuse as any to curl up with some cozy queer fantasy books. You probably already know about Legends & Lattes, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, and The Tea Dragon Society, but here are a few more. Side note: I hope that we see more queer cozy fantasy books by about queer people of color soon!
Cursed Cocktails by S.L. Rowland
I somehow missed this one coming out last month! It looks like the perfect match for Legends & Lattes fans. Rhoren is a bloodmage who has finally retired. Now, using a book of drink recipes he inherited from his father, he’s starting his own tavern for a change of pace. There’s also a sweet M/M slowburn romance.
Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
This one has some action in the plot, but it still is a very cozy YA fantasy graphic novel. Nova is a witch whose childhood crush, Tam, has just reappeared in her life. They are a werewolf on the run from a dark force trying to steal their magic. Together, they have to uncover the mystery behind the forces chasing Tam before it’s too late. Did I mention that Nova works for a bookstore owned by her grandmothers? Adorable.
That’s all I got for today! If you’d like to say hi, you can hit me up on Twitter @erica_eze_, listen to me and Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast, or hear more of my ramblings in the author of color-focused newsletter I write (In Reading Color).
It’s been real, until next time!
-Erica