Author: Danika Ellis

Cat Fitzpatrick was one of the editors on a favorite anthology of mine, Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy From Transgender Writers, so I’m excited to read a whole novel of hers! This follows six queer women, most of them trans, in Brooklyn, and it discusses racism in queer communities, call-out culture, feminist theory, and more — oh, and it’s all told in rhyming poetry.

This is one I hope gets a different cover for the paperback edition, because I feel like this one looks a little generic sci-fi, when this actually follows a queer teen hijabi alien hunter! This looks like a lot of fun, and it promises a found family element with the team tasked with freeing Earth.

His Christmas Guardian by Cindy Dees (M/M Romantic Suspense)

Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle #3) by Nghi Vo (Sapphic and Nonbinary Fantasy)

In The Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan, Gaia Cardinali, and Micah Myers (Gay YA Fantasy)

It Took Luke: Overworked & Underpaid by Mark Bouchard and Bayleigh Underwood (Queer Horror Graphic Novel)

Heretic: A Memoir by Jeanna Kadlec (Queer Memoir)

Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter (Gay Memoir) (Paperback Rerelease)

Angels and Earthworms: An Unexpected Journey to Joy, Love, and Miracles by Lorraine Segal (Lesbian Memoir)

Lavender House is a refuge for queer people in the 1950s, where those living there don’t have to hide who they are. It’s funded by the owner of a soap empire, but when she dies mysteriously, Andy — a gay detective — is hired by her widow to find out if it was murder.

This follows the four Singh sisters, whose family owns the Songbird Inn: the most romantic inn in America. Over four seasons, each of the sisters finds love, including photographer Sirisha, who falls for an actress in the theater troupe that just came to town — now she just has to work up the courage to talk to her.

The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman (LGBTQ YA Tie-In Book)

Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall (F/F YA Historical Fiction)

Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne (Queer Middle Grade)

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki (Yuri Manga)

It’s hard to believe this is out today, because I feel like I’ve been hearing people talk about the “MILF book” for years! During Family Weekend, Cassie slips away from the university and into a bar, where she has what is supposed to be a casual fling. Except, whoops, it turns out she hooked up with her friend’s mom.

Nikhil is a 13-year-old voice actor, the star of Raj Reddy in Outer Space. When his family moves to a small town in Ohio, though, his life turns upside down. He is cast in the school musical because of his experience as an actor, but he can’t sing — and adults are protesting an openly gay star being on stage. To make matters worse, his voice is beginning to change, which means leaving the role of Raj behind him.

Jade Is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton (Queer Woman Fiction)

Before All the World by Moriel Rothman-Zecher (Gay Historical Fiction)

Army of Lovers by K.M. Soehnlein (Queer ’80s Historical Fiction)

Pacifique by Sarah L. Taggart (Sapphic Thriller)

Black and White: Tough Love at the Office Vol. 1 by Sal Jiang (Yuri Manga)

I’m in Love with the Villainess (Light Novel) Vol. 5 by Inori and Hanagata (Yuri Light Novel)

The Edge of Being by James Brandon (Queer Guy YA Contemporary)

The Other Ones by Fran Hart (M/M YA Halloween Romance UK Release)

Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm & Jamie Green (Bisexual YA Graphic Novel Retelling of Twelfth Night)

Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman (Sapphic Middle Grade Fantasy)

Something Great by Jeanette Bradley (Nonbinary Picture Book)

Aria didn’t plan to spend the summer with her grandmother in California, and she certainly didn’t expect to fall for Steph, her grandmother’s gardener. The only problem — other than that Aria thought she was straight until now — is that Steph already has a girlfriend. This is a messy coming of age story set in the way-back time of 2008. Explorations of astronomy, time, and art weave through this beautiful and bittersweet novel. For Last Night at the Telegraph Club fans, there’s also a brief update on the main characters!

I talk about this book more in depth in this week’s All the Books episode.

They Both Die at the End was a huge hit that’s still being regularly recommended on TikTok five years later, so this prequel is highly anticipated. It takes place at the launch of Death-Cast, while everyone is waiting to see if it really can predict how people will die. Orion and Valentino meet and quickly fall for each other. One gets a call, one doesn’t, but they decide to spend the day together, even if, for one of them, it may be their last.

Carework was such an incredible read, and Bodymap is my favorite book of poetry, so I knew I would love this, and I was absolutely right. It discusses disability justice during the pandemic as well as into the future. I look forward to rereading this soon, because there is so much to think about packed into this essay collection.

I talk about this book more in depth in this week’s All the Books episode.

Tentacles & Triathlons by Ashley Bennett (M/M Fantasy Romance)

Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless (M/M Historical Fantasy Romance)

The Rising Tide by Amy Lane (M/M Fantasy)

Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector (Bisexual Fantasy)

Anne Of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki (YA Anne of Green Gables Retelling)

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo (Sapphic YA Thriller) (Paperback Rerelease)

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters (Sapphic YA Supernatural Thriller)

Thieves by Lucie Bryon (Sapphic YA Graphic Novel)

The Summer You Were There Vol. 1 by Yuama (Yuri Manga)

Big Love: Reclaiming Myself, My People, My Country by Brooke Blurton (Queer Memoir)

The Family Outing: A Memoir by Jessi Hempel (Queer Memoir)

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson (Bisexual Memoir) (Paperback Rerelease)

If you’re looking for a queer gothic horror novel for your October TBR, here’s a perfect candidate. Marion makes a desperate decision to try to escape poverty by signing up to be a bloodmaid for the elites. She quickly catches the eye of the notorious Countess Lisavet, which may prove deadly.

Just look at this cover!! Here is another take on a seasonal read: a comforting Halloween romance. Zachary is his neighborhood’s reigning Halloween decorating champion. Bram, his new neighbor, is determined to steal his crown. Then the competition turns to prank wars, and then to something else entirely… This looks so cute I can barely stand it.

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2021 edited by L. D. Lewis and Charles Payseur (Queer SFF Anthology)

The Tide That Binds Us by Alexis C. Maness (Sapphic Mermaid Fantasy)

Lark Ascending by Silas House (Gay Sci FI)

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang (Nonbinary Sci Fi)

My Name Is Magic by Xan van Rooyen (Nonbinary YA Fantasy)

Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker & Nicole Goux (Lesbian YA Graphic Novel)

The Trouble With Robots by Michelle Mohrweis (Bisexual Middle Grade Contemporary)

Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (M/M Fantasy Light Novel)

When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai is one of my favorite books, so of course in my infinite reading wisdom, I somehow have never read another of her books. I’m going to have to fix that soon, though, because this looks fascinating. It follows Tobie, who is just learning the story of her grandmother during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in the 1940s. It promises to explore “queer Asian history, underground resistance, the violence of war, and the rise of modern China.”

What a fantastic new releases day! Melanie Gillman is one of my favorite artists — just look at that detailed pencil crayon art! I just finished this collection and loved it. They do feel like timeless fairy tales, but they’re all queer and often about dismantling oppressive power structures. I highly recommend this for readers of any age!

Constitution Check by Katherine McIntyre (F/F Romance)

Morgan Breaks a Vow by M. L. Sexton (F/F Romance)

The Unbalancing: A Birdverse Novel by R. B. Lemberg

No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper (F/F Fantasy)

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland (Sapphic YA Fantasy)

Eternally Yours edited by Patrice Caldwell (YA Fantasy Anthology, F/F Story Included)

Fraternity by Andy Mientus (90s Gay Paranormal YA)

You Only Live Once, David Bravo by Mark Oshiro (Queer Middle Grade Fantasy)

Look Again by Elizabeth A. Trembley (Queer Graphic Memoir)

The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter (Queer Memoir)

Anti-Romance: Special Edition Vol. 1 by Shoko Hidaka (BL Manga)

Monotone Blue by Nagabe (BL Manga)

Togetherness by Wo Chan (Nonbinary Poetry)

From the author of Sadie and The Project, this is a highly-anticipated queer YA thriller about Georgia, who is trying to solve the murder of the 13-year-old girl whose body she discovered. Along the way, she’s pulled into a glittery world of excess unlike anything she’s ever experienced, and it soon becomes obvious that here, everyone is complicit. But exposing the truth will mean risking everything.

This is a mix of essays, memoir, and poetry that explores environmental justice and Indigenous resistance, highlighting why the natural world is worth fighting for, from a queer climate activist based in Guam.

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans (M/M Fantasy)

The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg (Queer F/NB Fantasy)

Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #3) by Tamsyn Muir (Sapphic SFF)

Death by Society by Sierra Elmore (Sapphic YA Contemporary)

Tragic by Dana Mele & Valentina Pinti (Sapphic YA Hamlet Graphic Retelling)

Love Nest, Vol. 1 by Yuu Minaduk (Yaoi Manga)

Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen (Queer Poetry)

Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparán (Queer Poetry)

Caught In The Act: A Memoir by Courtney Act aka Shane Jenek (Drag Memoir)

A Place Called Home: A Memoir by David Ambroz (Gay Memoir)

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown (Asexual Essays)

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam (Trans Nonfiction)

If you, like me, watch The Holiday every December and cry when Jude Law cries, do I have a book for you. Greta is tired of being seemingly the only lesbian in her small town in Maine. Truman, in Louisiana, is reeling from finding out his boyfriend has a secret life — complete with a marriage and a kid. They both want to get away. So they decide to swap places for the holiday break! But when they fall for people far from home, what happens when the holidays come to an end?

Aiden Thomas has a huge fanbase from Cemetery Boys, so this is a highly anticipated release. Every ten years, the sunbearer trials pit ten of the best semidiós competitors against each other. At the end, one will be elevated, and one will be sacrificed. Teo is shocked to find himself (and his best friend) chosen, because no one considered him one of the best. Now he has to keep himself and his best friend alive — and did I mention his ex-boyfriend is also in the competition?

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore (Trans Guy YA Retelling)

Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland (Queer YA Horror/Fantasy)

Moonflower by Kacen Callender (Nonbinary Middle Grade Contemporary)

A Costume for Charly by C.K Malone and Alejandra Barajas (Bigender Picture Book)

After two traumatic decades of being held in a men’s prison, Carlotta, an Afro-Latina trans woman, is back in Brooklyn and trying to rebuild her life, including reconnecting with her son. This is a stream-of-consciousness story in the style of Ulysses where Brooklyn is as much the main character as Carlotta is.

In 1987, Cori and Maz’s friend Sam disappeared. Five years later, the two have drifted apart: Maz is convinced Sam was pulled into a pinball machine, while Cori believes he’s dead. They’re thrown back together, though, when they find Sam standing outside his house like he never left — exactly like he never left. He’s still 12. Now they have to figure out what happened and keep him safe.

A Love For Micah by Eskay Kabba (M/M Romance)

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae (F/F Romance)

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series Vol. 1: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour by Tee Franklin and Max Sarin (F/F Superhero Comic)

Patisserie of Love Vol. 1 by Anna Hanamaki (Yaoi Manga)

This is a coming of age story about a young queer Black man in New York City in the 1980s, including volunteering at a home hospice for AIDS patients. It comes highly recommended by Andrew Sean Greer, the author of Less, among many others, and promises to be funny, sexy, and powerful.

Quique needs to get over his hopeless crush on Saleem, so he decides the best move is to pursue some fun flings with other people, which is only slightly complicated by the fact that he’s not out to anyone except his best friend. It turns out, though, that, as the back of the book puts it, “getting over one guy by getting under a bunch of others may not have been the best laid plan.”

Call Me Enitan by L. Leigh (Sapphic Romance)

Like Real People Do by E.L. Massey (M/M Romance)

You & I, Rewritten by Chip Pons (M/M Romance)

A Flood of Blood to the Heart by Isis Molina (F/F Fantasy Short Stories)