Time to nominate the Queer Romance Club read for August. Give me your suggestions for the poll, which I will post this weekend.
New releases, old favourites, classic must-reads, series starters, award winners, feel-good fluff, mixed genres, anything’s good as long as it’s both queer and romantic 💕
I'll throw Dionysus in Wisconsin into the ring. It is widely available (although I'm not sure how many public libraries have it; some do!).
Alternatively, I really enjoyed Love for the Cold-Blooded, or the Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero, by Alex Gabriel. @queerromanceclub@bookstodon
I'll nominate The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles, which came out yesterday, so I haven't read it yet, but she never fails to deliver. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW25L6FJ/
I’ve got the tiebreaker, so let’s go for the indie author, AJ Demas.
The official pick is Sword Dance.
Technically the first in a trilogy, but stand-alone with a HFN ending. Damiskos is an absolute cinnamon roll of a lead character, and the book itself is down the cosy end of the spectrum (with more plot than some cosies I’ve encountered 😊), though there is discussion of severe injuries including castration (Varazda is a eunuch).
However, Honey and Pepper is currently free on various sites, and The House of the Red Balconies just released a few days ago.
So, officially we’re chatting about Sword Dance in July, but perhaps we can also have a general AJ Demas appreciation month, whichever of her books you happen to pick up. They’re all set in the same fictional classical Mediterranean-inspired ancient world (which does include era-appropriate slavery), and they all feature rather sweet and comforting relationships. You’ll find them on Kobo Plus, your library if it’s better than mine (mine only has Sword Dance), or they’re all reasonably priced.
QRC is open to all, read at your own pace over the month and post about it under #QueerRomanceClub and @queerromanceclub — CW for spoilers if you’re posting early and going into details. No rules: let’s hear reactions, theories, reviews, favourite quotes etc.
Queer Romance Club June pick: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (The Last Binding #1)
(QRC is open to all, read the pick at your own pace over the month and post about it under #QueerRomanceClub and @queerromanceclub — CW for spoilers if you’re going into details)
I particularly enjoyed this book (and the whole trilogy) the first time I read it (it’s another of my favourite queer romance historical/fantasy trilogies, more here: https://wendypalmer.au/2024/02/11/books-favourite-queer-romance-trilogies/), so I’m happy for chance to re-read. And I’m looking forward to a new Marske book coming out later this year.
I like the Edwardian setting: this feels like a relatively under-used era in (queer) fantasy, compared to Regency and Victorian eras. Off the top of my head, only CL Polk’s Witchmark uses the Edwardian (I’m sure there’s plenty more!). Every other early 20th example that occurred to me was actually between the wars (prohibition, bright young things)…This setting gets to maintain the 19th century formality of relations, class disparities and sexism that makes for good plot and character tension, but also use our knowledge of the coming Great War to cast a long shadow.
The opening chapters do a great job laying out the era, magical system, and opening dilemma, and introducing the two MCs and their problems and backgrounds.
Also:
Robin, about Edwin: he has a eminently punchable face
Edwin, about Robin: he’s half-witted and incurious, not enough wit, not enough sense
😊 It’s basically a nerd-jock dynamic, let’s face it.
I’ll post a bit more on the book in coming days (under spoiler warnings from here on in), but I have the audiobook reserved for later in the month, so I’m looking forward to reading it in a different way to see what strikes me differently.
I’ll be reading Olivia Waite’s The Hellion’s Waltz in March if any #QueerRomanceClub followers would like to join me. Post commentary as you go along or a review at the end 😊