Tag: lgbtqa+

ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla
Book Review: If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla

I wasn’t big on contemporary YA when I was younger, as I associated it with those sad books. You know the kind I mean. And those books generally don’t appeal to me. But though If I Can Give You That gives off similar vibes, something about it had me curious. This wasn’t an easy read topic-wise, but it was fast to get through, and I’m glad I’ve read it.

Seventeen-year-old Gael attends a local LGBTQA+ support group for teens at the urging of his best friend, but as a trans teen in a conservative school, he didn’t plan to say much. That’s until he meets Declan and winds up absorbed by his friendship. As their relationship deepens, Gael starts to discover himself. Still, back at home, things are getting worse with his mother’s declining mental health and his dad trying to get back in touch. Gael must decide whether lowering his guard is safe or will make things worse.

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ARC, books, new adult, Review

Book Review: You’re A Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Book Review: You’re A Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
Book Review: You’re A Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

We love a cheesy queer rom-com in this house, and after reading Never Been Kissed earlier this year, I’ve been desperate to get my hands on this one. I was lucky to get a physical ARC from Martina Pennetta and Sourcebooks Casablanca. I was expecting an e-copy through Netgalley, so that was a very pleasant surprise. This book was filled with queer joy and Hallmark cheese, but it also features a realistic depiction of anxiety, and that makes this a book that can’t be beaten.

Matthew has been exiled to his grandparents’ place with no cards, and no social media. After he bought an island with his parent’s money, he’s told he needs to learn a lesson. But he needs to get back before NYE for his party. He hatches a plan to get out of there but to succeed he’ll need to work with his handsome roommate Hector. But the holiday and town work their magic, and soon even a grinch like Matthew sees the good.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell
Book Review: Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

Last year I was lucky enough to be on the blog tour for Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell, and this year? This year I’ve been lucky enough to get an early physical copy of Ocean’s Echo to read! I was so damn excited, and damn, as much as I loved Winter’s Orbit…I actually loved this one more. There was still plenty of politics, but I liked the energy between Tennal and Surit a little bit more and all the action.

Ocean’s Echo follows Tennal, a wealthy socialite and walking disaster who gets conscripted into the military after getting caught using his telepathic powers for illegal activities. It’s decided that he needs his mind bound to a lieutenant whose powers are his opposite. Surit isn’t sure he wants to control someone, but he’s pressured into doing it to get his parent’s pension. Surit needs to keep Tennal in the army, but all Tennal wants to do is escape.

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books, Will I Like This Book?, Young Adult

Will I Like This Book? – Gwen and Art Are Not In Love

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Will I Like This Book? – Gwen and Art Are Not In Love
Will I Like This Book? – Gwen and Art Are Not In Love

I’m back with another Bloomsbury book sampler from YALC back in July! I’ll be honest, I’d actually forgotten about this book until I saw a cover reveal on social media the other day. As soon as I saw the title, I was like, damn, I have a preview of this one and now I’ve read it? Yeah, I’ll definitely be preordering this one.

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love is a queer kind-of historical fantasy rom-com following two teenagers, Gwen and Art who have been betrothed since birth. The only problem is that they don’t like each other. On top of that, both Gwen and Art are trying to hide the fact they’re gay. When they both catch each other act, they reluctantly agree to be allies and pretend to fall in love to hide their true feelings. But as they grow closer to the people they like, the fakery becomes more difficult.

This book is coming out from Bloomsbury on the 2nd of February 2023.

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ARC, books, new adult, Review

Book Review: Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino

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Book Review: Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino

We all know I love dark, queer books right? We all know that if someone can get fae or fae-adjacent books when they’re done right, don’t we? Well, this book does both of those things oh so well, and, oh my god, I’m so happy I’ve read this book. I’ll be going back and reading Tori Bovalino’s first book after this one as Not Good For Maidens? Such a damn good book. Thanks so much to Sarah at Titan for sending me a copy!

Not Good For Maidens is a retelling of the poem The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. We follow two main characters, Lou in the present and May, 18 years before. Lou has grown up with her Mum and Aunt May in Boston. But when her other Aunt Neela disappears and leaves a strange voicemail, Lou wants to go to York to track her down. Her Mum and May don’t want her there, as before Lou was born, May was trapped in the Goblin Market herself. After being led down there by a beautiful goblin girl.

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anticipated releases, books, Will I Like This Book?, Young Adult

Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

It’s time for another Will I Like This Book post! I’ve not gotten through all the YALC samplers yet! But since this one comes out early next year, I think now seems like a good time to get a post up, so we all have plenty of time to preorder what sounds like an amazing book! This one is being published by Bloomsbury, so keep an eye out.

She is A Haunting follows teenager Jade Nguyen who desperately needs money for college. She’s always lied, so summer with her estranged father in Vietnam should be something she can survive. She agrees to help him with the dilapidated French colonial house that he’s been renovating. One morning she wakes up feeling like something clawed down her throat from the inside, and a ghost bride visits her and tells her not to eat. When Jade’s dad and sister don’t believe her, she recruits Florence, who has been helping her with the house, to stage hauntings and scare them out of there. But the house has other plans. It’s hungry, and it won’t be abandoned again.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
Book Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

Boy, oh boy, was this one of my most anticipated books for the year. Seriously. I’ve been wanting to read Alexandra Rowland since I heard them speak on a world-building podcast, but I never quite got around to it. I kept an eye on their work, and when I saw A Taste of Gold and Iron, I knew it would be right up my street. This is a heavily political romantic fantasy novel akin to Winter’s Orbit, and it’s definitely worth reading. I received a proof thanks to Black Crow PR, something I’m still giddy over now, so thanks so much to the team there.

Prince Kadou is in trouble with his sister, the Queen. After causing an incident related to threats her lover made against him, Kadou has been pushed into the background. The only way he can earn his seat back in court is to solve the theft and counterfeiting scheme he was recently put in charge of. Joining him will be his new bodyguard, Evemer. But Evemer doesn’t like him, and things are difficult as Kadou tries to tackle both this operation and his mental health. The more time Kadou and Evemer spend together, the more they fall in love, and soon they would do anything to protect each other.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Book Review: A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy

A cutesy queer YA romance is the perfect summer read for me, so what better way to greet the sun than with A Little Bit Country. This is Brian D. Kennedy’s debut novel and everything you could hope for. I was lucky enough to get a physical proof of this through the Harper360 newsletter, and I positively devoured it.

A Little Bit Country follows Emmett and Luke, two boys who couldn’t be more different. Emmett wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar, and Luke has issues with the genre stemming from his family. When both wind up working at Wanda World, an amusement park owned and run by country sensation Wanda Jean, they wind up exploring their attraction. But as Luke’s family secrets come to light, they must work together to figure out what they need to do for the best.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt
Book Review: Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt

As someone who likes to read and promote queer books, a book about a group of ace teenagers committing a casino heist together was obviously going to be my thing. I’ve known this book would be a load of fun from the second I heard of it, and I’m glad to say I was right.

Jack Shannon is the son of a Las Vegas casino mogul, and he spends his school days running a secret blackjack ring. Until the day his mum is arrested for the family’s ties to organised crime. Jack knows who would have ratted her out, and he wants revenge. But that’s not something he’s going to be able to do alone. Luckily his only friends, an asexual support group he met online, join him in his plans. Jack has to try to save his mum, whilst also learning what it means to be in love when asexual.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: A Lady For A Duke by Alexis Hall

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: A Lady For A Duke by Alexis Hall
Book Review: A Lady For A Duke by Alexis Hall

I’ve made no secret of the fact I’m a massive fan of Alexis Hall. I’ve read a few of his books in the past and will be reading so many more. I’m not a massive historical romance fan usually, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about that one, but since this had a trans protagonist and was by an author I love, I wanted to give it a go. And I adored it.

A Lady For A Duke follows Viola Carroll, a woman who was finally able to live as her true self after everyone thought she died at Waterloo. Now she’s back home, and her sister-in-law convinces her to visit her former best friend, the Duke of Gracewood. He’s a mess dealing with the grief, and Viola wants to bring him back to himself. It’s difficult though, and both Viola and Gracewood will learn to love themselves again as they fall for each other.

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