Okay, so I know marketing is not for tumblr and I agree with that. But I have to at least mention that my Swedish 18th century fantasy adventure with secret societies, assassins, mysteries, duels, queer love, mlm and wlw solidarity, ace rep, and masquerades is now up for reviewing AND for pre-orders!

Reviewers can find it on Netgalley (not US, I’m sorry to say!)

Those who want pre-orders can buy the book in their usual bookshops! (If it’s not in your region yet, please be patient!)

Back of book summary:

Princess Bride meets Six of Crows meets Gideon the Ninth

Valour and Petrichor are esteemed members of the Order of Axsten, an assassin’s guild tasked with keeping order in the rough city of Vinterstock. Plucked from the streets as children and raised to compete for their guild’s approval, Valour uses her brawn to survive, while Petrichor strives to be a gentleman assassin. When they’re given their biggest job yet—to kill Brandquist, the mysterious leader of the city's illegal magic trade—it’s a recipe for disaster. If they can quell their rivalry long enough, the reward will be enough to settle their debts with the Order and start new lives.

If this job wasn’t dangerous enough, Valour is saddled with protecting the aristocrat, Ingrid Rytterdahl. Valour finds her dangerously attractive, but Petrichor can’t wait to be rid of them both. He begrudgingly accepts Ingrid’s knowledge and connections as they navigate the city’s criminal underbelly in pursuit of Brandquist.

As secrets bubble to the surface, the duo must outwit the thugs on their tail, keep Ingrid alive, and—hardest of all—work together without murdering each other.

It's 'pre-order a queer fantasy single word title starting with 'S' book by a female author' day

So hyped to read both of these! @emmasternerradley @fahye

drop your wlw fiction recs pls <3

I keep this list updated in a discord server I have for myself. I just took a second to update this with my recent reads, though not the one I'm currently reading.

I can attest to the quality of these. At minimum, something on this list is 4 out of 5 stars

Big ship at the edge of the universe - Alex White (fantasy Space opera, the whole trilogy is incredible)

Queen of Coin and Whispers - Helen Corcoran (medieval political intrigue)

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar (SciFi I guess but mostly just romance)

Daughter Of The Sun (and the entire Tales Of Inthya series) - Effie Calvin (DND fantasy, usually Romance)

Sexiled - Ameko Kaeruda (goofy ass isekai style fantasy)

Deadly Education - Naomi Novik (traumatic dark fantasy magic school book)

Otherside Picnic - Iori Miyazawa (light novel cryptid horror series)

The Girl Who Drank The Moon - Kelly Barnhill (fairy tale) (not explicitly queer but highly recommended)

The Rise / Shadow of Kiyoshi - F. C. Yee (it's Avatar the last Airbender but you don't need to watch the show for it)

Of Fire And Stars - Audrey Coulthurst (royal fantasy romance) (the sequel is more tame with romance and focuses more on magic and drama)

The entire "a book of underrealm" series - Garrett Robinson (fantasy) (this is a publisher that was made to produce lgbt books)

The One Who Eats Monsters - Casey Matthews (modern fantasy cryptids romance)

Outlaw - Niamh Murphy (gay lady Robin Hood retelling)

Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (regular (gay)

Achilles ancient Greek mythology retelling)

Three Parts Dead - Max Gladstone (dark fantasy) (there's like 7 of these)

The Mermaid's Daughter - Ann Claycomb (modern tragedy Fantasy romance. TW for very realistic presentation of trauma and chronic illness)

Meddling Kids - Edgar Cantero (Scooby Doo turns eldritch horror)

Gideon / Harrow / Nona the Ninth - Tamsy Muir (dark fantasy sci Fi) Harrow is the way gayest

Huntress - Malinda Lo (Eastern fantasy)

Making A Tinderbox - Emma Sterner-Radley (medieval fantasy romance)

This is Devin Jones - Kristen Conrad (cop thriller)

Gear Breakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta (pseudo apocalyptic with mechas, trans humanism)

We Lit The Dark On Fire - Tehlot Kay Mejia (spanish misogyny dystopia rebellion)

Crier's War - Nina Varela (Robot x Human slow burn magical dystopia rebellion)

The Witch Queen's Mate - Jennifer Carter (tribal warriors enemies to lovers)

Leviathan - Eric Schubach (sci Fi 10,000 year journey with magical creatures)

Carmilla & Laura - A D Simper (Carmilla retelling to be made properly gay)

Whispering Wildwood by Emma Sterner-Radley

Korinne Woodsorrow is trapped. Not only at her parents lumbermill but also in a village where she’s shunned. Worse than that, she’s stuck sacrificing the life she wants for the person she loves. 

Next to the lumbermill looms the deadly Whispering Wildwood, with its magical creatures and mystical plants. The wildwood is not to be spoken of and not to be entered.

Yet, when disaster strikes, Korinne has to take her brother--who is all muscles and heart but not much brain--with her into the wildwood on a death-defying quest. Guided by a dashing rogue of a pirate and hunted by mysterious monsters, this quest soon goes deeper into a world of fairytales, danger, and wonder.

Korinne quickly has to figure out who and what to trust. As well as her new future, her sexuality, and of course - what happens if a quest changes into something completely different while you’re on it?

Genres: adventure, fantasy, romance

Get the book from The Book Depository here!

Featured creator of the day ❤️ Emma Sterner-Radley

Last week, I recommended a great book…

… And I have now finished the sequel. ‘Long Distance Coffee’ and ‘Coffee and Conclusions’ by Emma Sterner-Radley are heart-warming #lesfic reads - perfect novels to cosy up with, as we approach autumn (or “fall”, for you Americans 💕). As I mentioned in my previous post, I found it easy to relate to both the storyline and the characters, so I really felt like the book was written for me. I rated ‘The Midnight Coffee Series’ a bold and full-bodied 4.2/5*. @emmasternerradley‘Long Distance Coffee’ by Emma Sterner-Radley – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Distance-Coffee-Midnight-Book-ebook/dp/B077XXK6LH‘Coffee and Conclusions’ by Emma Sterner-Radley – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0792NQTN1/ref=series_rw_dp_so

Y’know, usually I start off these reviews by saying that I’m not biased (I think) just because Emma’s my friend but YOU KNOW WHAT? I am. I am super biased. But she earned that bias. So it’s a fair bias. It’s a trust bias. But I did actually read the book and really loved it, so is it still bias? I don’t know. Bias is a weird word now. Whispering Wildwood is @emmasternerradley‘s latest novel. And I wish I could tell you in the most beautiful prose why you should pick up this book and go read it, but I can’t. I don’t have the words. Because I don’t think any words would do it justice. Yeah, I went there, bite me.

So, here’s the official synopsis:

Korinne Woodsorrow is trapped. Not only at her parents lumbermill but also in a village where she’s shunned. Worse than that, she’s stuck sacrificing the life she wants for the person she loves.Next to the lumbermill looms the deadly Whispering Wildwood, with its magical creatures and mystical plants. The wildwood is not to be spoken of and not to be entered.Yet, when disaster strikes, Korinne has to take her brother--who is all muscles and heart but not much brain--with her into the wildwood on a death-defying quest. Guided by a dashing rogue of a pirate and hunted by mysterious monsters, this quest soon goes deeper into a world of fairytales, danger, and wonder. Korinne quickly has to figure out who and what to trust. As well as her new future, her sexuality, and of course - what happens if a quest changes into something completely different while you’re on it?

And... I mean... who wouldn’t want to read that? You know what my favorite part of this book was? When I opened the first page, the first sentence was literally enough to make my heart do that thump-thump thing because ‘hey, something exciting is happening, let’s go!’ It’s a nice feeling. I had it a lot throughout the book.

I love that I can tell that Emma poured her everything into this book. It’s written on every page, with every sentence and every word. It screams at you, grabs you by the throat and gently puts you down. It’s a roller coaster ride. I had two moments in the book where I had to stop reading because it was 4 am and something she described terrified me and I was too scared to read on in the dark, lol. 

Emma is very good at writing like-able characters. I love Korinne. Her kindness reminds me of someone else I know. Wonder who that could be. I love that she is so willing to sacrifice everything she is for the people she loves, time and time again. (slight spoiler: I also love that those people don’t let her.) Korinne is the kind of person I’d want beside me if I were too wander into a deadly forest. 

Matt(iver) was cute as heck. He’s Korinne’s younger brother and god- he tries so hard. I think maybe one of my favorite things about Matt was when he felt comfortable or perhaps brave enough to tell Korinne about some things he had been hiding. And how he had plans. And how for years, they were protecting each other, which put them both at a stand still in life, I think that’s the right way to describe it. (Until they went into the woods.) I love Matt. Very much. I hope he’ll be very happy with - I won’t say, because SPOILERS. Or maybe he’s dead. Anything is possible. Maybe I”m crying right now. You wouldn’t know. 

AND THEN. AND THEN. Vicktoria. Boy oh boy. Look. Do I have a thing for redheads? Yes. Do I also have a thing for the color red in general? Also yes. IS VICKTORIA A REDHEAD WITH A RED COAT? God yes. I’m fine. Promise. I did not slightly lust after a fictional pirate. At all. AT ALL. 

I always find it very difficult to say anything about the characters because I feel like anything is a giant spoiler. And they go through this journey that you should experience for yourself whilst reading it. 

Look, there’s a lot of caps screaming from me. And I get it. It’s perhaps annoying. But I’m enthusiastic. As you will be once you buy this book. If you haven’t already. I mean it’s only 3,5 bucks. Three dollars and fifty-five cents. 

Anyway. Whispering Wildwood. Gorgeous cover. Beautifully written. Has all the elements a fantasy lover would, well, love. I have no idea how anyone could come up with all the magical creatures and mystical plants, but Emma does it and makes it seem super easy, which I know it can’t be. She worked hard for this. And it shows on every page. I’ve already said that, but I mean it. 

If I had a rating system, I’d give it 11 out of 10 stars. And it would deserve every last one. Unbiased. 

And I sincerely hope that people will go and give it a shot, because ultimately there’s only one person who can convince you to go read it and that’s Emma’s book. And it’s whispering for you to come and get it ;)

Hey @emmasternerradley​ ----- look what I found. Whoop! happy book birthday to a great book and all of that. but, but, but... should it really be this price?

I really should be getting to bed, I have work tomorrow but instead I can’t help but keep reading Whispering Wildwood!

*cries in lesbian* I got 2 of @emmasternerradley’s novels for Christmas!!!!

📖 My first read of 2018 📖

It’s here, it’s queer, it’s hard to get up… no wait. That’s not what I meant! The HB copies of Snowblooded are here to be unboxed and just in time for Lesbian Visibility Week! Get ready for duels, foulmouthed dykes, uptight gay men, a disaster bi, a secret society, passionate love affairs, assassinations, and a rebellion against the rich and powerful!

I’d like to thank all the incredible authors, the amazing YLVA publishing, and my generous bank account for my past three weeks of literary ecstasy

If any of my friends and followers want a review/recommendation/just fangirl about these awesome WLW books, you know where to find me 💜

Just got this in the mail! Super excited to read the second book ❤️

Long-Distance Coffee (Midnight Coffee #1)

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review. It's the story of Erin and Isabella. Erin lives in New York City and is a Personal Trainer who seems to have quite hellish insomnia. I found interesting the lengths that she's gone through in the past to try and solve the problem, and also found myself nodding when she talked about the sleeping pills and her opinion on them. She goes on her Twitter account one night and finds someone going by Apple Core, who is eviscerating (with words, with words) a famous washed up misogynistic idiot (I can think of four off the top of my head right this second). Erin starts tweeting at what she assumes is a woman, and Isabella, responds. Isabella's a writer/former CEO with a new baby (go Alberto!) who lives in Florida and is generally up in the wee hours of the morning/night because the cutie Alberto has stomach problems going on. It's a slow build epistolary story for sure, and we really get to know each of these characters inside and out between tweets, and then various sorts of Skyping. As you can guess, I liked the characters a lot. (Which is good, 'cause this was definitely a character-driven novel). They were unique and definitely had the spark of verisimilitude in them. It did take me a bit to get into the flow of the book at the beginning, and here and there some of the passages seemed a little stilted, but, then I think I got used to the pacing and flew through it. Overall I really liked the book. I also found out after I'd finished it that it had been a fanfic? I'm not sure how I missed it, but, I'm glad I've read it now. Oh, and yay, according to the end of the book there's another part coming out soon too!

Featured creator of the day ❤️ Emma Sterner-Radley