A very lovely novella about humanity and the future of science and the possibilities of the universe. It freaked me out a bit at times with how realistic its approach to Earth's future was, but I honestly really appreciated that aspect of the book. The only reasons that isn’t a 5-star read for me are 1) the length 2) the characters aren’t very fleshed out (largely because of the length). 

Anyway, it’s also very queer and very philosophical and I highly recommend it.

I liked this book! A friend recommended it to me and said that I HAD to read it, and I definitely understand why. It's a fascinating mix of historical fiction and low fantasy with sympathetic, mostly benevolent vampires, ruminations on humanity, a dystopian element, and of course lots of queer shit.

The book begins in 1850s Louisiana with the main character escaping slavery and then falling in with a group of vampires. I will say, my least favorite part of the book by far was the fact that Gilda initially didn't have a name (she's just "the Girl") and inherits her name from another vampire. I'm not against the "new Gilda" thing. I just wish that she'd had another name first or that she'd actively chosen to go by Gilda instead of it seemingly just being put on her. I felt like she lacked agency a lot for the first couple of chapters, and that made it hard to get into the book initially, which was unfortunate because that's where we meet most of the recurring characters and get introduced to the vampire lore.

I definitely think the book got stronger toward the middle. The Broadway chapter and the 2020 chapter were definitely my favorites. 

The writing style didn't totally work for me, but the content very much did, and I would absolutely recommend this classic Black lesbian vampire novel.

Holy fuck. This book was incredible. I have thoughts that I might articulate at some point, but that’s not happening right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Vaneet Mehta takes a very thorough approach in this book to discussing issues that affect bisexual and m-spec men, cis and trans, as well as bisexual and m-spec nonbinary people who are read as men in society. 

While very little of the information was new to me, it was presented in a very clear, organized way that I appreciated a lot. I also appreciated the use of a lot of studies and statistics to back up Mehta's points as a common struggle when it comes to discussing bisexual issues is people insisting that the issue is not real until they're presented with hard statistics (and sometimes even then, honestly).

While this book isn't groundbreaking or totally comprehensive, it strikes a great balance between informative and conversational tones, it has a long list of references at the back, and it is overall a great starting point for discussing issues that affect bisexual men.

I didn't agree with all of the author's conclusions about things, but he was always respectful to his contributors and presented their stories without judgment or editorializing, which was very refreshing.

Overall, I definitely recommend Bisexual Men Exist.

There’s nothing wrong with it. I just don’t really care. Maybe I’ll try again sometime, maybe not.

I liked this book a lot. It's a fascinating little study of consciousness and gender and the relationships that bind us to each other. I'm definitely interested in continuing with the series at some point. I'm also very burnt out on AI stories right now, so it won't be for a while.

Wow. What a book.

This is absolutely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s bizarre and postmodern and metaphorical. It’s a study in depression and internalized homophobia. I kind of loved it. 

I want to have a million intellectual conversations about this book. Are the crocodiles literal or metaphorical in-universe? Does knowing the author committed suicide affect how we read the character of the narrator? What is this book saying about gender, particularly in the way it presents this masculine/feminine dichotomy in a lot of the relationships? Is it privileging Western academic and cultural traditions or were those just the references that made sense for the characters? 

Gorgeously messy bisexual supporting cast. Tortured lesbian protagonist. Crocodile secondary protagonist who wears a retainer and is obsessed with cream puffs.

Truly have not read anything like this book before.

Well, I FINALLY finished this book six months after I started it, and I don’t know how to feel.

I simply do not care about Séverin. I care about Laila, but she’s also a very overpowered character, and I don’t think that what this book did with that fact was very interesting.

Didn’t hate the ending the way it seems like a lot of people have. It made sense. I just DO NOT CARE about Séverin and there is far too much of him in this book.

The other characters are the reason why I finished this book and the reason why I enjoyed it overall. Zofia is an absolute delight of a character who deserves the world, and I loved the development she got in this book. Hypnos grew on me A LOT from book one to this one, and his growth was satisfying as well.

But Enrique is the true star here. He’s one of my favorite fictional characters and has been since The Gilded Wolves. This funky little anti-colonial historian is truly so important to me. He’s also maybe the most well-written bisexual man I’ve encountered in fiction simply because of how his attraction to/relationships with both Hypnos and Zofia play out. Enrique Mercado-Lopez should be the blueprint for writing bisexuality, and he is complex and nuanced  beyond just diversity or any other single aspect of the character.

I might edit this when I’m feeling more coherent, or I might not.

Overall, I’m glad I finally finished it, but my feelings are definitely a bit mixed.

Excited to read Roshani Chokshi’s upcoming adult novel because I think that this novel (and the whole trilogy honestly) suffered from the constraints of YA. And the characters being as young as they are simply makes no sense.

I’m so annoyed because this book is better than Kiss Her Once for Me and I HATE when the Achillean book is better than the sapphic one. Mind you, I didn’t connect to the main characters or their romance as much in this one, but the book is just such a well-written romance. And yes, I absolutely was rooting for Dev and Charlie the entire time. 

Loved how this book handled mental health. Loved the way it was formatted.

Too many pop culture references.

WHERE IS DAPHNE’S BOOK GIVE IT TO ME NOW.

If you’re looking for a sapphic Christmas romcom, this book is definitely great for that. I liked the characters and the way it handled anxiety. The bisexual love triangle was fun. Five stars for hot butch baker love interest. Every sapphic romance should have a hot butch and I barely ever see any. 

I really wish this book had been dual POV, and I really wish that the flashbacks had been handled differently. I know that some of the webcomic is on the author’s website, but actually finding a way to incorporate it into the book would have been so much more impactful.