I very rarely read mystery novels and often find myself bored by them, but this novel was able to build and keep tension alive very well, while also allowing for personal growth of the main characters. So in the mystery and thriller aspect of it this novel was a positive surprise to me and one I really quite enjoyed. I would have liked some trigger warnings before reading it so I will include the ones I noted down at the bottom of the review.
My favorite thing about this novel was the solidarity between Erin and Sharise as trans women and that Erin defended Sharise's right to be addressed as a woman even to her own detriments (by requesting that she be referred to as a man, which none of her colleagues were willing to do and thus exposing their double standards). It also awknowledges the difference in experience for Erin, a white woman who came out later in life after already having a career, and Sharise, a Black survival sex worker who was kicked out of her home as a teen. Another thing I very much enjoyed was the tension that this novel built, because even though it is revealed quite early one who is behind everything, the danger to Sharise and Erin (as well as others) is always present and keeps things interesting and it left me racing along, wondering how they were ever going to be able to stop it from happening. I also found the motivations of the criminals to be sound and despite their obvious horrible-ness they didn't seem like charicatures to me, which I enjoyed (well besides one character, but one over the top freak is allowed per thriller I think). I also liked that there were moments of peace, acceptance and trans joy in between all the horror. However, be adviced that if you are looking for a pure thriller, you will also find romance and family drama in here, which might not be what you were expecting (I wasn't, but it worked for me!). I also liked that some stuff for the future book was set up with Duane's backstory, whose character I also liked a lot.
However, there are also a few things I did not enjoy at all and they are the reason I can only give this book 3 stars. Sharise, the black trans woman, a survival sex worker, who was kicked out of her house as a teen, speaks in AAVE that seems stereotypical and over the top, especially since nobody else in her family speaks that way. It borders on seeming like a bad charicature at times and takes away from a story that could have been a lot more impactful.
Furthermore some of the scenes of explaining trans womanhood seemed stereotypical and boring, they were clearly written for a cis audience and left me bored to tears. I understand that sometimes a heartfelt "I am a woman and I've always been!" might feel very validating, but it is very clichee and probably does not have the power to change transphobes minds the way it is portrayed here.
And lastly I am really annoyed that the book passed up the opportunity to include an interesting exploration of trans feminine sexuality. Erin starts the book having divorced her wife after coming out and we are told she had other relationships with women after her transition, but was too hung up on the divorce to allow herself to dive into them. In the course of the book, she finds herself attracted to a man for the first time. However, what could have been a lovely exploration of bisexuality (or of the fact that for some people sexuality can change radically due to transitioning and a different embodiment), is completely tossed into the trash with one line in the epilogue stating Erin is now a happy heterosexual woman! WHAT? If Erin discovered that about herself that's great! But since her discovery of her confusing attraction to men plays such a huge role in the story her realization what this might mean for her sexuality (and especially why being attracted to one man after considering herself a lesbian for some years should mean she is a 100% straight certified heterosexualTM) needed to play a bigger role. The way it was done it felt like a holy batman bi-erasure moment that would have made me toss the book if it hadn't been in the epilogue and absolutely soured my enjoyment of the book.
All in all, I feel like the thriller and regular life aspect of this novel was quite well done and with some further sensitivity reading and better editing (which should point out glaring plotholes such as Suddenly StraightTM) this could have been a book I enjoyed a lot more. I'm not sure if I will be checking out the sequel even though I found myself very excited to up until the epilogue :(.

TW: murder, transmisogyny (including sexualised violence due to trans status), forced public & familial outing, trans woman locked in man's prison, graphic threats of sexual violence, attempted sexual assault & groping, threats of torture, child abuse (physical, emotional, homophobic & transphobic, as well as the attempt to humiliate a transgender girl by forcing her to dress in feminine attire by a mother in a way that felt sexual), physical violence, murder + graphic murder attempts, murder made to look like suicide, mention of drug use

This is an interesting collection of Essays by Kai Cheng Thom. Written in a similarly lyrical style to her other work, I found this one at points sadly lacking in comparison to Falling Back In Love with Being Human. This collection is definitely a lot angrier, but at times also more defeatist and still often times caught up in the (shattered) dream of a queer utopia, and so I did not enjoy every essay in here. Some of them felt quite insular and inspired by the authors own personal experiences (which is obviously fine!), but were then portraid as universally applicable, when that just is not the case.
However I still found myself moved and inspired by other essays.
Part one mainly deals with problems in leftist circles centered around autonomy and call out culture. I found this part to be important and interesting, in particular "Stop Letting Trans Girls Kill Ourselves". Part two deals with trauma and (sexual) abuse in queer communities, as well as the dangers of abusive mentorship in marginalized communities. Especially the hardship of facing abuse in a marginalized community and being unsure how to speak out about it when your abuser might also be marginalized is something that has been discussed more and more in recent years and I found these essays interesting but lacking in depth (again the dealing with isolated experiences and portraying it as universal). Part three, my favorite part and the one that enabled me to give this a four star rating despite being not aaaas excited about part two as I had hoped I would, deals with familial connection and Kai Cheng Thom's experiences as a transgender woman of Chinese descent. This part was touching and moving and I enjoyed most of the essays in here, but particularly "Rediscovering Identity at my Grandfather's Funeral", "The Chinese Transsexual's Guide to Cheongsam" and "Where did she go?".
All in all I am still glad I read this collection of Essays and there are interesting aspects in it, but compared to her later work or "Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars", it wasn't as groundbreaking as I had hoped it would be.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher Cursed Morsels Press in exchange for an honest review.

This short story collection is a magical and oftentimes wonderful trip into the lives of marginalized people often facing oppression and sometimes fighting back. Sometimes supernatural powers were on their side, sometimes they were on someone else's, but often the horror of it was palpable. I also adored that even though the stories span a wide variety of stories dealing with supernatural experiences (from zombies to hauntings to magic clothstores that only appear when you need them and so much more), the stories felt connected, particularly due to the choices of characters (often latino, often lower class, often marginalized in other ways as well, often menaced by the goverment/conservatives/racists/the all to real everyday evil of this world), but also because themes of racism and classism were always playing an important role. Many of the stories left me moved, some angry, some sad, some relieved and comforted. My favorites were the titular Nightmare Box, Will They Disappear, Huitzol and the Rope of Thorns, The Teacher's Association, Someone Else's to Destroy, The Unburied and Hot and Cold. All in all this is a short story collection I enjoyed a lot and can definitely recommend to anybody looking for "comforting" horror from a marginalized perspective, fighting the often too real horror of oppression with some comeupance of the supernatural variety.

I've included some notes on each short story here as well as trigger warnings (although they are also provided in the book itself), so spoilers ahead!

Lips Like Sugar: bisexual Latina vampire getting used to her new existence in the face of abusive supervisors, capitalism and constant hunger, fun but nothing groundbreaking for vampire literature unfortunately, tw: workplace sexual harassment

A Kiss to Build a Dream On: dapper clothing store that saves the life of a drag queen through magic and queer rage, incredibly hopeful and sweet, this was a story I very much enjoyed and would like to read more off, tw: homophobia, police brutality

The Nightmare Box: A really good short story about a woman who finds out her nightmare inducing powers are being used to take out members of the black panther party and she comes to a decision what to do about it, filled with creeping dread & very dark and very fun. As I said one of my absolute favorites. Tw: death, drugs, suicide, involuntary confinement, death by fire, child death

Will They Disappear: A tense and interesting story based on the Hart tragedy, with a magic twist to change the ending, one of the stories that left me reeling once I connected it to the real life events, heartbreaking, but really interesting as well, tw: child abuse, neglect, corporeal punishment, white adoptive family abusing adopted children of color, attempted murder, drugging, starving

The Road out of Nowhere: A young man travels home and passes by the bar where a friend of his was beaten to death and stops despite his wife's warnings, haunting and heartbreaking, tw: police brutality, racist language, murder, grief

Huitzol and the Rope of Thorns: A writer summons the god he created to protect himself from police brutality when he is stopped by a patrol on his way home, tense and really fun!!!!! tw: police brutality

The Teacher's Association: A teacher starts a new job after a traumatic event at her last school, but something is very wrong at her new work place, sooooo creepy and tense in the best of ways, I would like more from this story as well because I enjoyed it so much, tw: gun violence, child death, mind control

The Weight of It: A woman seeking revenge for the death of her dog leads to a haunting gone incredible wrong, creepy and full of dread, tw: animal harm, self-sacrifice

Red Brick: A immigration officer haunted by his past, fun ghost story, tw: law enforcement violence, racist language

Someone Else's to Destroy: A latina mother takes drastic measures to ensure her black sons will never become a victim of police brutality, sooooo fucked up but heartbreaking, tw: police brutality, racist language, antiblack racism, child murder

The Unburied: The Overseer of a big building project faces a difficult decision: Awknowledge the find of some potentially important artifact or get rid of it? He'll come to realize that choosing money might cost him everything. A really fun twist on a Native American burial ground horror, tw: alcoholism

Hot and Cold: A zombie story that starts at night, catching those that cannot hide inside their homes first, interesting and I liked the characters a lot, tw: death

This next installation of the Wayward Children series picks up immediately were the last one left off. Antsy, now a resident at the school for wayward children is trying to acclimate to life outside the store, which is made especially complicated due to the difference in her actual age and how old her body is.
I enjoyed that we learned more about the way the school runs and met some new students. I also like that this novella tied up Antsy's backstory, while also giving glimpses into other student's lives and often their worlds. I especially liked that we got more information on Kade especially, but I wish he would finally get his own book.
I also liked the message of this book and that it shows that trauma can feel someone like they have a right to act in ways that harm others, but that that is never an excuse. I also like that this book dealt with dealing with one's past and the things one left behind.
I do wish the dinosaurs had played a bigger role though. I found there world super interesting, but they only showed up quite late in the book and since they were on the cover, I just assumed they would play a bigger role. And while some conversations around trauma that were quite interesting were opened up here (such as growing up as a protection for abused kids so their abusers aren't interested in them anymore), I felt like that part of the book would have needed to be explored in more depth.
All in all however, I think this was another enjoyable installment of the series (albeit deiling with some darker topics, like "Lost in the Moment and Found") and I am excited to see what comes next.

TW: child abuse, child neglect, bad parenting, depression, grief, death and murder + mentions of past transphobia, cancer/chemotherapy, fatphobia, csa, including discussions of child pornography, colorism, loss of parents and loved ones.

Tina has gone through a divorce a while ago, shortly after transitioning. Her girlfriend, Lisa, was straight and it just didn't work out. Since Lisa always took care of her and fixed things Tina is stuck in a limbo, not quite sure what to do now. When she meets Joe, the plumber/derby trainer, she quickly finds herself falling for her. However, Joe's past will force them to keep their relationship under wraps and Tina does not feel comfortable with that at all.

I loved that there was absolutely no transphobia in the story, that was really nice to read. Tina is misgendered once, but other than that, she passes and doesn't face any transphobic harassment. Also, this is not a story about transitioning, it's a story about life after transition. Of course, both kinds of stories are needed, but I enjoyed the focus of this story. There is also a nonbinary child, Tommy, who uses they/them pronouns, who meets Tina in the end of the novel. That was one of my favorite scenes, it was lovely and sweet and showed how important representation can be.

I adored the side characters. Lauren is Tina's derby-wife, a term that is used to good partners on the field. She is straight but absolutely supports Tina's and Joe's relationship. There's also Jeremy, a guy Tina trains as personal trainer. He's really supportive of her and she of him, their relationship is really nice. Then there's Elvis, Tina's dog. I absolutely adore him, he's so cute. Apparently, some other side characters appear in other books of the series, but as I never read them I can't judge that.

Personally, I found the sex scenes well written, but as the relationship felt rushed to me, I didn't really feel them. I would have liked some more build up. Then there was also the "our relationship has to be secret bc ~reasons~" which bothered me. We got a bit of a better reason for Joe's reluctance quite late in the story, but by then I was already too annoyed at all the fighting and misunderstandings. I still enjoyed their romance, but I could have done with quite so much conflict.

I don't care much for Roller Derby, but the story made it sounds really interesting, so that was not really a problem for me. I also would have loved some more background on Tina, which wasn't really there.

In the end, I have to say I liked the story, but it was nothing exceptional. It has great representation and I adore the characters, but the relationship sadly didn't really work for me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.

This is a very nice collection of fantasy short stories with a focus on LGBT+ representation and while I didn't enjoy every story in here (some felt too short to be really enjoyable and not all were the type of fantasy I normally read), I liked that there was a nice flow from story to story and that it features a variety of fantasy subgenres (from classical knights and dragons to urban fantasy with shifters and magic tattooink there's something for everyone) and LGBT+ representation (I want to note here that two stories feature trans women as main characters! This shouldn't have to make me this happy but after managing to find a few anthologies with "LGBT+" representation that only feature one transfem side character at most or none at all for my last few anthologies, this was a breath of much needed fresh air!). My favorites of this anthology were "She sings the Graveyard Hymn" by Nicole Tota, "To Cage a Godkiller" by Amanda Ferreira and "We Fellow Monsters" by Mawce Hanlin. All in all I can say that if you enjoy fantasy and queer characters there will definitely be a few stories here that you'll enjoy. My seperate short reviews for each short story as well as notes on trigger warnings and representation can be found below (the trigger warnings are also included in the anthology itself in the beginning of the book, which I also liked).

The Beast of the Greyswood by Rita A. Rubin was a great way to start this anthology. It includes a bisexual slayer, whose also a concerned dad and if you enjoy the Witcher this is a great one to start with (forests with spooky mansions, what makes a monster, cool fighting scenes, it's all in here). I liked the characters and the story was spooky and fun. Plus who doesn't love a good spooky murder mystery? TW: murder, mention of past domestic abuse, hints at past sexual assault, Rep: bisexual man MC

She sings the Graveyard Hymn by Nicola Tota. As mentioned above it's one of my favorites in this anthology. It's gothic, it's haunted AND haunting, it has cool healing magic, sapphic ghosts and chronic pain with flare ups and it's very, very good and fun. I loved following Catriona's story and seeing how she changed over time. TW: plague, widespread illness, chronic pain, murder, death, harassment/pressure to marry, Rep: bisexual woman MC, sapphic LI

Lady of the Dark by Taylor Hubbard: a dnd-esque fantasy with orcs and elves and a quest to save a child. The romance is cute, the trans elf girl is badass, the hot orc is hot (and also badass), the child-abducting creatures are scary. I quite enjoyed this one and if you like Legends and Lattes but would like it to be a bit more spooky, this is definitely one to check out. TW: Child abduction, violence, Rep: sapphic trans woman MC, sapphic Li

Mightier Than the Sword by Talli L. Morgan: more epic fantasy, with knights and dragons and lots of battles, it is very tragic and I loved the twist ending. Unfortunately the battle scenes did not interest me enough and they did take up a big part of the story, so it is one of the stories I enjoyed a bit less. TW: child abuse (neglect), death, Rep: sapphic MC

Oilback Beetle Symbiosis by Dewi Hargreaves: The world building in this short story is incredible, it felt kinda LeGuin-esque with a very interesting thought out religion and tradition system and the few people that dare to question it, it is a story about survival in an inhospitable environment and focusses on making your own decisions. TW: water scarcity, mild harm to animals, Rep: mlm MC

To Cage A God-Killer by Amanda Ferreira: Another one of my favs. It is a dark story about betrayal, secrets, powerful ghosts, sacrifice and magic. But it is also a story about love and it hints at a possibly better future. Definitely a story where I would have loved to read more though. It also features a trans woman MC who makes a deal with a dark dangerous entity and it's not to transition, but for other things. I liked that. The world building was also really interesting. TW: murder and graphic violence, Rep: trans woman MC

We Fellow Monsters by Mawce Hanlin: A trans cat burglar and his brother break into a rich man's mansion and find something they weren't expecting. The story is very tense and filled with suspense which I adored. The magic is interesting and I would have loved to read some more about it. The little brother is a wonderful little brother. A really good, sweet and heartbreaking story about trans solidarity and trans revenge. TW: past child abuse, intentional and unintentional misgendering, transphobia, fantasy racism, Rep: trans man MC, trans woman SC

Why? by Aimee Donnellan: A newly created being struggles with understanding their powers and themself in this fairytale esque fantasy world with wizards in towers and a small town in a forest. It is a very sweet and adorable story and I particularly liked the wizard. TW: hints at ableist attitudes

Atlas by Beau Van Dalen: A young trans man gives up his body and joins the shades in a cave, knowing it's the only way to relieve his dysphoria in an unaccepting society. The worldbuilding is interesting and I liked the first two thirds of the story a lot. The last third is very sweet and adorable and moved a bit too fast for me to fully enjoy it. I also liked the trans happy end, even if don't really like magic transition most of the time. TW: dysphoria, violence, depression Rep: trans man MC

Neon Needle by Halli Starling: this is a sapphic urban magic/fantasy short story with interesting world building and a hint of spice. It was sweet and fun, one of the more humorous pieces and I liked the tattoo magic. TW: slight horror, Rep: sapphic MC and LI