I loved every single one of these stories. I think Abacus and Nameless were my least favorite, but even those I really enjoyed and appreciated. (I tried to pick a favorite; I can’t.) I’d go back and read this again in a heartbeat, and I rarely re-read anything.

I loved how hopeful this was, as well as the reflections on queer community and queer friendship. It was more memoir than I was expecting, as well as (mostly) focused more on cities than I'd anticipated. I'd be extremely interested in reading a follow-up that is more about rural queers, and more heavily interviewing QTBIPOC!

After dnf-ing this last year, I did a buddy read with @primereads, and that was definitely the way to go. I am not okay, and I would have been really not okay if I didn't have someone to discuss with immediately. That said, I felt like I was missing some world building that would have been helpful context.

What. The. Fuck. You know, even though I had a feeling about what the ending would be...wow. This veered more into horror than I realized it would, and I can't say I enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly a book that I won't forget. I thought the very distinct first and second halves of the book were both interesting in their own ways, and yes, there's a very obvious statement about factory farming and hunting for sport in here, but also a lot about morality, capitalism, what it means to be human, and how we handle grief. Seriously, though, do not read this unless you have a strong stomach.

Whole lotta nope. I don’t mind insta-lust/insta-love, but I thought it was weird how in less then a few hours, he went from super professional and detached to…kind of creepy. And it didn’t get better. Dude is controlling from the beginning, never talks about consent before they get it on (in spite of the age and experience gap), and I realized it was just going to keep getting worse. Also: neither of them has any personality outside of “inexperienced virgin” and “dominant older man.”

TW: graphic detail of medical procedures! I didn’t expect that, and the descriptions are fascinating but not for everyone.

I was pretty enthralled by this book, more than I expected to be! Though the conclusion fell a bit short for me in its vagueness, it doesn’t change that how much I was drawn into the rest. I appreciated getting to know Saheb and eventually his backstory, was intrigued by the afterlife discussion, and appreciated the commentary on bureaucracy. If I re-read books, this would be on my list to try to see what else I notice the second time through.

The pace is just too slow for me.

The premise sounded good: forced proximity! Caught in a snowstorm! Except Russ is in Insta-love from the moment he sees Colton WHO HAS JUST WALKED INTO HIS HOUSE IN THE WOODS. And before Colton knows Russ’s name, they’re already making out and giving handjobs. I LOVE STEAM, but I couldn’t suspend disbelief enough to get past the “I’ve never had sex before, but yes, fuck me in the ass five times in one night” sex scene within the first six chapters. At that point, I skimmed ahead, realized that things were only going to get more batshit, and DNFed.

It was for book club, and I couldn't get past the white author's attempt to compare Cussy's life as a white person with a genetic condition to the experience of Black people in 1930s rural Kentucky. Also, the pacing felt super off from the very beginning.

This was lovely and heartbreaking and hopeful and beautifully written and everything that I’d hoped it would be.