A gentle and emotional romance of three parts. Rayanne hasn't dated for many years since a bad breakup. Ali is still healing after the death of her wife. Both women have too much baggage, but meet just as each of them is yearning for a second chance.

Delightful, heart-warming and bounding with energy. This novel ties in with the comic series of the same name, but could possibly be read as a stand alone. April, Jo, Mal, Molly and Ripley discover a unicorn lost in the woods. It's herd live in a meadow of Clow Bell flowers at the base of a very mysterious mountain- as soon as April sees it she knows she must climb it. What seems like a simple hike turns into a very dangerous adventure- a situation that maybe even friendship can't overcome. I don't think anyone can read about the Lumberjanes without wanting to join.

This comic book was produced as a fund raiser for Planned Parenthood, and I was honored to contribute the art for a short story written by Josh Trujillo. There are a huge number of stories in the book, ranging from 1 to 8 pages- a mix of nonfiction pieces about Planned Parenthood's past, personal histories, fictional pieces and some sci-fi futurist predictions. One of the stories, "Ethel Byrne" written by Cecil Castelluchi and Scott Chantler, was just nominated for an Eisner award!

The story of Valentine and Orson dates back to the mid-1400s if not before. The creator of this book fell in love with the tale and condensed it down into a 9 chapter poem in iambic pentameter, clarifying its central themes. Her gorgeous illustrations show a travelling family of actors performing the story on a small makeshift stage, in the era and style of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The story starts when Bellisant, the sister of King Pepin of France marries Alexander, the Emperor of Greece and goes to live in his capital city of Constantinople. A terrible betrayal occurs, and the Emperor casts out the pregnant Bellisant believing that she has been unfaithful. With only one trusty servant, Blandyman, she tries to make her way back to her brother's court. She gives birth to twin boys all alone in the forest, and one of them is stolen by a bear. Chasing after her stolen son she leaves his twin behind. He is found and adopted by a squire of King Pepin. It takes twenty years, and many plot twists and turns, before the unlucky mother is once again reunited with her children.

Count Alexander Rostov, recipient of the Order of St Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt, was the heir to his family's estate, Idlehour, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian. But no longer. After the revolution and a brief court appearance before the Emergency Committee of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the Count becomes a permanent resident of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. At at age 30, in 1922, he begins the second stage of his life there under house arrest. If he so much as steps into the street, he will be shot. So begins a masterful work of historical fiction, one of the best books I have read in a long time, and the most engaging work I have ever read about this turbulent period of Russian history (1922- 1954). The Count is confined, but in a spot where much of the world can come to him. The Hotel Metropol has six floors, two restaurants, an American style cocktail bar off the lobby, a barbershop, a flower shop, a tailor shop, a ballroom and many basements. It is regularly visited by members of the Party, trade union meetings, and- when they are finally allowed back into the country- foreign ambassadors, journalists, and tourists. Even so, after just a week of confinement the Count is wondering if he will go insane from boredom... until he meets Nina, a 9 year old girl who also calls the hotel home. So begins a friendship which will change the course of both of their lives forever. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

A fast and highly enjoyable read. I imagine this book gets shelved along side Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist", with which it pairs well. Like that collection, West's book contains sections which can stand alone as individual essays, but which also build on each other to tell a partial story of the author's life. I was a little less interested in the first four chapters about her life before college, which felt less fully realized than the later pieces. But from page 5o onwards I was absolutely hooked and I read nearly the whole rest of the book in one sitting. West is a hell of a writer, and she has had some experiences which would have scarred me for life. Just reading about them made my hair stand on end. I left the book with a feeling of deep admiration, and I plan to read more of her work in the future.

I've been looking forward to this book for a long time and I was not disappointed! It's a fastastical and emotional story of a family born with specific types of magic. Aster, one of 12 grandchildren who live in a large rambling house on a rural property, is supposed to grow up into a shapeshifter like his male cousins, his father and his uncles. His sister is training to be a witch like their mother, aunts, and grandmother- the formidable ruler of their clan. But Aster is more interested in the girl's magic, and what's more he seems to have a knack for it. Unfortunately it is forbidden. When he starts trying to learn witchcraft in secret, he learns the terrible fate of someone who tried the same thing in the past. Will he be able to heal a horrible family wound? Will he be able to live as his true self? Ostertag has beautifully woven queer themes into this all-ages fantasy tale.

Reading this book is like experiencing a beautiful, strange dream that happens to also be an essay on the power and meaning of art. Eleanor Davis has an amazing mind. I've loved every book of hers that I've read; this is no exception.