queerafictionado's Reviews (374)

This was such a great book full of adventure, drama, excitement, and of course…dragons! Jenna did a phenomenal job of world building to create this epic story about a dragon slayer and a dragon rider from two countries separated by hundreds of miles of desert with a shaky peace agreement and very opposite views on dragons.

Kella is one of the greatest dragon slayers from Jeenobi. And what is a dragon slayer going to do? Slay dragons. But now dragon slaying is outlawed under the new peace agreement. That won’t stop Kella though. Not when justice calls. Except this time she didn’t get a free pass. So what does the king (and her ex) do? Sends her with the dragon rider to Aelshia to be dealt with.

Litz is an Aelshian princess, niece of the king (who’s a woman, which is awesome), and a dragon rider - bonded to a dragon named Loren. Needless to say, neither Litz nor Loren are very fond of the cocky dragon slayer.

Their journey is full of escape attempts, sand terrors, kidnapping, and of course…a budding romance between the unlikely pair. It's mostly flirty banter and kissing (eventually) between Litz and Kella, but you can see them beginning to truly care for the other and feel the connection between them growing. It's low spice, but not low on chemistry!

And there’s also Kella’s brother Ker who sets out to save her. Both Litz and Ker are also magic users. And one thing these two countries have in common is their disdain for magic and those who use it.

It did take me a bit to really get into the story between figuring out who all the people were, the use of last names and nicknames, and just getting a sense of the world and switching POVs. But once I got into the flow, I was hooked! It ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I’m hoping that means there is more to come! I really enjoyed this book. There was also lots of representation in this book - queer, non-binary, ace, deaf, and more.

Also…I want to bond with a dragon now.

This was a short and sweet holiday short story and I really enjoyed reading it. Sometimes authors will try to do too much in stories under 30 pages, but I felt like Daisy hit all the right marks for this one! Jamie is your typical “grinch” and doesn’t want anything to do with Christmas. And then she ends up stuck in an airport on Christmas, no seats left, her phone almost dead, and her charger nowhere in sight. Then Emma shows up to save the day - phone charger in hand. Jamie is a bit of a “gay disaster, but Emma finds Jamie’s awkwardness adorable. And Emma is the perfect sunshine to Jamie’s grumpy. This was a quick and cute holiday story that will make you laugh and smile!

Full disclosure - I have not played the game before. But, not knowing anything about these characters or the game this story is based on, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I loved the connection between Max and Chloe (even if at times I was shouting at my kindle for them to just kiss already lol). You can see how important they are to each other from the very beginning and that there is clearly more than friendship going on there. The story was very compelling and intriguing and kept you on the edge of your seat. And the graphics were truly stunning. I now need to go play this game because it feels like I’m missing out on some amazing queer gaming goodness and that must be fixed!

NOTE: This review is actually for the audiobook version published in June 2023.

Dating can’t be harder than running for president, right? Well…maybe if you’re trying to date WHILE president!

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this book, especially since it was narrated by Abby Craden! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book given one of the MCs is the President of the United States, which is a job that does not make dating very easy! So I was curious to see how the romance was done.

Constance “Connie” Calvin is the first openly bisexual President, a widow, and a single parent of a 12 year old boy with heart issues. Dr. Emily Lawrence is one of the highest rated pediatric surgeons in the country and just recently relocated to Washington DC. One of her first “top secret” patients is, you guessed it, the President’s son!

Connie has been in politics for a long time and Emily comes from a political family but doesn’t get too involved in politics except to advocate for better health care laws and access - something Connie had built her presidential platform on and has yet to follow through on. Their first encounters are more of a “butting heads” type thing because of this. Of course they eventually go on a date, which is no easy feat when one of you is one of the most powerful people in the world. And things seemed to move REALLY quick from there, which I guess makes sense in a lot of ways given their circumstances, but was not at all what I was expecting.

Overall I liked the story. It wasn’t insta love, but pretty dang close which is why I think this one kind of fell a little short for me. I’m typically not a big fan of insta love stories because there is no build up, no tension, and usually not a lot of chemistry. The connection feels more surface level in these stories and that was true of Connie and Emily. I just didn’t feel that spark or get all mushy feeling inside reading their story.

Abby Craden’s narration was amazing as always though!

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Tantor Audio and this is my honest review.

4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5.
This was such a cute and funny story! Becka and Kim are students at the same university taking Fine Art History together. But Becka is WAY more interested in the goth hottie than anything in her textbook. Becka is a quirky, peppy, somewhat obnoxious (and definitely NOT goth) girl. Kim has purple hair, an undercut, tattoos…and a secret. When Kim races after her crush to ask her out, she stumbles upon her disappearing through a portal and gets sucked in after her, only to uncover her secret as a part-time grim reaper! The two then end up on a wild adventure as Becka attempts to help Kim complete the job she interrupted. There’s a ripped cat dad, ghouls and sunken ships, zombies, and kitschy humor galore! The graphics were great as well. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved it!

WOW. I’m not even quite sure where to start with this one. The Last Girls Standing was an intense psychological thriller that kept me turning pages wanting to know what happened. With an ending that I did NOT see coming. LGS was an ode to all your favorite slasher movies with a sapphic romance and a splash of dark humor.

Sloan, who’s POV the story is told from, heads to Camp Money Springs to be a counselor for the summer. It’s there that she meets Cherry and they begin what was supposed to be an incredible summer romance. Except a week into the summer…there’s a massacre. And Sloan and Cherry are the only ones who survived it.

I was expecting the story to begin before the camp massacre happened, but it actually starts after the event. Sloan can’t remember what happened that night. She remembers being in her cabin, hearing screams, and seeing a man in a fox mask. But most of her memories are locked away inside her mind. Sloan was also adopted at a young age and can’t remember anything of her birth parents, where she came from, or what her life was like before. Her quest for answers is the driving force behind the plot and I found myself DYING to know the answers just as much as Sloan! On the edge of my seat with each new lead, wondering what it means.

Sloan and Cherry became grossly enmeshed after the massacre. They trauma bonded in a very unhealthy way and the dynamics of their relationship play a huge role in the story.

While this story was not at all what I suspected, and I didn’t get all the answers and cozy solutions I was hoping for, I really enjoyed reading it. It was one heck of a wild ride!

This was a fun story with really fascinating world building. It was very different from the books I typically read but it was really enjoyable once I got into it. The beginning was a little rough because the world that Marie built - a place called the Endless - was a bit complex and in the early part of the story you are getting to know exactly what the Endless is and how it works told through the perspective of one of the “fragments” who names herself Trillin. Trillin is basically a shapeshifting monster who becomes intrigued by the human that keeps entering her world through a portal. Sian, the human witch, is equally intrigued by the humanoid looking creature with tentacles and extra eyes whose form keeps changing. But things go awry in one of Sian’s trips into the Endless and the two end up on a survival mission together.

This was a fast paced, sapphic, monster romance story. It wasn’t an insta love story, but it was definitely insta lust! But in book one of the series there is only one kiss so it is very low spice. I look forward to book 2 and seeing where their adventures take them next!

"Crawl." One simple word. One simple action. And their marriage of convenience shifted from simply business, to business with a side of pleasure.

Book Dedication: For all the monsters still waiting to be loved

This book was absolutely wonderful! I am completely in love with it and know I will be coming back to read it over and over. Not to mention sharing it with everyone I know. These love letters are letters unlike any other. Letters written to people and to things one wouldn’t normally think to write a love letter to. I was captivated by Kai Cheng Thom’s lyrical writing and by the emotional depth captured in her words and stories. She has the ability to turn any sentence into a beautiful refrain. Her words were poignant and powerful and oftentimes packed quite a punch. Falling Back in Love with Being Human is a book of beautiful, heart wrenching, spirit lifting letters. Each letter is followed by a prompt to DO something. Some are as simple as going somewhere you’ve never been or listening to a song. Others are more intense like writing a letter of forgiveness to someone or having the hard conversation you’ve been putting off.

There is not a corner of my soul that was not touched in some way by this book. Simply put…it made me fall back in love with being human, too. I hope you will read this book and that it will touch your soul in some way as well. Maybe it will remind you of the good that exists in this broken world. Maybe it will help you love others. Maybe it will help you learn to love yourself. At the very least, I hope it reminds you that: “love still endures. love survives. love revives. love redeems. love forgives.” And to “never forget who you are.”

Note: This review is actually for the Audiobook version that is not yet on Goodreads.

Jae is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is now my fourth book of her’s, but my first of her Shape-Shifter series. Manhattan Moon is part of a larger series but works as a standalone novella.

Shelby Carson is a psychiatric doctor in a hectic ER who lives a relatively ordinary life, except for one big thing - she is a Wrasa, a coyote shape-shifter living a secret existence. But the biggest problem with this secret comes in the form of a female human nurse, Nyla Rozakis. Wrasa are forbidden from having relationships with humans. Shelby’s crush on Nyla proves too strong to resist, though, and she asks her on a date. But not only does Nyla not know Shelby is a Wrasa, she doesn’t even know Wrasa exist. Which makes dating a bit more complicated.

There are also other layers to Shelby’s existence as a Wrasa. She doesn’t quite fit in with the pack, but she’s also not human. Which makes it hard for her to navigate life and find out where she belongs.

I really enjoyed this book and the layers of identity struggle and forbidden romance that are woven throughout. There is no real build up of the chemistry between Shelby and Nyla because it happens off page before the novella begins. I thought Jae did a great job of squeezing quite a lot into such a short story. These two are adorable together and I love their connection. The ending was a perfect way to wrap up this part of their story