I love to disappear off the face of all digital platforms for months at a time and then come back just to make people look at my handsome dog.

Anyway please look at my handsome baby.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Samano Cordova

When her son dies, a woman feeds a part of his body with her blood and creates Monstrilio. This book has so much to say about how society can make you feel like queerness is monstrous, and about embracing that. I loved these characters, especially Monstrilio.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

An Arthurian legend turned on its head, I’m including this one specifically for Sir Dinadan, a trans knight of the roundtable whose backstory I found very affecting. Also scratched a good high fantasy itch if that’s your thing!

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

A brutal critique of the prison industrial complex, this book isn’t subtle and it doesn’t want to be. But there’s also a lovely love story between Thurwar and Staxxx at the center, as they hold onto each other and their humanity.

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske

The author talks about getting her start in fandom in the acknowledgements, and when I say I can see it, I mean that as a compliment. In the Edwardian era, two unlikely partners team up to solve a magical mystery…and oops, of course they fall in love.

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

I love weird literary horror about queer characters. A woman’s partner goes on a deep sea exploration trip and comes back wrong. A thoughtful meditation on grief and love and what holds us together - really beautiful.

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

Similar in theme and tone to her first novel, this one didn’t hit me quite as hard, but nobody is reaching into my soul and spewing my anxiety onto the page like Emily Austin is. Hopeful, honest, and cathartic.

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

Made me cry and I never cry. A book about how hard it is to have an on fire brain in a dumpster fire of a world, and about how kind and good people can be in spite of it all. Deeply cathartic, my very fave read of 2024.

Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg

A queer road trip book, a thoughtful meditation on art and writing and the intersection between the two, and an introspective character study. Also Leah’s gender journey means so much to me actually.

The Bright Falls Series by Ashley Herring Blake

These books aren’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking, but if you’re looking for sapphic small town romance comfort food, I can’t recommend them enough. They’re like a warm hug after a hard day.

Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander

A trans man returns home for the holidays after losing his job and reconnects with his school sweetheart, now a single dad. It leans a little hard on miscommunication as a plot device at times, but there’s still a lot to really love here.

The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman

I don’t give a shit about baseball…UNLESS it’s a love story between a trans minor league baseball player and his teammate. So joyful, so fun, so unapologetic, I loved everything about this.

Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson

Structured around three car crashes - one that kills Jake, and two that he and Theron survive together, this book follows their relationship over the course of years, with a lot of joy despite the ending. So well-written also, just gorgeous prose.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

A love story following two boys, Gaunt and Ellwood, from their school days to the front during World War I, this book was unflinchingly brutal but also fiercely romantic and brave enough to end happily, with gorgeous writing on top of it all. 10/10, can’t recommend enough

A puppy on a hike this morning