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notsobinaryart's Reviews (160)

Hammajang Luck

Queer heist novel is a new favorite subgenre of mine, and this hit the spot so well! I love how diverse the queer rep in this book is, from lesbians, to a trans woman, to a few mahu, a native Hawaiian third gender. I loved meeting our diverse crew of characters and learning each of their “tropes” in the heist genre and what brought them to where they are at today, and what lead them to take the job.

We meet our main character, Edie, just as they are mysteriously released early from prison after 8 years behind bars. Edie is met by Angel, the cause of their time, who offers them a position on their crew for the biggest job of their lives. Gradually, we meet the rest of the large crew, which takes a good portion of the front of the book and does impact the pacing a bit, but overall brings us to know the characters I quickly loved and cared for.

I’ll admit I, like Edie, had a hard time forgiving Angel and rooting for the obvious romantic & sexual tension between the two of them. Angel forever changed the lives of both Edie but all of Edie’s family that relies on them to keep afloat. Even after the “big reveals” that are supposed to make us sympathize, I struggled for awhile to root for her.

Ultimately, though, the story shows it is the systems, not the people forced to make tough decisions within it, that are evil. Don’t read this book if you are somehow pro- capitalism, gentrification, and colonization — or do, and hopefully learn something new through seeing what people are forced to do to survive.

Definitely going on my Be Gay Do Crime book list.

tropes & tags

Be gay do crime
Heist novel
Messy gays

Content Warnings

The Appendix: Transmasculine Joy in a Transphobic Culture

Liam Konemann

DID NOT FINISH: 39%

Did not finish before my library hold expired; first chapter was heavier than I expected from the title and took me longer to read

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com

Kimberly Lemming

4.75

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

If you love Kimberly Lemming's Mead Mishap series you'll love this book! It's light on the sci-fi and world building and is instead a fun, hilarious, romantic, spicy romp. The book doesn't take itself too seriously and neither should you!

There are some minor pacing problems and I wish we had a little more time with the characters and this world, but I devoured this book and there's a reason Kimberly Lemming is an auto-buy author for me!

Content Warnings

Cupid Calling

Viano Oniomoh

4.75

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

How to Bite Your Neighbor & Win a Wager

D.N. Bryn

4.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

The Broposal

Sonora Reyes

4.5

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

The Name-Bearer

Natalia Hernandez

Content Warnings

Black Friend

Ziwe

funny reflective fast-paced

Content Warnings

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1: The First Verse

Alex Paknadel

4.5

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Ever since I heard one of my favorite games of 2024 was getting a graphic novel, I’ve been chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. I’m so glad I finally did and the fun time I had!

Backstory for people who know nothing about this creepy cozy little game: in this hit indie game, you start out as the last lamb alive that is to be sacrificed. Suddenly, as you are at death’s door, a god gives you the opportunity to come back to life as long as you swear allegiance to them and promise to begin and grow a cult in their honor. You might be thinking to yourself, Raven, this doesn’t exactly sound very cozy. And yet, the lamb is the cutest little guy there ever was, with so many decoration options such as a cottage core dlc. Who would have known managing a cult could be cozy?

Where the graphic novel starts is at the very beginning of our sweet lamb’s story. We get to truly experience the heart of the story from the lamb's perspective, making it even more personal than the video game. Each character is given such precious art that it hits that much harder when any of our cute animal friends die, making the story so much more real than when we see our small followers from a distance on our video game screens. I love learning more lore, some true to the game and some in ways that could diverge from the choices you make as an individual in the game setting.

I recommend this book both to preexisting lovers of the franchise and to newbies alike, although I do admit my love for the game gives me an extra attachment and bias toward my love of the book.

For both book and game, I would most certainly check trigger warnings. These both deal with heavy topics that while somewhat glossed over and cartoon in nature, can be triggering to some regardless. Calling this game “cozy” is for sure a debated topic within the cozy gaming sphere as there is a lot of violence in various forms.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for this eARC. I loved getting to dive into even more of the world of Cult of the Lamb! I cannot wait for the next comics to come out.

Content Warnings

Dragonfruit

Makiia Lucier

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

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