Bisexual – Page 2 – Marked for Plot

Local Heavens

I came excited for a queer Gatsby retelling, and left disappointed by how it was handled. I’m not a diehard Gatsby fan, but it’s definitely on the higher end of ‘proper English’ books I was forced to read in high school. I think it’s a story with rich potential for reimaginings considering how little the original plot of Gatsby actually matters. However, I left this book wishing almost every choice Fajardo made was a different one. Should I have DNF’d it? Probably, and it’s a lesson for me to learn as I start 2026. Building good habits in the new year and all that.

Read if Looking For: extremely faithful retellings, casually bisexual protagonists, thieves with bird aliases, Mech-Jazz lounges

Avoid if Looking For: thematic inversions or commentary on The Great Gatsby, lavish Cyberpunk parties

The Restored (Secret Records of Axel Font #2)

For a review of book 1 in this magitech action thriller reminiscent of Arcane, see The Effaced.

As I’m putting together my end-of-year wrap up post, The Effaced has floated around within my Top 10 reads of the year. Unless I read something mind-blowing in the next week, I think it’ll probably stay there. Begley has been pretty clear that the commercial failure of this book has hit him hard as an indie author (only 16 ratings on goodreads as of this post), which sucks because he’s doing a lot of creative things in the progression fantasy subgenre, and one of the few in that arena writing queer characters. The sequel didn’t quite live up to the hype I threw behind the original, and solidified that it should probably be read after his Journals of Evander Tailor series for the best experience .

Read if Looking For: bespoke hard magic systems, demonic invasions, happy endings, the lightest sprinkle of romance in an action book

Avoid if Looking For: nuanced solutions to systemic problems, the tough side of Found Family, explicit sex scenes

A Rune in the Rubble

One of my goals in 2025 was to read more truly unknown books. Some of my favorite reads have been nearly unknown, and popularity is no indicator of quality. Steven Cavehill’s pitch for his book on r/queersff caught my eye, and I mentally bookmarked it for when I started one of my kindle binges. It’s got some classic high fantasy and dystopia elements, and was a fun read. I’ll definitely pick up the sequel, but I also hope that Cavehill goes through a final round of line-edits on his writing next time around.

Read if Looking For: asshole families, always another secret, tropey fantasy characters, overly-dependent relationships, notices at the start and end of sex scenes

Avoid if Looking For: polished writing, characters who see the plot coming at them, books free from fantasy racism (elves)

The War Arts Saga

This is a series that I find myself recommending a lot recently. Epic Fantasy meets Wuxia featuring steampunk Mongols is a really attention grabbing hook, and the series lives up to that promise admirably. I finally got around to finishing book 3 (somehow despite reading more than ever I find myself reading precious few sequels), so figured I’d do a write up for the entire trilogy. I left the series with mixed feelings, but definitely enjoyed the ride.

Read if Looking For: protagonists of many skill levels & ages, beautifully written fight scenes, chosen one subversions, grumpy mentors, sassy assassins

Avoid if Looking For: series that end as strong as they start, zero to hero storylines, clear good vs evil plotlines

5 Comic Mini-Reviews

I’ve been reading lot’s more comics recently, both for work as I continue to develop two seperate comics courses for middle and high schoolers, but also for personal pleasure. I’ll still do bigger reviews for comics that I want to dig a bit more deeply into, but for now enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving meal of some (mostly) light and fun comics.

The Sleepless

Going to sleep is probably one of my favorite things in the world; that said, I also feel like I’m constantly craving just a few more hours in the day. The Sleepless by Victor Manibo tackles the premise of what a world without sleep might look like, wrapped up in a cyberpunk-noir trenchcoat. I appreciated a lot about this book, and it surpassed my expectations knowing that this book both grew out of NanoWrimo and also is written by an author whose later work I have DNF’d. It’s a solid read, especially for people interested in exploring how a Cyberpunk society might come to be.

Read if Looking for: near-future cyberpunk, greedy CEOs, chaos bisexual best friends, jacked drug dealers

Avoid if Looking for: scientific rigor, happy endings, multidimensional side characters, romance plotlines

Dark Rise

For me, C.S. Pacat has been a relatively no-brainer author for me. Their works are rarely perfect, but have consistently captivated me. Some are ruthless and full of content warning-worthy topics (Captive Prince), and others are overdramatic sports comics about a bunch of queer teens in a fencing club. Dark Rise seemed like a natural book that I’d love. However, I found it extraordinarily lacking compared to Pacat’s other works, and I struggled a lot with this one.

Read if Looking For: books with stereotypical emo haircuts, evil vs good as a core motif, YA that flirts with BDSM subtext, YA fantasy tropes of the 2020s

Avoid if Looking for: books that do more than set up a sequel, female viewpoint characters who have the same main character energy as the males, well-adjusted romance plotlines

American Hippo

Inconsequential history facts can be a ton of fun. Apparently in the 1910s, the US government considered importing hippos as a new source of meat during food shortages. If the cocaine hippos of Columbia (and really any other invasive species) have taught us anything, it likely would have been a horrible idea with lots of downstream consequences. Thankfully, that world didn’t come to be, but it did result in a set of novellas and short stories by Sarah Gailey reimagining this possible history, blended with some Western set dressing, which was a premise too intriguing to pass up. I ended up liking River of Teeth (novella #1) quite a bit, but was mostly disappointed by Taste of Marrow (novella #2).

Read if Looking for: bloodthirsty hippos, tropey characters, criminal crews totally not breaking the law, a queernormative American history, relaxed reads

Avoid if Looking for: thought-out alternate histories, meaningful Western elements, consistent characterization

City of Strife

The City of Spires has been on my radar for a while as a great example of what ambitious queer representation can look like. It’s also gotten nods as the modern inheritor to Swordspoint, the seminal Fantasy of Manners book with pioneering queer rep in the 80s. I ended up not loving the book, but I see the appeal and am intrigued to continue at some point in the future. But if you’re looking for a queer ensemble cast, I can’t think of something better than this.

Read if Looking For: many queer identities in one book, ethically upright protagonists, sadistic villains, impassioned monologues

Avoid if Looking For: deep characterization, flashy magic, political maneuvering

Looking for Group

November through January has historically been a heavy romance season for me, and Looking for Group definitely jumpstarted that process. It was a bit of an impulse buy. Alexis Hall has been hit or miss for me, but the nerdy vibes of a video-game focused romance caught my eye. Also, the cover art is gorgeous (though inaccurate to the point of infuriating me. The whole schtick is that the love interest hates high elves and only plays dark elves … so why is a high elf on the cover? Also the humans are above the wrong characters). ANYWAYS. This book won me over by successfully executing romance plotlines with realistic characters and pacing, which I really enjoyed. If anyone else has good recs for other down-to-earth romances, I’m all ears!

Read if Looking For: nerdy characters, realistic conflict resolutions and relationship development, bisexual awakening storylines

Avoid if you Dislike: video game chat dialogue, extensive descriptions of MMORPG gameplay, meet-cute, physically tame romances