Bisexual – Page 3 – Marked for Plot

Dear Mothman

Dear Mothman has been in my orbit for about a year now as one of the better middle grade novels to come out. It doesn’t quite fit comfortably in any genre. It’s certainly speculative (Mothman is very real) but it reads a lot like a realistic fiction book. It’s part Epistolary and part Book in Verse, but doesn’t really live in either space fully. However, it’s got a whole lot of heart, and is one of the better books I’ve seen where a character’s processing of grief is front and center. It’s the type of middle grade book that many adults would enjoy, even those who have a distaste for ‘kids books’.

Read if Looking For: emotional musings, a good cry, childhood taken seriously, the intersection of queer and neurodivergent identities

Avoid if Looking For: fight scenes, teen drama, dramatic plot twists

A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan #2)

The Tainted Cup was one of my favorite reads of last year, and I knew that this book was going to be on my 2025 reading list. Robert Jackson Bennet is a fantastic author who has an ability to write across a wide range of styles. Though billed as traditional murder mysteries, I actually think of this series, I actually think this series lives in a hybrid between mystery, thriller, and fantasy. Overall, I liked book 1 more, but this was still a fantastic read, and I’ll happily keep gobbling them up as they come out!

For my review of book 1, see The Tainted Cup.

Honestly, if you liked book 1, you’ll probably feel similarly about book 2. If you didn’t, I doubt this will solve any issues you had.

Read if Looking For: a murder mystery/thriller in a biopunk world filled with obscure and arcane grafts that modify humans into something more.

Several People are Typing

Put simply, this book is a shot of adrenaline. I want to give a big shout out to u/diazeugma for recommending one of my new favorites during the r/fantasy pride month event in June. It took me a while to pull the trigger on this workplace comedy/horror book about a man stuck in the Slack chat of his workplace, a PR firm. When I did, I consumed the book in around 4 hours. At 250 pages, this reads a lot more like a novella because of how sparse the pages are. It’s not a book without flaws, but this book contains a level of joy few authors are able to capture.

Read if You Like: The Office meets Twilight Zone, comedy from the absurd, the distillation of existential dread, captivating characters, train wrecks in slow motion

Avoid if You Dislike: not getting physical descriptions of characters, mysteries that never get explained, strong romance plotlines

Two who Live On (Branches of Past and Future #2)

Sequel review here! If you want to learn more about a fun, but perhaps not terribly deep, urban fantasy about a teacher of magic at a high school, see my review of Three Meant to Be. I was a little unsure of where I sat with Book 1. I enjoyed it certainly, but found it wasn’t quite giving me the depth or grittiness I was looking for in an adult magic school story, nor the sense of mystery from magic schools of my childhood, nor even the epic fight scenes of progression fantasy schools. About 50 pages into this book though, I shifted my brain fully into popcorn romance urban fantasy mode, and it really clicked. This series isn’t cracking my all time favorites, but I’m having a really wonderful time.

Read if Looking for: Magic School Teacher protagonist, escapist fantasy, bad puns, romance/fantasy elements balanced well

Avoid if Looking for: deep themes, unpredictable twists, realistic portrayals of teaching

The Incandescent

The Incandescent has established itself as one of the more popular Fantasy novels of 2025, at least in the corners of the internet I frequent. I knew I’d get around to reading it eventually; as a teacher protagonist, I love seeing magic schools turned on their head, and it doesn’t happen often! This book is a great choice for anyone remotely interested in the premise, and feels like a fairly safe pick for people looking for an introduction to modern Urban Fantasy. If you want demons, snarky kids, (possibly) competent adults doing adult things, then look no further!

Read if Looking For: teacher protagonists, chatty demons, unreliable(ish) narrators, plucky kids, and adult take on Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy

Avoid if Looking For: Dark Academia, challenging themes, romance-forward books, flashy magic

Mister B. Gone

I’ve known the name of Clive Barker for a while now. Hellraiser is influential enough that even someone who absolutely despises horror movies knows its basic imagery. He’s an author lauded as a pioneering queer writer and an author I had no intention of touching with a 10 foot pole. Mister B. Gone was recommended to me by a friend who swore it was their favorite book of all time though, and so I took the plunge into this dark comedy. It wasn’t a perfect book, but the writing was engrossing enough that I’m curious to try some of his books that are more widely lauded.

Read if You Like: Fourth-wall breaking, morally bankrupt (but likeable) protagonists, humorous asides, demons and angels

Avoid if You Dislike: books without a strong A-Plot, engrossing climaxes, straightforwardly gay characters

Luck in the Shadows

The Nightrunner series is probably the single most recommended gay epic fantasy book, and was absolutely the type of story I wish I’d been able to find as a teenager. I knew going in that I was probably going to have some issues wht the eventual romantic pairing between the two leads, and have been frequently assured that the mentor/student dynamic isn’t a problem since they don’t get romantically entangled until later. Unfortunately, even though nothing concrete has happened yet, there’s already issues. I’m only one book into the series, and can already tell you that this is going to be a fantastic epic fantasy with, like so many older fantasy works, problematic elements that should be acknowledged instead of brushed aside.

Read if you Like: 90s epic fantasy tropes, spy protagonists, down to earth wizards, a brewing war

Avoid if you Dislike: age gap or mentor/student romances, over-the-top evil villains, quick pacing

Abbott (and Sequels)

Despite teaching a few different classes on graphic novels/comics to middle and high schoolers, I don’t actually read that many for fun these days – and almost never ones geared towards adults. In an effort to start changing that, I decided to pitch a graphic novel theme when I was asked to guest host r/QueerSFF’s July Book Club. Out of the nominees I selected, Abbott was far and away the winner, and I think it will lead to some great discussion! Books 1/2 left me with some frustrations (book 2 especially), but the final volume really blew me away and was an excellent ending. While I’m discussing my thoughts about the series as a whole, I won’t reference any specific spoilers for any of the books.

Additionally, I’ll include some images of the art at the bottom of this post for people who want to see some examples of non-cover art, which will become standard practice should I continue to review more sequential art.

Read if Looking For: nuanced depictions of sexism and racism, a historical Detroit setting, gruesome and evocative art, noir vibes

Avoid if Looking For: Dynamic fight scenes, properly-paced plots, innovative villains

The Brightness Between Us (The Darkness Outside Us #2)

The Darkness Outside Us is one hell of a story. If you’re in the mood for a truly captivating existential thriller with heavy romance elements, then it’s a great pickup. You should absolutely not read any review that spoils twists (mine doesn’t), and know that the remainder of this review will spoil details from the first book.

When I heard Darkness was getting a sequel, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, Schrefer earned my trust, and I love reading more by authors who have won me over. On the other hand, Darkness was a great standalone – ending included – and I was worried that anything else would be a disappointment. In the end, I thought this book was a rather large step down from the first, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Just not perfect, you know?

Read if Looking For: Ambrose and Kodiak falling in love all over again, kids going on adventures without permission, asshole Yaks

Avoid if Looking For: gay parent POVs, jaw dropping twists, the dangers of settling a new planet

Don’t Let the Forest In

Despite being a middle/high school English teacher, I don’t actually read much Middle Grade or Young Adult works these days. Sometimes I’ll preview a book for class, but rarely for personal pleasure. Oddly, the vast majority of YA that I read is horror, despite it not really being my favorite genre (it’s growing on me, I promise!). I picked up Don’t Let the Forest In in as some first steps to introduce more aro/ace representation into my reading diet. Overall, I thought this was a good book, and one that I’m glad I read. While I think some elements will frustrate readers who primarily pursue adult books, I think it’s got enough good things going on to be worth recommending to a broad variety of people.

Read if You Like: unreliable narrators, endings that stick the landing, impactful twists, creepy forest monsters

Avoid if You Dislike: archetypical side characters/set dressing, romantic tension derived lack of effective communication, slow pacing