Bisexual – Page 4 – 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’.

The Premise
Noah is a lot of things, but mostly he’s grieving and finding himself. His best friend (and crush) Lewis died in a car crash, and Noah is unmoored. Everybody else calls him Nora, he doesn’t know how to make new friends, and school seems so unimportant. He latches onto Mothman, Lewis’s last obsession before his death, and begins writing the cryptid letters. To his surprise, Mothman seems to get those letters. This book follows Lewis’ 6th grade year as he struggles to form new social connections, find a self outside of Lewis, and prove to himself that Mothman is real after all.

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.

The Premise:
In this installment of Din & Ana’s adventures, they travel to Yarrow, a part of the world not (yet) part of the Empire, but which hosts the Leviathan dissection and processing facility known as The Shroud. When a member of the delegation supervising negotiations with the Yarrow government about joining the Empire turns up dead, Ana is called in to solve the case.

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.

The Premise:
Gerald is an underperforming grunt at a PR form who works for (mostly) horrible clients. His brain gets sucked firm’s Slack chat, unable even to check his emails, and Gerald finds himself with only unbelieving coworkers and an annoying help-bot for company. Be a fly on the wall for secret workplace affairs, existential crises prompted by sunsets, THE HOWLING, and a bidding war for Gerald’s now empty desk.

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.

The Premise:
This book picks up right where book 1 left off. At the start of second semester, without the threat of one student being brutally murdered, Dorian is able to focus a bit more on himself and his relationship with his celebrity boyfriend (and childhood ex) Milo. He also needs to keep his students on track for a talent showcase, which might open doors for many of their future prospects. Of course, what would a semester of Dorian’s life be without the threat of constant demon attacks?

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!

The Premise:
At a prestigious British boarding school, Doctor Walden oversees the magical education department. Mostly this involves safety plans, keeping the school’s wards in tact, bullying the photocopyer imp into doing its job, and teaching a few high level courses in demonic summoning and negotiation. She’s got some wickedly smart students, and a Marshall who is both exceedingly attractive and also breathing down her neck about the safety of children summoning demons. She’s got to balance her students’ misadventures, her own stress levels, an ancient demon lurking beneath the school, and whether or not she’s at all interested in pursuing a relationship with a coworker.

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.

The Premise:
Jakabob Botch is a demon. A rather incompetent and pathetic demon really, who can’t even work magic properly. And he’s trapped inside a book, the book you’re reading incidentally. Throughout his recounting of his life’s story on Earth, he besseeches you to burn the book in your hands, to end his pitiful existence trapped in ink and paper. But fine, why not, he’ll tell you a little bit more, but only if you promise that you really will destroy the book by the end of it all.

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.

The Premise
Alec is a 16 year old orphan, sitting in a dungeon of a particularly sadistic lord when a new prisoner is brought in. Seregil is a spy and a noble, and takes Alec with him when breaking out. He then takes Alec under his wing as they travel back towards his homeland, bringing back dark tidings of the coming war and dark magic. But the land of Rhiminee has its own challenges, and the duo gets dragged into internal politics of the nation as soon as they arrive in Seregil’s homeland.

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?

The Premise:
This book bounces back and forth in time. Most of the story takes place 17 years after Darkness, following the teenage children of Ambrose and Kodiak, the only two who survived the early years. And just like in the original story, some strange and unexpected things are happening. It also tells the story of the original Ambrose and Kodiak in the events after they learned about the cloning scheme, right as the world is on the brink of nuclear war.

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.

The Premise
Andrew and his twin sister Dove attend a prestigious and remote boarding school, courtesy of a rich (and largely absent) father. Dove is a straight-A student, but Andrew is listless, reserved, and anxious. The only thing keeping him afloat (other than Dove making sure he doesn’t fail any classes) is his best friend/roommate/crush Thomas. Thomas is wild and abrasive, the visual artist to Andrew’s creative writing. But Thomas’s parents are missing, presumed dead, and Thomas is a prime culprit. Things between them aren’t the same as they used to be, and that’s before Andrew realizes that creatures from the forest are trying to attack the school every night.

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