Romance – Marked for Plot

For Real – An Antitrope Romance

For Real has been sitting on my TBR for a while. Actually, Hall’s Spires series (contemporary romance where each focuses on a different couple) has appealed to me since I found Waiting for the Flood to be an interesting Romance that … well that wasn’t a copy/paste of something else out there. The whole series tackles some more serious and unusual takes on romance genre conventions, but ultimately still very much still feel like Genre Romance. For Real isn’t making my list of favorite romances, but it was well-worth the weirdly large amount of time it took for me to hunt a copy down.

The Premise:
Laurie is a trauma doctor who still isn’t over a relationship that ended 6 years ago. On a whim, he takes 19 year old Toby home from a BDSM club, as Toby is clearly very new to being a dom. Unfortunately, Laurie is emotionally unavailable which leads to him fucking up pretty much everything other than the sex.

Read if You Like: relentless trope subversion, quality queer romances, not every conversation focusing on falling in love

Avoid if You Dislike: light to moderate BDSM elements, protagonists who don’t look like marble statues, characters who are kind of shitty but are working on it

Chai & Charmcraft -Cozy with a Side of Politics

For whatever reason, I’ve decided that this is the year I try and figure out what types of cozy fantasy I actually enjoy. It feels like there’s a ton out there in the mystery and/or small business owner space, ditto with cottagecore vibes. However, I’ve found that type of story hasn’t managed to hold my attention much. My favorites have all diverged from that formula pretty heavily. Chai and Charmcraft struck a similar chord to Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard and The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. It’s more saccharine than either of these, but retains some of the sharp edges and personal stakes that form the core of my cozy fantasy preferences.

The Premise:
Faraj is the God-Emperor’s brother, gifted with prophetic visions that make him invaluable to the throne. On a single night of indulgence, he chases a vision of a man tending a Jasmine plant that has followed him for decades. This leads him to a bathhouse/brothel in the Catspaw district where he meets Asharan, the keeper of the bathhouse. The two are smitten with each other, but their encounter quickly has implications far beyond what either of them ever intended. It doesn’t help that the night brings a cat-familiar into Faraj’s life, which are banned in the palace.

Read if You Like: the politics of gossip, indulging the joy of children, fat protagonists treated with dignity, catfolk who feel like cats

Avoid if You Dislike: extended conversations, overly-sweet dialogue and internal monologue, unconventional Romance plot structures

The Open Era – An Earnest Romantic Drama

I am a shallow man. I see a pretty Sports Romance cover, and that’s enough for me to dive in headfirst. This is Edward Schmit’s debut novel, and he’s an author I’ll be eagerly awaiting more from! This wasn’t a perfect book, but it was such a contrast to Cut & Run that it made me feel optimistic about the state of m/m Romance. This is a much more raw book than Romances usually go for: id doesn’t lay the drama on too thick and hits strong emotional beats. It’s a balance can be hard to strike, but this one really worked for me.

The Premise:
Austin is the first openly gay male tennis player to compete in a Grand Slam. He’s excited to compete, but the media around his ‘historic accomplishments’ are making his anxiety attacks worse, and he’s also caught the eye of world #2 Diego. They’re set for a collision course in the tournament, but that doesn’t stop either of them from catching feelings.

Read if You Like: realistic characters, third act breakups that make sense, mental health as a focal point

Avoid if You Dislike: ghosting, protagonists who sometimes act like jerks, rushed timelines

Cut & Run – Look How Far We’ve Come

Cut & Run is a cult classic amongst the Queer Thriller crowd. It’s coming up on being two-decades old and recently got reprinted, so I knew I was going to pick it up. It has a reputation for being on the ‘mindless fun’ side of books, and it fit that brief delightfully. I’d been feeling a bit of burnout on reading, and this required so little brainpower that it started to fill my cup again. However, I also think it’s a good benchmark of what ‘well written’ gay love used to look like. It feels dated and a prime example of what happens when queer men are written with a straight female audience in mind.

This review will (in part) explore how this book gets writing queer men wrong. Many of these elements are frustrating patterns that still pop up in new releases. However, I want to anchor all of this with the idea that Roux & Urban were writing queer men long before it was seen as profitable, though they definitely profited. I wish we’d moved past the types of writing I found here, and I’m also thankful that they paved the way for better representation to follow.

I bear no ill will towards these authors and books, but this read was enough to convince me that I didn’t want to continue following these characters.

The Premise:
When a serial killer goes after the FBI agents investigating him, the Bureau takes an unusual step of assigning a new partnership to catch him. Ty is a loose cannon who recently fucked up a deep-cover case. Zane is a buttoned up agent from Cybercrimes who is trying to climb the ladder. They immediately decide they can’t stand each other.

Read if you Like: coworkers who hate and lust for each other, sexy fistfights, melodramatic serial killers, pulpy thrillers

Avoid if you Dislike: quality queer rep, there’s literally only one possible suspect, claustrophobia

Novella Readathon #23: Of the Wild

I’ve been on a long kick of bad dads for this project, so I wanted something that I knew would not feature that character archetype. I actually almost read Of the Wild last year for the Parents Bingo Square. This book was satisfying, but probably not going to stick around in my head for a long time. I think it’ll be a good option for people who want a cozy fantasy that has a different vibe than most, or a different take on Romantasy than we’re used to seeing from the current boom.

The Premise:
Aeris is a fae who rescues children whose parents do not want them. However, the fruit of his tree, which allows his children to thrive and grow in arcane ways, are harder to find and less powerful every time one is picked. He is dying, and his tree dies with him. The Tall Ones are waiting to consume the children when Aeris can no longer defend his home. When a human dreams his way into Aeris’ domain, he sees a potential successor to take on his mantle once he passes on.

Read If Looking For: found family themes, love stories that don’t involve sex, cozy fantasy with some teeth

Avoid If Looking For: developed love interests, realistic portrayals of childhood trauma, bespoke prose

Novella Readathon #18: The Iron Below Remembers

Every year there’s a book. A book that blows my mind and makes me want to scream from the rooftops how much I love it. Typically, this book is a little more niche, with choices that keep the story from appealing to the broad audience needed for breakout hits. I’ve championed Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares and How to Survive this Fairytale by SM Hallow, and now its time for me to tackle The Iron Below Remembers. This book examines how history gets layered and built, revels in queer sexuality, and uses a superhero framework to focus on the intensely personal. Characterization is consistent and exciting, and our characters aren’t stand-ins for the reader’s hopes and dreams. It’s kind of a perfect mix for me, though there are a few elements that I think will put off the general reader. Certainly it’s a strong contender for book of the year (the only current competition is The God Eaters by Jessee Hajicek). I’m mostly just disappointed I didn’t pick it up sooner.

Elevator Pitch:
Professor Yadav’s specialty is ancient history, specifically the Karthik Empire, a South Asian colonizing force whose lasting impact is comparable to our world’s British Empire. His boyfriend is Ezra/Savior, a beloved superhero with golden retriever energy. When one of Savior’s battles uncovers a pristine artifact of sorcery – whose use and knowledge has been lost to time – Yadav’s connections see him as one of the primary researchers studying it. As his academic star rises, relationship dynamics shift. Woven through their journey are Yadav’s academic musings on the Karthik Empire.

Read If You Like: superhero settings from the perspective of a normie, fictional academia, relationships as something requiring work and investment

Avoid If You Dislike: abundant talk about sex (but very little actual sex happening), anecdotes that don’t connect with the main plot, footnotes, superhero settings without many superhero plot beats

Novella Readathon #15: The Salt Grows Heavy

As I slowly grow into reading horror, I’ve had a complicated relationship with the more grotesque side of the genre. I thought I disliked it, and certainly I need to avert my eyes in any medical show I watch. Body horror authors like Andrew Joseph White capture that visceral repulsion that forces me to skip pages. I thought that The Salt Grows Heavy might be similarly challenging for me. This book features the plucking of eyeballs and the cradling of intestines in one’s hands, yet it was palatable even for me. Khaw married this body horror to a dark fairy tale atmosphere; the result so enchanting that I couldn’t look away.

The Premise:
The mermaid has given birth to her children, and they have feasted upon the land. The country which stole her from the water lays in ruins, a corpse to rot in the sun. Now she travels with the plague doctor, seeking a new country and a new home. They come upon a commune of children and their saints, the strange trio who pursue surgical immortality. The mermaid and the plague doctor’s shifting relationship is confronted by the plague doctor’s past, and the mermaid must decide what is important to her, versus what is simply meat to be consumed.

Read If Looking For: bespoke body horror, the tentative love of monsters, uncommon word choices, inhabiting the mind of a creature of the deeps

Avoid If Looking For: windowpane prose, genre romance, Disney mermaids, fast pacing

Novella Readathon #13: Cinder House

I have a soft spot for Cinderella. I wouldn’t describe it as my favorite Fairy Tale, but somehow pieces of it keep capturing my imagination. As a child, I watched the VHS for Ever After so much we had to buy a new copy – I still love it, corny dialogue and all. My teenage self enjoyed the goriness of the Grimm Fairy Tale. As an adult, The Magic Fish became my all-time favorite graphic novel (though that goes far beyond Cinderella). Cinder House enters in the long line of Cinderella tales I adore. In classic Marske fashion, it weaves together the fantastic and romantic elements to find a really excellent balance

The Premise:
Ella died shortly after her father, killed by a combination of poison from her stepmother and falling down the stairs (but really it was the poison). Now a ghost posessing the house owned by the woman who killed her, Ella cleans and cooks for her stepfamily, unable to live a life apart from the building that has become her body. Cue some classic Cinderella elements, such as the Prince holding a ball to find a wife, which has a lot of the traditional trappings of Cinderella. For the most part, this book is Cinderella + the main character is a ghost who feels the house as her new body.

Read If Looking For: chronic illness coding, the sensuality of bare feet on carpet, a friendly bit of correspondence, your body is a temple

Avoid If Looking For: fairy tales that invert the original, Cinderella that eschews insta-love, criticisms of monarchies

Novella Readathon #12: A Necessary Chaos

I have not yet read a proper Romance for this project, though plenty of the novellas feature romantic subplots. A Necessary Chaos entered my TBR when it was described as ‘Mr. and Ms. Smith, but Fantasy and Gay.’ This pitch combines three of my favorite things – I don’t know why I love that movie so much, sue me – and I hoped it would be a nice tonal change after The Lathe of Heaven. The two had a pretty stark contrast; as A Necessary Chaos is, quite frankly, a bit of a mess. It was a mess that worked for me however, because it was so tailored to the things that I enjoy. As it stands though, I can only recommend this for people for whom the premise is immediately exciting.

The Premise:
Vade is a Whisper, a member of the Empire’s magical secret police, seeking revenge on the rebels who killed his sister. Althus is an anarchist in the Phantom Dragon, hoping to bring the system crashing down. The two have been lovers for years, meeting up to spy on each other. Just as they start thinking that their feelings are too serious for a fake relationship, however, they each receive the needed push to finally commit to killing the other. Perhaps them being honest with each other about who they are was the key to unlocking a true relationship all along, and it will bring an Empire to its knees.

Read If You Like: steamy action romance, cool magic powers, torture demons, love was the real magic all along

Avoid If You Dislike: unredeemably evil villains, abrupt changes in allegiance, typos

Novella Readathon #4: A Taste of Honey

There’s a special kind of magic when stories commit to telling the story of a person, following them throughout their lives. It was one of the reasons I enjoyed Sign of the Dragon so much last year! A Taste of Honey is a story that asks you to step back from your own life and settle into the skin of another. It asks you to reflect on your life, on your choices, and whether you can stand by the paths you chose not to take. It is a piece of unvarnished reality, even though it occurs in a setting somewhere between the Sparticus and The Expanse. It eschews grand epics in favor of the life of a man, and not a man who had a particularly large impact on his world. It also has cheetahs, and who doesn’t love a big cat?

Note: this is technically part 2 of a duology. My understanding is that both books share a world, but otherwise do not overlap terribly much. I’ve read the first book (several years ago), and didn’t see any connections; certainly my fuzzy memory about Sorcerer of the Wilddeeps was not a hindrance to enjoying this novella.

The Premise
Aqib is the son of The Master of Beasts, and has an affinity for working with animals. He has a chance encounter with a visiting soldier, whose nation’s gods are negotiating with Aqib’s nation’s gods. The two have an immediate spark, despite Aqib’s culture forbidding men from laying with other men. This story interweaves their ten day affair with the days, years, and decades that follow Aqib’s separation from Lucrio. Is the life Aqib gained, a wife and child and comfortable life amongst the high nobility, worth the loss of the love of his life?

Read If Looking For: the joy of young (and forbidden) love, the pride a parent feels in their child, second guessing the choices which form the fulcrum of your life

Avoid If Looking For: clear and conventional worldbuilding, invisible prose, Genre Romance

Comparable Media: Sign of the Dragon, Call me By Your Name, The Empress of Salt and Fortune