Hi Wild Ones! This was a month for epic fantasy (Kushiel’s Mercy), and books with a polyamorous leaning (the Scientific Method series). Actually, they both have a polyam element, even though it’s extremely mild and very background in Kushiel’s Mercy. But Love as Thou Wilt is a core tenant of the world of Terre d’Ange, and they mean it. It’s one of the things I love about that series.
Hi Wild Ones! Didn’t get a whole lot read in January, but this was really good.
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Take Three Breaths by Kris Ripper
Amazon (print and ebook)* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Barnes & Noble (ebook) ~ Google ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords
Continuing The Scientific Method series with this MMM novella, which doesn’t really have anything to do with science (the name is explained in book 1). Even more than the first two books, this one delves deep and heavy. But it brings the boys closer together, even though it’s a bit rough along the way. I liked that they were closer at the end.
Trigger Warning: Suicide (side character) and depression (main character).
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
Hi Wild Ones! This is way late, but I read some great stuff that I wanted to pass on to you, so I’m doing it now.
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Catalysts by Kris Ripper
Amazon (print and ebook)* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Barnes & Noble (ebook) ~ Google ~ Kobo (ebook and audiobook) ~ Smashwords
I enjoyed Book Boyfriend so much that I went looking for more Kris Ripper to read. I found this delightful gem of a series, and I’m so glad I did. It has so many of the things I love in romance. It’s highly kinky, and very polyamorous. There are some queer relationships, some straight ones, all kinds of different characters, and they all support each other. I’ve always loved books and series that do that. I know the thought with publishing is to group all your similar characters into a series by themselves (all the gay men in this series, all the fem doms in that series, or even totally separate them out by pen name) but that doesn’t feel real to me. The joined approach feels more natural, when there are all kinds of people living and getting along together. I dug into the first few books right away. And hey, the first one is free so I added it to my page of recommended free books! Catalysts is MMM, and follows Will as he comes to grips with his bisexual and kinky nature. His journey is written carefully and I loved it.
Unexpected Gifts by Kris Ripper
Amazon (print and ebook)* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Barnes & Noble (ebook) ~ Google ~ Kobo (ebook) ~ Smashwords
This is book two of The Scientific Method series, and it features Will and the woman who captures his heart. And the struggles he has with that. One thing to note about this series is that it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. At all. They all wrestle with their inner demons, and talk about it, and get stronger along the way. That’s one of the things that makes the books so good.
Candy Cane Kisses: A Holiday Anthology edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Amazon (print and ebook)* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Barnes & Noble (ebook) ~ Kobo (ebook)
A collection of mostly sweet holiday romance short stories that I really enjoyed. At least, the ones that I got through. I didn’t get through the whole book, but I’m going to save it for next year when I’m in the mood for holiday romance again. But I’m sure the second half will be as good as the first half. They were all great, but here’s the ones that stood out to me:
Ice Dancing and Crab Apple Sorbet by Melissa Yi – a story of two figure skaters trying to make a relationship work in the spotlight. It reminded me of the movie The Cutting Edge, but it was its own story. It packed a lot of history into one short story, and was very well done.
A Little More Aloha by Julia Vee – a fun visit to Hawaii.
Trapped Between Book Lovers by Stefon Mears – as a book lover who loves used bookstores, I loved this story!
She Wanted It to Be Perfect by Ron Collins – a touching FF romance with a bit of science fiction.
Love Hard
Netflix Original Video
This was a really fun Christmas holiday rom-com. The characters were fun, the romance felt fresh to me, I laughed, and wound up really rooting for them at the end. It even poked at some really common rom-com tropes it a way that felt so interesting. I enjoyed it a lot.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
Hi Wild Ones! My reading time has sadly been lacking this month. I haven’t gotten any steamy novels finished (though I’m reading a LONG one that’s looking to be VERY interesting – I’ll report on it when I’m done). But I did enjoy the movie I recced. And also, I was thinking I’d start mentioning non-fiction articles that I’ve enjoyed that I think you guys would also like. So that’s at the bottom.
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This was a fun romcom. It was enjoyable light viewing, with some heartwarming moments. I like Lopez as an actress. She’s fun, and charming. Also, she looks damn good, and that doesn’t hurt. But really, I got exactly what I wanted from this: Some laughs, a couple of hot moments, and a good love story at the end.
What is PolySaturation, and How Do You Know When You’re There?
This is an excellent article on Medium that discusses knowing how many partners is enough for you. I wasn’t familiar with the term, but when I read it I immediately recognized what it was and the importance of understanding it for yourself if you’re polyam. Click above for the definition, some examples, and some advice on how to handle polysaturation. A great article if you’re interested.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
Hi readers! I’ve decided to start a new monthly feature: the things I’ve read or watched that I’ve really enjoyed and that I think you’ll like, too. So here’s the first installment of the monthly Steamy Recs!
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Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West
Amazon* ~ Apple ~ Kobo* ~ More Stores
I found the most delightful comfort read in this book. It’s all about negotiating a relationship between the two main characters that fulfills them both, and meets their needs in ways no other relationship ever has. That relationship involves kink, but is so much broader than just kink. The characters are Jewish, autistic, polyamorous queer kinky women who are learning how to build a life for themselves that includes all of those parts of themselves, where they don’t have to mask or ignore parts of themselves in order to have a relationship.
This book is full of really interesting opposites: really intense sex scenes and characters discussing their non-sexual asexual preferences. Wonderful found family moments and characters recognizing their own individual strength and abilities. Deep comfort and frank discussions around trauma. Edgy kink play and fluffy slice-of-life scenes. The characters and their lives and relationships are complicated, and the book slowly peels all of that back layer by layer so that by the end I was deeply immersed in them and very satisfied by their happy ending.
I’m not autistic, Jewish or asexual, and yet so much of this book spoke to me on a deep level. Perhaps the parts that do match me (kinky, queer, polyam, with past trauma) were enough to connect with the book on, but I don’t think that’s it. I think the journey to find relationships and people that fully support us is a universal one, even if the characters are coming from a different perspective from us. The beauty of fiction is that it powerfully puts us in other’s shoes by letting us live their life for a while, and this book does that for me in full.
AJ and the Queen
Netflix – no link provided because I can’t figure out how to get a Netflix link anymore.
A couple of weeks ago I logged onto Netflix looking for POSE, which I’d started a couple of months ago but hadn’t gotten very far into. Turns out POSE apparently moved from Netflix to Amazon (available to watch for payment) so it wasn’t available for the night. Anyway, POSE wasn’t there but Netflix suggested AJ and the Queen so I gave it a shot. I’m so glad I did. It was fun and funny, totally campy, with characters that were unexpected and compelling. I’ll cop to never having watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, so I was fresh to the Drag scene. AJ and the Queen was a delightful look into life as a drag performer today. I came away loving RuPaul’s character, Ruby Red, and his performance. I loved seeing him put together each act and come out as the beautiful person he is. The last scene of the last episode is especially beautiful- the best outfit of the season, gorgeous cinematography, and a very emotional finish. *kisses fingers* Perfect. There’s a lot of comedy in the show, and it has a mainly light feel, but they slip in a lot of lived experience, and not all of it is rainbows and puppies (pun intended). Even today queer life has its hardships, but these characters are so strong and full of zest that you come away loving them. I really hope there’s another season.