The Disaster Gay Detective Agency (publication day June 2, 2026) by Lev AC Rosen is a funny mystery/ thriller featuring four friends in New York City who get involved over their heads in a situation and have to pull together to get out alive. This is my first Rosen book, and I will probably tryContinue reading “The Disaster Gay Detective Agency”
Author Archives: bbwesquire
Fledgling
Fledgling (2005) is Octavia E. Butler’s last published book before her untimely death in 2006. It is, unfortunately, the last book-length writing of hers that I had left to read–I was saving it for a while, but after reading the amazing biography Positive Obsession I decided that it was time. In Positive Obsession, Morris warnsContinue reading “Fledgling”
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (2025) by Susana M. Morris is one of the best biographies that I’ve read, about one of the most amazing authors of speculative fiction that ever lived. Although I’ve not reviewed any of Butler’s work in this space (that’s changing next week with a reviewContinue reading “Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler”
No Fats, No Fems
No Fats, No Fems: A Guide to Queer Empathy and Unpacking Prejudice (publication day May 19 2026) by Max Hovey is a decent introduction to anti-racist, feminist, trans-positive, and body positive concepts for gay white men who may never have been exposed to those ideas before. The title comes from a common phrase found inContinue reading “No Fats, No Fems”
A Perfect Hand
A Perfect Hand (publication day May 19, 2026) by Ayelet Waldman is my favorite kind of historical fiction–where actual historical figures make an appearance as characters! Set in the late 1800s in England, the story centers on Alice Lockey, a lady’s maid who grew up in a village, daughter of a farmer, and entered serviceContinue reading “A Perfect Hand”
Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget
Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget (publication day May 12, 2026) by Reyna Grande is a beautifully-written collection of memoir pieces about a variety of things. Grande writes about her relationship with her parents, who separated when she was little, and who she spent several years away from when they came to theContinue reading “Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget”
A Grandmother Begins the Story
A Grandmother Begins the Story (2023) by Michelle Porter is an inventive, beautifully-written book that tells the story of five generations of Métis women and the bison and the land they live on. The audiobook is read by a full cast of 16 different actors, who read the chapters written from the perspectives of theContinue reading “A Grandmother Begins the Story”
The Library of Flowers
The Library of Flowers (publication day May 3, 2026) by L.C. Chu (aka Lily Chu) has a little bit of everything. This hard-to-categorize, enjoyable fantasy/historical/ romance/family drama/coming of age features Lucy Hua, the latest in a long line of Hua women perfumers who can create perfumes that can affect emotion or even summon true love–calledContinue reading “The Library of Flowers”
Fat Swim
Fat Swim (publication day April 28, 2026) by Emma Copley Eisenberg (of the Frump Feelings Substack, Housemates, and The Third Rainbow Girl) is a beautiful collection of semi-linked short stories that is a celebration of fat, queer love. All of the stories are set in or around Philadelphia and feature fat and queer characters inContinue reading “Fat Swim”
The Duke
The Duke (publication day April 28, 2026) by Anna Cowan is a sapphic political romance set in a Regency era where women can inherit title! Kate, the Duke of Howard, inherited when she was a young teenager after her own treachery, born of her youth, inexperience, and ambition. Now much-feared, she cultivates her icy reputation.Continue reading “The Duke”
Reading While Fat 