The Fall of Whit Rivera (2023) by Crystal Maldonado didn’t deserve to sit on my TBR shelf for as long as it did, because it is a sweet fat-positive YA romance from the author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and Get Real, Chloe Torres. Whit (Whitney) Rivera is getting ready to have the best seniorContinue reading “The Fall of Whit Rivera”
Tag Archives: contemporary fiction
It Had to be Him
I so enjoyed listening to It Had to be Him (September 2, 2025) by Adib Khorram that I am certain to purchase it in print to have it for my very own. It is that rare gem, a spicy M/M queer romance that is also fat-positive! I should have expected it from Khorram, whose DariusContinue reading “It Had to be Him”
Shark Heart
I’ve seen Shark Heart (2023) by Emily Habeck around, but didn’t think of reading it until my book group picked it. It is an unusual premise–right after getting married, Lewis and Wren face a difficult diagnosis due to a genetic abnormality he carries–Lewis will retain his consciousness and all of his memories, but over theContinue reading “Shark Heart”
The Librarians
The Librarians (publication day September 30, 2025) by Sherry Thomas was a wild ride that I enjoyed every moment of! And I was floored to learn Thomas has an impressive backlist of romance, fantasy, and mystery–both adult and YA–and that English is her second language! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the e-ARC.Continue reading “The Librarians”
The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway
Set amidst the summer of a newly-upgraded Renaissance Faire, Ashley Shumacher’s young adult romance The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway (2023) is a sweet story of Madeline, a fat girl dealing with grief after the loss of her mother and her reluctant falling for a bespectacled, lute-playing boy, Arthur. Arthur’s dads have recently bought the park,Continue reading “The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway”
Something Wild and Wonderful
Something Wild and Wonderful (2023) by Anita Kelly is the kind of romance book that makes me love romances! In his first mile of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in the desert of southern California, Alexei meets Ben, who Alexei stops from stepping on a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. Alexei is hikingContinue reading “Something Wild and Wonderful”
The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore
I really loved The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore (publication day September 16, 2025), Anika Fajardo’s debut novel! Though the theme of grief after losing one’s last living parent was difficult, I loved how Fajardo used magical realism with Dorrie’s ancestors a constant chorus in her head, the interludes about mapmaking, and chapters from theContinue reading “The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore”
The Macabre
I don’t typically gravitate towards fantasy with a strong horror component as a genre, but I really enjoyed the last book by Kosoko Jackson that I read (a queer romance), so I had to request The Macabre (publication day September 9, 2025) from NetGalley. He’s published at least half a dozen books already, so thereContinue reading “The Macabre”
All My Mother’s Lovers
I thought so highly of All My Mother’s Lovers (2020) by Ilana Masad that I recommended it to my book group, so was a bit disappointed when their reviews were much more mixed. It did spark a lengthy discussion, though. As the book opens. Maggie, a queer twentysomething, finds out that her mother, Iris, hasContinue reading “All My Mother’s Lovers”
Shutter and Exposure
Shutter (2022) and Exposure (2024) by Ramona Emerson, feature Rita Todacheene, a crime scene photographer for the Albuquerque police department who can see ghosts. Raised both on the Navajo reservation by her grandmother and in Albuquerque with her mother, who died when Rita was 18, she started seeing ghosts when she was a young child,Continue reading “Shutter and Exposure”
Reading While Fat 