profiterole_reads

The novella Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows (The Manifold Worlds, The Tithenai Chronicles) was a lot of fun. A man who can speak to ghosts goes on a mission with his former lover to expose the Stonemetal Guild's corruption.

The worldbuilding was excellent, though I could have done with a glossary (especially if we end up getting more stories in this universe?). The characters all had notable personalities.

There's major m/m and minor f/f.

Content warning: drug addiction

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I finally made the time to get my latest free month of Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime's movie G20 was great. US President Danielle Sutton must fight terrorists who have taken over the G20 Conference in South Africa.

Viola Davis (Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder) plays the ex-Army US President and gets compared to Captain America. As far as I'm concerned, my beloved Sam Wilson can lend her the mantle if he wants to take a break. Anthony Anderson (Andre Johnson in Black-ish) plays her husband. And Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson in the MCU) plays the US Vice-President.

The South Korean First Lady was an amazing old woman. Congrats to the costume department for her lovely hanbok! It let me know she was from Korea even before she was officially introduced. :-)

One Has To Die by MN Bennet was amazing, as usual. It's Book 3 of Branches of Past and Future, a magic school adult book series, focused on a telepathic teacher. And contrary to what the countdown in the titles let me think, this is not the finale.

This tome does very interesting things with the POV, that I can't explain for spoilery reasons. The plot is excellent as well.

There's major m/m, which used to be m/m/m (Finn died a few years before Book 1, but there are always some scenes with his spirit, so maybe that still counts as polyamory). The students include an m/m couple, a sapphic, an ace girl, a trans boy, an enby...

For more HP-like LGBT Books, check out my rec list.

The Handmaid's Tale is back with the first 3 episodes of Season 6. It's the last season under this title, but they're planning on adapting the sequel The Testaments afterwards.

This show is even more timely than it used to be, as the US is turning into Gilead and we are trying to do something about it before it's too late.

My poly heart loves a good scene between Luke, June and Nick. They are both fully aware that she loves them both and they're so freaking civil to each other.
Luke: *nods* "Hey!"
Nick: *nods back* "Hey!"
Moira: 👀

Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba was very interesting. It's a practical guide for activists who want to learn more about organising. Its title comes from something Mariame Kaba often says: "Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair."

The strength of this book, widely recommended on Bluesky, comes from its numerous examples of past activism campaigns, covering many areas.

The theoretical parts, on the other hand, were nothing I hadn't already picked up from various social media posts (but I'm a fast learner, other people might benefit from having it all in book form). Here are the main ideas:
- Focus on hope and actions, not on doom and gloom
- Build relationships by asking people what they need
- Mobilise more people by accepting people whose views don't fully align with yours
- Ignore political hobbyists (people who criticise but don't actually do anything)
- Share the workload to avoid burnout

The book also has 2 informative appendixes:
- Navigating Police Use of Chemical Weapons (tear gas, pepper spray...), reprinted with permission from Vision Change Win's Get in Formation: A Community Safety Toolkit (pp. 9-11)
- An Attorney's Note, about what to do if the police come to your not-for-profit or organising space

The Boy Next World Special Episode was so much fun! :D

It's about the Cir/Phu from the next parallel world and I could keep watching a bunch of special episodes like that (especially one about CEO!Cir/Secretary!Phu).

Also, in this world, my beloved telepathic couple Jin/Wim is in an established relationship and playing matchmakers to Cir/Phu in an absolutely adorable way. <3

Netflix's mini-series The Residence was absolutely amazing! It's a zany murder mystery taking place at the White House during and after the Australian State Dinner.

It's produced by Shondaland (Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Bridgerton). Most of the main characters are Black, including Detective Cordelia Cupp, a Benoit Blanc-like consultant played by Uzo Aduba (Crazy Eyes in Orange Is the New Black). There's also an FBI agent played by Korean American actor Randall Park.

In terms of LGBT representation, you get the President of the United States and his husband. They have minor roles, but it's still a very significant choice.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler) was epicurean! Theo and Kit embark on a three-week food and wine tour through France, Spain and Italy.

This may be the horniest book I've ever read. And it's not even classified as erotica, but maybe the marketing team should have made it clearer. I avoid reviews because of spoilers, but just look at the cover art and the cute stencilled edges: it's on par with romance novels, not erotica. Fortunately, it ended up working for me because Casey McQuiston is a brilliant writer, but I'm not surprised to see that it didn't for some other readers.

It's a bi4bi m/nb story.

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Does anyone have the time to come chat with me on the Korean practice post?

The Golden Raven by Nora Sakavic was a masterpiece, as usual. It's Book 5 of All for the Game, and the second tome about my fellow Frenchie Jean Moreau <3 and the Trojans' captain Jeremy Knox. You won't believe what you will learn about the latter!!!

We've finally found characters who are not language geniuses and who progress at an average rate. Things are going relatively well for most of the novel, until we embark on a new rollercoaster. It's a good thing that these characters are very resilient.

There are several major achillean characters and major f/f, as well as an enby and a trans man.

I received a review copy of Five to Love Him by Alexa Piper and it was absolutely delightful! <3 It's set in the same world as the Phoenix Immortal trilogy, which I haven't read, but it isn't an issue. Leopold discovers that he is a hive's mate.

I love stories about beings who have one consciousness and several bodies, like Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie and The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum. This one isn't sci-fi, but a paranormal romance. It has the most adorable fluff, as well as a couple of very hot sex scenes. Note that the hive has trauma from past sexual abuse, but it's never described in detail.

There are also 2 side m/m pairings: one is long established, the other is not yet a couple.

In no particular order. These are only books I've read and enjoyed. There are more out there and I will add them to the list as I make my way through them.

1. Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi: speculative activism fiction written in the form of non-fiction, with many non-binary characters and two trans women.
12 interviews cover the political, economic, social, health and climate crises of the mid-21st century, then the insurrections that led to establishing communes all over the world, with a focus on NYC.

2. 2033: The Year Things Fell Apart by Rebecca Doll and James Gordon: speculative activism fiction, with a polyamorous lesbian protagonist + several trans/enby characters.
This 2024 release follows a woman with an IT job resisting fascism from the inside, while other characters are resisting it from the outside. Note that the plot gets really dark towards the end.

3. This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed: activism against book banning (mostly books by LGBT and/or POC authors), with some f/f + a probably aroace character (YA).
This 2024 release follows an Indian American Muslim girl who fights against the book bans in her high school library. It doesn't shy away from the possible retaliations of the fascist side.

4. Something to be Proud of by Anna Zoe Quirke: LGBT and disability/neurodivergence activism, with non-binary characters and a gay boy + some f/nb (YA).
This novel follows a chaotic bisexual on the autism spectrum who starts the Ardenpool Academy Activist Society in order to organise a fully accessible Pride festival. The group also works on getting gender-neutral bathrooms at their school.

5. [French] Tant qu'il le faudra by Cordélia: LGBT activism, with characters all over the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum + some m/m and f/f.
This is my favourite French series. It follows a group of diverse people who write a queer magazine. It's a brilliant mix of activism, romance, humour and drama.

6. Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin: abortion activism, with some f/f (YA).
This 2024 release follows an Indian American hijabi girl and a Palestinian American Muslim girl who decide to write The Texas Teen's Guide to Safe Abortion. Then, the former discovers that she's pregnant. Even with all this information, it's going to be a tough road getting the illegal pills she needs.

7. [French] Nos elles déployées by Jessie Magana: feminist activism, with some f/f + a non-binary character.
This novel follows three women over two time periods: in 1974, the fight for abortion in France, and in 2018, the demonstrations for economic justice, then against climate change in France, as well as the protests for Bouteflika's resignation from the presidency in Algeria.

8. My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson: ACT UP activism, with many queer men and one lesbian (a lot of sex scenes).
This novel follows a gay Black man in 1980s New York City, who starts as an activist with a rent strike, then helps dying AIDS patients and becomes one of the original members of ACT UP.