#netgalley

I received a free copy from Tor Nightfire in exchange for a fair review. Release date September 23rd, 2025.

One of my anticipated new releases for this year. In Spread Me, biologist Kinsey is the lead of a close-knit team in a remote desert monitoring station. When Kinsey breaks quarantine by bringing a mysterious specimen into the lab, the team finds out too late that it's a parasite seeking a new host...

This novella is a testament to Gailey's ability to commit to the bit. It reads like erotica designed for a very specific fetish--namely the protagonist's, as a microbiologist who solely masturbates to an artsy electron microscope image of a virus. Spread Me is about Kinsey's desire to be invaded and utterly obliterated by a virus, and the horror of forbidden attraction: her darkest secret is that she wants to be infected by The Thing. Gailey does an excellent job at viscerally portraying a rather abstract monstrous attraction, which is not an easy thing to pull off, and I never doubted it for a second.

The E-ARC of #mybook Hotblood! Vol. 1: The Land of Promise is now up on NetGalley! If you'd like to read and/or review it in advance, you can request a copy here.

Hotblood! is a graphic novel about a centaur with a shitty job and how the Transcontinental Railroad changed America. It's also about gay sex

For anyone who loved The Raven Cycle, but thought, "that could've been scarier": This book is for you.

4.25/5. Releases 3/17/2026.

Heat Index: 8/10

—pirate marriage (of convenience)

—not one, but TWO ex-situationships

—struggling to express your feelings in the midst of anti-colonial seafaring

The Basics:

Upon seeing his former fling, anti-colonial pirate Vitaliy *who has a couple other identities) on the brink of being hanged, naval man. Everard perjures himself to save him. Of course, this does lead him into general piratical antics, dragging his rakish friend—with whom he used to do things that went far beyond friendly—D'Arcy into everything in the process. One pirate marriage of convenience to Vitaliy later, Everard finds himself in the midst of battles and espionage, with more than one conflict at hand. Staying with Vitaliy would mean abandoning the naval career he's dedicated his life to—and perhaps D'Arcy, who fully owns being in love with Everard as it is. Of course... some choices may not be choices at all.

The Review:

What a FUN, bold historical romance! First off—let me be so clear. While Everard very much thinks he's in the midst of a love triangle at one point, it's a bit more complex than that. By "a bit more complex" I mean this is a poly triad romance. And it's great.

Wait, you say. "Pirate marriage of convenience?" Yes! Pirates had a sort of... domestic partnership, marriage situation happening back in the day, in which one pirate basically committed to another pirate and gave him the rights of inheritance, etc. that a wife would traditionally have. And some historians would say that meant they were good buddies. Sure!

Here, it's very clear that Everard and Vitaliy are a lot more than good buddies. But what are they... exactly? Everard is very "I'm his matelot in name only, I swear", and Vitaliy is like "sure", which kind of sums up Everard's approach to relationships in general. He's our POV character (see, I like single POV books sometimes! They just have to be good!) and he is essentially clueless about relationships. He doesn't really know what to do with Vitaliy's calm, accepting approach to their relationship. He doesn't know what to do with D'Arcy's exasperated, straightforward ownership of simply being madly in love with Everard while not expecting him to actually own his feelings. Personally, I found this rather delightful, and it adds to the tension in the triad. Everard is very smart about seafaring, but when it comes to Feelings, he's DENSE, and it makes him all the more human.

This cluelessness adds a lot of humor to the book (there's a character introduced who is very obviously a lesbian at one point, and Everard spends like 80% of this novel trying not to be insanely jealous because he's so sure she slept with Vitaliy... babe...), but it's also the crux of his conflict with D'Arcy. While Vitaliy mystifies Everard—and it's so satisfying when he finally cracks and lets him in... in more ways than one—Everard frustrates D'Arcy. There's a rather funny, and also relatable scene in which they're on the brink of gettin' it in, and Everard says something dumb that makes D'Arcy go "WHAT IS EVEN THE POINT YOU STUPID DUMB IDIOT", and I really enjoy the drama.

While the romantic drama takes center stage, there's a lot of pirate stuff. This is a historical romance that's firmly rooted in the history of it all. E.M. Caro clearly did a lot of research, and I kind of loved being in a world that very much isn't ours. Never did I feel beaten over the head by the idea of Vitaliy being this Woke Pirate. His morality—shared by Everard and D'Arcy—feels both progressive and grounded in this niche moment in history. Look! You can do a pirate romance today without being absurdly problematic!

You get a good bit of action and adventure, and a lot of high stakes. I mean, Everard is missing fingers when this book begins. People get hurt. Near death incidents are had. Somehow, all this happens while everyone is trying to figure out their various relationship dynamics. I ended the book feeling so FOND of everyone. Like, awww, babes. I love y'all.

If I had to pick a favorite—and I doubt I'll be alone on this front—yeah... It's D'Arcy. The combination of being oh so slutty and oh so smitten really got me. He's hilarious, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and yet, perhaps, maybe, he's hiding a little something? He clashed perfectly with Everard's uptight nature, and watching him develop this camaraderie with Vitaly—and maybe more—over time was super satisfying. He's irresistibly bratty.

The Sex:

Oh, this is a HOT book. You get a good number of one-on-one encounters before we get to the triad stuff. The sexual dynamics between everyone feels very unique, and I really liked the acknowledgment that being a queer man doesn't mean you're down for *everything* one can do as a queer man. Everyone has their preferences, and everyone checks in with everyone. Consent was handled really well in this book, without feeling precious.

But damn. The scenes were well-written, still a little funny at points, and you got the difference between people who feel a little more like they're living on the edge (Vitaliy and Everard) and people with a deep familiarity with each other (D'Arcy and Everard), and maybe... a secret third thing? A secret third and fourth thing, depending on how you look at it?

And I gotta say... One of my favorite moments in the whole book is Everard seeing a very determined D'Arcy striding toward him right before a battle, literally going "Oh God" and having to explain to Vitaliy that he and D'Arcy have a tradition wherein Everard rails D'Arcy right before maritime skirmishes. DELIGHTFUL.

The Conclusion:

I would absolutely read another E.M. Caro book anytime, and this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in the historical romances of today. Very sexy. Very emotional. Nobody's perfect. The emotional and physical stakes are high. The payoff is great. Highly recommend!

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Image from Penguin Random House, summary from NetGalley*

A new graphic novel from Eisner award-winning graphic novelist Gengoroh Tagame, which asks: what if The Odd Couple were Japanese, living in the middle of COVID-19, and just might be . . . gay?

From Gengoroh Tagame, the brilliant mind behind My Brother’s Husband and Our Colors, comes Fish and Water, which follows the unlikely love story of two “straight” friends. Having met at a mutual friend’s wedding, Akira, a business sales administrator, and Koji, a freelance writer, quickly become close buddies. One day, during a visit with a farm client, Akira is offered a case of freshly picked cabbage. Since no one at his office wants it, and he is no cook, Akira decides to see if Koji (who loves to cook) might be interested. Koji accepts and invites Akira to join him. Lonely and in the midst of pandemic-related shutdowns, Akira welcomes the chance and one meal becomes many. Once they get past how to be COVID-cautious, they become quite relaxed with each other, creating an amusing but emotionally perplexing scenario. Eventually, Akira and Koji grapple with deciding if they are just friends, or something more.

Part exceptionally drawn character study, part contemporary comedy of manners, Fish and Water is a delightful love story for the modern era, considering how love and connection can find you in the strangest ways.

This manga gave me so many feels! It's such a comforting story and follows two friends, Akira and Koji, as they start meeting regularly to cook and eat together. As they bond, they're able to relax around each other and have deeper conversations, share in housework, have sleepovers, and even go on outings. Each shared experience and their growing closeness leads them to dating. I love cooking manga, so this was a perfect combo for me of good food, slow burn romance, and camraderie. While this manga isn't explicit like many BL I've read, there is nudity that lets you appreciate the characters' solid, hairy bodies. I also liked that the story is set during COVID and the characters share what their experiences have been like; they reflect on the state of the world, but they're also hopeful for better days. A wonderful manga -- I wish there were more volumes about Akira and Koji!

Pub date June 23, 2026

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy comedy, (mis)adventures, queer romance

Big thanks to Bramble, Netgalley, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'll admit, I read Swordheart last year and I liked it but didn't love it. There was a bit too much humor to plot ratio for my taste. That being said, T. Kingfisher is T. Kingfisher, so of course I requested the ARC for this when it got added to Netgalley. And I have to say, I like this one so much better than Swordheart.

This book is still humorous, most of T. Kingfisher's books have at least some humor in them, but the ratio is much better this time and imo is more situationally appropriate. Likewise, I think all our characters here are dealing with much heavier shit in life than Halla, Sarkis, and Zale, so there's a darker tinge to the humor as well, which I appreciate.

Edmund is finishing one last task before he leaves his religious order forever, disillusioned by their bigotry and his inability to change them from the inside out. As he's spent most of his life in service to a god of learning (?), he's quite the nerd and tends to spout off interesting facts. While I can definitely see how this could come across as annoying, Kingfisher manages to write it in a way that's actually interesting and enjoyable, and like the humor a lot of Edmund's facts were situationally appropriate, even if they weren't all plot appropriate. I actually really liked Edmund and how quietly intelligent he was. (Apparently he's from one of her other series? I'll have to check that out)

The Dervish is our second sword and an unapologetic flirt. He's also quite pissed about the whole trapped-in-a-sword thing and has quite the grudge against Sarkis, seeing him as the reason for his misfortune (along with the sorcerer, of course). Despite his misfortunes, the Dervish is actually quite charming and warm, and he's actually remarkably quick to make friends despite the stink he puts up internally about having more people to protect. I liked seeing the Dervish grow and start to overcome some of the trauma from his past.

As with Swordheart, the main romance in this book is between the sword and the weilder, otherwise known as between Edmund and the Dervish. They definitely dance around one another quite a bit, and both of them make blunders as they try to figure out their roles and feelings. The two of them end up being very sweet together.

Dog Violet is a gnole Edmund and the Dervish meet on their journey. She is, perhaps, one of the few people who has been having even worse luck than they are. Aside from Large Francis, who I'll get to in a minute. Like the rest of our cast, Dog Violet has had some rough experiences in life and has the outlook, and humor, to show for it. She's fairly practical and knowledgeable abotu things, and I enjoyed her and Dervish bonding and being street smart together.

Large Francis...oh boy. I love Large Francis, she's quite literally getting to know the world for the first time and has such hilarious reactions to things. Definitely gives the vibes of if an alien studied earth in a textbook and then tried to be a diplomat here. She and Edmund get along swimmingly, they can and do talk for hours about all kinds of academic subjects while Dervish and Dog Violet get up to their own things. I'm hoping we see more of her in Angharad's book!

✨🪸 My rating: 5 / 5 stars 🪸✨

CORPSE DE BALLET 🩰