“For the girl who needed this book ages ago, and couldn't find it."

Hello my dears, and welcome back to Fantasy Friday (FF). Summer is on the horizon, it is Pride month and today, I want to talk about superheroes.

Now, whenever we think about superheroes, most tend to gravitate towards the MCU and its expansive universe, focusing on the stories that might, strength, and perseverance to do what is right. Other narratives detail that downfalls of absolute power, and how they can be seen as a cautionary tale for those that don't follow the popular mantra of "with great power , comes great responsibility". But one thing that can get lost within focusing on the pinnacle of power and prestige that superheroes present, is that they also represent not belonging or being "othered" in a society.

We meet Taylor, a young boy who, on paper, has an amazing life. Good grades, plays basketball, and everything is perfect.

Everything is perfect.

Except, it isn't. Taylor is not just a normal teenage boy, but is actually the Galaxy Crowned. An princess from the planet Cyandil who was sent to Earth for her protection and hidden in a body that feels foreign to her but acceptable to others. A normal teenage boy and this is when the allegory takes it's true shape, weaving queerness and transness into the narrative and deeping it, in my opinion.

If we peel back the layers of every superhero, we meet a character that is seen as an alien or on the outskirts of "normal" society. This takes the everyday pressures that come with adolescence/growing up, and pairing that with a body that does not perform in the ways that most would deem acceptable. Countless times, Superman is an example of the greatest superhero, a symbol of hope and justice and the all American ideals that we like to believe this nation uphold. But before all of the grandeur, Superman was and still is seen as an alien. He was an awkward teen who had to stumble his way through life, having to prove himself as both Clark and Superman, and also battling the biases.

Now, I compare the two because Taylor (or Taelyr in her home planet) makes the comparison, using Superman and his alieness as a soft launch of her own, position the question to her friend while she is still wearing the a "mask" of a teenage boy. Then only thing that makes this difficult is that Taylor, who does not see herself as a boy, used the poster-boy for masculine energy and wondered why it did not work for her. While their beginnings may be similar, escaping turmoil and making their way on Earth, they couldn't be more different in how the world perceives them. Superman is palatable because he is cisgendered, white, and aligns with what society deems appropriate behaviors for men. This similar to the experience that some trans and nonbinary youth go through, lacking in representations and sometimes allowing the world to dictate who they can be because they are afraid to push the mold.

This is what Taylor represents and goes through. The same praise and accolades that Superman gets only created a further divide into who Taylor wants to be and what is expected of her, causing isolation even if the world see her as this accomplished and model "boy". It is only by happenstance, shifting accidentally into her true form while in the presence of her new friend Kathrine, where she gets to find the strength to be more like herself and allow the world to see Taylor as she truly is and carve out a space just for her.

I think that fact that Taylor is a girl and Clark Kent/Superman is a boy also plays in the factor as to how society treats them. Often what happens whenever the cisgendered individuals come commune with trans individuals, transmen/masc often face less discrimination than transwomen/femme do. Now intersectionality does play a factor as to how further the divide gets, but the inherent message that is ingrained systematically is that being a woman is seen as lesser and, by proxy, "choosing" to be a woman is crazy. Who would want to chose this life, represent themselves in their truth by becoming a woman? A creature that is often seen as weaker, more emotional, strange, and considerably dangerous. This is portrayed as to how Taylor's community rejects her as an alien and embraces Superman, because at the end of the day, he is still a white cisgendered man and that is palatable to the masses.

In today’s climate, it’s integral to have representation in media so that queer and trans people can feel seen, heard, accepted and celebrated. This story brings together beautiful artwork and a compelling narrative that mirrors the journey that some may face in finding where they belong and accepting who they truly are even if society deems them an “alien”.

We will be doing a giveaway of a signed & personalised copy of THE WOLF DEN by Elodie Harper. To enter:

• Comment down below what you would like personalised

Winner to be announced during the book club chat on Sunday 8pm BST (where a special guest will be joining)

A very happy Friday to my favorite detectives (unless you count fictional sheep, in which case, Mopple is my number one). I finished some fun books this week and started two more, including the sequel to one of my favorite reads of 2025 (eek!!).

I also got lots of book mail this week, so take a peek at the list to see if any of these new and upcoming books catch your eye.

This week’s reads:

• Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (finished): I finished this the night before seeing the movie and was not surprised to find that the mysteries were completely different. The book was slower, with darker, adult themes, while the movie prioritized cuteness. I enjoyed both for different reasons. Watch my short review of both on your platform of choice: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

• It Happened One Murder by Liz Lawson (finished): What a fun and breezy mystery-romance! Two amateur sleuths reluctantly team up to solve a murder in their New Jersey beach town. This is cute and cozy and, dare I say, a great beach read. See next Tuesday’s Cluesletter for an interview with Liz.

• The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (currently reading): A YA mystery in the vein of Knives Out! This has all the juicy inheritance drama you could ask for and I’m looking forward to the twists I know are coming. The audio is great so far but I also got a physical copy and it is gorgeous.

• Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (currently reading): The second book featuring nun-turned-sleuth Nora Breen in a secretive seaside town. I’m loving the eerie death of a spirit medium and my god do I continue to adore Jess Kidd’s writing.

This week’s book mail:

• Self-Help for Serial Killers by Asia Mackay (out June 16): Work-life balance takes on a new meaning for Hazel and Fox, two killers who accidentally start a feud in suburbia, where they live with their two children.

• Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith (out July 14): A horror-themed birthday party turns deadly. I’m not a huge horror fan (read: lifelong scaredy pants) but when have I refused a closed circle mystery? I feel like I’ll really vibe with this.

• The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies by Kate Westbury (out September 1): Sometimes I just have a good feeling about a book. This is one of those times. Post-WWII mystery with an enticing duo of spies . . . immediate yes.

• The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore (out September 22): A quirky and cute tale of saving the world while finding yourself.

• Lies Between Us by Jessica Goodman (out now): A summery YA murder mystery. My copy came with this adorable “Beach Reads” tote bag that will be coming with me to the beach this summer!

• Backstabbers by Eliza Jabore (out now): A slasher thriller following three friends who get lost in the same woods once haunted by a serial killer.

• Death Times Seven by Anne Perry and Victoria Zackheim (out now): The final novel of the late Anne Perry’s beloved Daniel Pitt series.

• The Only One Who Knows by Lisa M. Matlin (out now): A gothic coastal noir following a disgraced TV news reporter who returns to her hometown to investigate a series of deadly shark attacks.

• The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White (out now): The daughter of a vampire hunter vows to hunt down the violent killer who murdered him. A gothic fantasy-horror with a side of sapphic romance.

Thank you to: Minotaur Books, Bantam Books (Stories & Suspects box), Miranda Smith, and Penguin Teen/Out of Print for these gifted books. ♥️

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

OK listen, I can't keep up with this every week Tuesday releases shit, I missed all of May and I just realized it. I'm doing my best dahling, this is a hobby and nobody pays book influencers. And I don’t think you understand how long it takes to format these damn things with all the book pics, because I did it and copied it in here and lost it all, and that your attention span is already almost gone without a picture to distract your brain. I'm working on a really interesting article about the death of booktok, and I don’t want to suck more time away from that. You should watch out for it. (Hint hint)

So I'm going to do a big slog into every month instead, tell you what's coming, give you a chance to get those preorders in and SUPPORT THOSE AUTHORS! So what's coming out this month? Well NOT Alecto the Ninth, my lamentatious lyctoral league.

By genre:

SPACE OPERA

Recursion: Germinal Book 2 by Aric McBay (AK Press, indie) - June 9 – A pacifist society on a tiny green planet is invaded by Colonizers. I’ve had book 1 sitting on my shelf, because I cannot pass up fiction by AK Press, and I definitely need to pick up book 1 this week. It would be greeeeeeat if I could put down my phone and read a book. It’s summer and the kids need wifi free time too, so I guess I’ll be figuring out how to set up parental controls on the router this week, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

The Forgetting Navigations by Marlee Jane Ward (Interstellar Flight Press, indie) - June 9 – Our main character has eMoTiOnAl dAmAgE from being abandoned in a lifepod in space. A freight hauler rescues her and they bond over tea. Then the past comes a knocking, as it does in stories. This may be more of a litfic in space thing, but it’s honestly hard to tell without reading. I feel like Space Opera implies more action, but subgenres are not a science, so you will have to judge a book by it’s description.

The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press) - June 2 – In a bioship capable of reacting to a crew’s every need, a nine year old cultist with a brain enhancement investigates a planet infected with a plague. The crew also includes an assassin, an engineer who has been jigsawwed together with surgeries, an addict medic, and a “nonmodded” captain who doesn’t like the nine year old, this has all the makings of a found family space opera.

POST-APOCALYPTIC

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth (Graywolf, and Indie Press) - June 9 – Kind of a romance between a woman raised in a pod in the ocean and a woman who may or may not be a robot. But also earth is now a charcoal briquette and everyone has gone to Mars except a handful of holdouts trying to construct a molecular collection of Earth stuff for people to eventually repopulate. And what the hell is a soul globule? You’ll have to read Earth 7 to find out. 

The Withers by Lee Upton (Regal House Publishing) - June 23 – I mean kinda dystopian but also kind of a thriller, this is a post epidemic book where scars from the disease are called withers. A woman is living with the surgeon who saved her and his preggo wife, in a world where organ traffickers roam the streets. They have to fight to protect the woman and her fetus, and they’re calling this a “Grimm’s fairytale” like story.

SPECULATIVE / LITERARY SCI-FI

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim (Macmillan/Tor) - June 2 – Imagine you immigrate to a new country. But the rule is, you get cloned, and only the clone gets to go and you have to stay. You’re cut in two, and you can keep in touch with your other self or not. The MC of this book does not, until she’s called back to Korea for a funeral. She doesn’t know that her original self plans to switch places with her. Obviously, this is a deep dive into the psychological effects of immigration. Do you love the Doppelgängers trope?

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Macmillan/Tor) - June 2 – Genetically engineered animals do the work while humans relax in the sun. A racoon is hired to track down a very important mouse. Why is the mouse important? It has something everyone wants. A familiar story if told about humans, but I’m interested to see it told from animals perspective. I’ve never read an Adrian Tchaikovsky book, any of my scifi besties want to give me some opinions on whether I should?

Our Sister's Keeper by Jasmine Holmes (Bindery/Mareas Books, indie) - June 9 – In a fantasy retelling of a 1920’s era all-Black free town, women known as “carriers” pull traumatic memories from men so that the town is populated with men free of their pain, while the remnants of the past haunt the women. In a world where we expect Black Women to save us all, this book is an exploration of what it’s like to live with that expectation.

Voyagers by Meg Charlton (HarperCollins) - June 16 – a signal arrives from the edge of the solar system in a first contact story. While everyone on earth loses their collective shit, Alex’s old wounds are opened, because two decades ago, she and her friend Ana were abducted at age six. After which followed a media frenzy no child should endure, especially not after some trauma like that. Ana went on to be an advocate for the abducted while Alex tried to move on and forget. But now they are drawn back together in a story about friendship, family, and truth.

A City Dreaming by Maurice Broaddus, Book 3 in the Astra Black series (Macmillan/Tor) - June 30 – This series follows a young political leader, a woman in an elite military unit, and a captain of a starship, who are all part of the Muungano empire, a coalition of city states that stretches from Old Earth to Titan, in their quest to form an empire free of endless wars and oppression. This Afrofuturist spec fic series deserves a lot more press than it gets. Come on Tor, do better in your promotion!!!

The Moon Papers by Emmalea Russo (Arcade Publishing, Skyhorse) - June 30 – A controversial arts collective is going to launch a second moon from the Mojave Desert into Earth’s atmosphere in a project they are calling Moon 2. I am deeply concerned, but the book is coined as raucous, psychedelic, and humorous, which I am translating as publisher speak for, they think it’s funny as shit. But the description isn’t, so someone isn’t doing marketing properly. IDK, I need a preview to see if it’s any good.

The Young Die Old by Nguyễn Bình Phương with Khải Q. Nguyễn (translator) (Major Books, indie) - June 30 – This may be more of a fantasy, but in my searches for sci-fi it keeps popping up so the author must have filed it this way somewhere. Two feuding families fight for control of a buried treasure, but there reality blurs with hallucination, as spirits, doppelgängers, and collective guilt haunt the living. A society grapples with the aftershocks of war, repression, and silence, with a generation of children who age prematurely under the weight of unspoken histories. You won't find this one on Amazon, and hells yeah, fuck Bezos! You can find it here.

TIME TRAVEL

The Traveler by Joseph Eckert (Macmillan/Tor) - June 2 – at 7:51am, Scott Treder slips forward through time 24 hours. And every day, he slips again, losing double the amount of time each time slip. And while everyone ages normally, he doesn’t. His son ages beyond him. Years pass by in his marriage. It’s giving Click with Adam Sandler. I wonder how different it will be. Yall, this cover sucks. Nobody is going to buy this book based on this cover, what are you doing Tor???

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein (Penguin Random House/Ballantine) - June 23 – An out of work actress takes a job as a time travel tour guide at a company called Retro, taking wealthy tourists on vacations to historical hot spots. She loves it, thrilling in the romance of an office crush and a 1937 private eye pursuing her. But slowly she notices some strange things happening to her memory and her relationships outside of Retro, and escaping into the past was never really an escape at all. I am wildly interested to see if this speaks to the escapism we justify with Netflix and doom scrolling and romance reading in the present.

ROMANCE

Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne (Macmillan/Bramble) - June 30 – from the author of A Pirate’s Life for Tea comes this cozy sci-fi romance about a starship captain  who purchases a ship covered in Moss with an organic computer inside with a snarky attitude who loathes it’s builder because the immortal alien abandoned it. NGL, snarky AI’s in ships used to be my jam, but the way I’ve been feeling about real AI may change my enjoyment of them.

Plastic, Prism, Void by Violet Allen (LittlePuss Press, indie) – May 19 (shut your mouth, I missed this one and it deserves attention. It's pride month and this cover deserves praise alone, and that's before I've touched the book! Sue me. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.) Trans enemies to lovers in which a magical girl-gone-bad and a renegade mech pilot must find a way to stay on a date forever...even if it means destroying the world.

THRILLER

The Other by Annie Neugebauer (Shortwave Publishing, indie) - June 9 – this is a Book 2 Outsiders Sequence, which is a novella series. I’ve never read a novella series but I think I could get into that! Ten people head out on a backpacking trip, but the first night eleven set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra? That’s the premise of the first book. This one is about a couple on an outdoor retreat who meet their doppelgangers.

Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer (Macmillan/Tordotcom) - June 2 – An out of work OBGYN who has gotten publicly crucified for offering abortion care is kidnapped by a cult to help birth their babies. And she gets kidnapped on page friggin 10. If you’ve been in a slump this one’s for you, I read it in a single sitting, and I have 3 kids at home for the summer while I’m trying to run a business. I generally don’t DO that. Crazy, seat of your pants, worth a read.

Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay (HarperCollins/Morrow) - June 2 – So this semi professional gamer gets a nepotism job piloting a man in a vegetative state across the country, Weekend at Bernie’s style. He has an AI implant in his head and she can control his body using a cell phone. But he’s not dead. He’s living this grotesque hellscape where he doesn’t remember who he is or why there’s a rabbit tattoo on his arm. Their stories intertwine and they end up fugitives. Noooo, I didn’t give the plot twist away – it was right there in the book description!

ANTHOLOGY

Ring Shout on Saturn by Sheree Renée Thomas (Third Man Books, indie) - June 9 – Afrofuturist short stories that range from a prophet building a starship (very Noah’s Arc) to alien sisters navigating human complexities. And that cover? That’s an AMAZING cover and I’m here for it. This is actually book2 of the three book The Root and Sky series, but they're all short stories so there's no reason you can't go ahead and preorder this one, read it, then get the rest!

And an honorable mention to Lovecraft: Selected Stories, one of the Chiltern Classics being released on June 9. If you want to know more about my obsession with this set, read this. Or don't. Sometimes I'm convinced I'm living in a silo and nobody is reading any of this anyway. Either way, it's good practice writing, no?

See you next week. Because I'm still writing blogs, they just won't all be book lists of upcoming stuff. I need creative time as well as research time to feed my soul AND brain! (But not AI. Never that.)

— Zee

If you liked this and want more of whatever THIS is (unhinged book analysis, barely contained rage at the state of the world, and occasional Tamsyn Muir references and em dashes that I will never apologize for) consider subscribing for $5/month. Every cent goes to people who actually need it, because I have a day job and a cause, not a brand deal. This is my middle finger to Big 5 publishing, dressed up as a book blog. Come hold it up with me.

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​Updated June 5, 2026

Chiltern releases approximately 8 of these at a time once or twice per year - you can even buy journals to match. They are very sturdy and hold up well to reading and have gilted gold and silver edges. This is the perfect collection for someone who wants a readable set of classics. Here you go my doves:

​2026 July 21

Edgar Allan Poe: The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Stories

Villette by Charlotte Brontë

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens

Lady Chatterley's Lover by David Herbert Lawrence

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

Lovecraft: Selected Stories by HP Lovecraft

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

The Kybalion by William Walker Atkinson

2026 February 17

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne 9781914602764

2025 October 28

The Trial by Franz Kafka 9781914602719

2025 October 7

The Odyssey by Homer 9781914602726

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 9781914602757

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 9781914602733

A collection of verse by Jalal al-Din Rumi 9781914602696

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu 9781914602749

2025 August 19

Heidi by Joanna Spyri 9781914602597

2025 June 17

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 9781914602535

2024 December 24

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 9781914602580

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 978191462627

Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 9781914602559

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson 9781914602566

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe 9781914602542

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales 9781914602528

King Lear by William Shakespeare 9781914602603

Macbeth by William Shakespeare 9781914602610

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain 9781914602573

2024 December 10

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 9781914602634

2024 October 1

Grimm's Fairy Tales 9781914602443

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 9781914602511

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell 9781914602504

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 9781914602474

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 9781914602467

The Arabian Nights 9781914602481

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 9781914602450

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne 9781914602498

2024 January 30 (Postponed from November 21, 2023)

Call Of The Wild by Jack London 9781914602252

Hard Times by Charles Dickens 9781914602245

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 9781914602214

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux 9781914602221

The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne 9781914602238

The Time Machine by H.G Wells 9781914602276

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James 9781914602269

​

2023 July 11 (postponed from May 30)

Cranford by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell 9781914602115

Hamlet by William Shakespeare 9781914602146

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 9781914602153

The Iliad by Homer 9781914602108

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 9781914602139

The Moonstone by William Wilkie Collins 9781914602177

Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie 9781914602191

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie 9781914602184

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 9781914602207

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran 9781914602122

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2022 Aug 22

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 9781914602054

Animal Farm by George Orwell 9781914602061

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 9781914602016

Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott 9781914602009

Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie 9781914602078

The Romantic Poets by Various Keats etc. 9781914602047

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 9781914602030

Silas Marner by George Eliot 9781914602023

​

2021

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell 978-1912714988 (this was part of the 2021 release but was not released until Dec 27, 2022)

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy 978-1912714957

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 978-1912714926

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 978-1912714971

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 978-1912714940

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare 978-1912714919

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 978-1912714964

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë 978-1912714933

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2020

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 978-1912714735

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 978-1912714704

Dracula by Bram Stoker 978-1912714674

The Hound of Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle 978-1912714681

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 978-1912714728

Moby Dick by Herman Melvile 978-1912714698

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WIlde 978-1912714742

Tess of D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy 978-1912714711

​

2019

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 978-1912714339

Emma by Jane Austen 978-1912714261

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 978-1912714322

The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Exupéry 978-1912714308

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 978-1912714292

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 978-1912714285

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 978-1912714278

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 978-1912714315

​

2018

The Art of War by Sun Tzu 978-1912714056

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 978-1912714001

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 978-1912714063

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 978-1912714018

Persuasion by Jane Austen 978-1912714025

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 978-1912714032

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 978-1912714049

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 978-1912714070

Let’s talk about the books we all read in May!

Our fantasy pick was The Bone Ships by RJ Barker. I just finished this a couple of days ago and I unfortunately gave this one 2⭐️. I had a really hard time getting through this book. The beginning was extremely slow and it didn’t have a clear direction and story line until like 150pages into the book. The rest of the book was very slow moving until the very last like 10%. I can see the potential in this series and can understand why a lot of people love it, but personally the writing style and the pacing is not working for me so I will be DNFing the series ☹️

And speaking of DNFing… I did have to DNF our thriller pick, The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. I listened to this on audio and for the first two hours I was so extremely bored and kept zoning out so I decided to start over and try again. I then listened all the way to 80% and just couldn’t do it anymore. I was so extremely bored it felt like a waste of time by that point. I was very disappointed because the silent patient by this author is one of my favorite thrillers of all time. So I am so sorry to those of you who read this for Mays bookclub!

Recently Read: Started and finished Of Mice and Men the other day. This was my second reading of the book and WOW 🤯 can Steinbeck ever craft characters and an unforgettable story in under 120 pages with unique characters and voices.

Trigger warning - Hated the creature scenes. That stuff is never easy to read, but it had to happen for the story to fully develop and play out.

Have you read Of Mice and Men? Did you know that it is a frequently banned or challenged book?

Also....Damn Looney Tunes for representing George & Lennie in the most unforgettable way. If you know you know!

Now that May is over, I wanted to reflect on the month and all of the exciting things I did. Because I accomplished a lot, I’m kinda gagged.

First and most importantly, I turned 29 in May! I can’t believe I’ll be 30 next year and I can’t wait to have an existential crisis about that at a later date. I had an amazing time celebrating with my friends and family. I’m not one to care about my birthday, but this was a good one that I’ll remember fondly.

One of the things I did for my birthday was spend the day in NYC with friends. I had three goals for this day: go to the MET to see the costuming exhibit, see Chess the Musical, and eat at Din Tai Fung. I’m happy to report that I completed all of my goals! Slay. The costuming exhibit was amazing. The theme for this year was “Costume Art,” where they paired an article of clothing with a piece of art. A lot of the clothing provided commentary on abortion and female choice, and I thought the entire exhibit was rather profound and powerful. If you haven’t seen the exhibit, I suggest that you do before they take it down!

I’ve been wanting to see Chess the Musical since Lea Michele was cast because I’m a huge Glee stan. You bet I was front row when she was Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Kirk was right when he said, “she may be difficult, but boy, can she sing.” Man, did this show not disappoint. All three leads are incredible in their respective roles, and the show is SO funny. I laughed several times, you’re supposed to I promise. Also, I can confirm that Nicholas Christopher is incredible, and the note he holds is just as iconic as it seems on TikTok. I’m so devastated that Chess is closing on Broadway earlier than expected. If you haven’t seen this show, I highly recommend it. You won’t be disappointed!

Finally, to wrap up this perfect day, I ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Din Tai Fung. This might be a basic take, but I don’t care—the food SLAPS. My favorite food items to order are the spicy wontons and shrimp fried rice. I could eat bowls and bowls of both. Did I have to eat Din Tai Fung at 10:30 a.m. because that’s the only time I could get a reservation? Yes, and what about it? We love eating Din Tai Fung at 10 a.m. in this house!

At the beginning of the month, I got to attend an event for Fonda Lee to celebrate the release of her newest book, The Last Contract of Isako! I have a review of this book on TikTok, Insta, and Goodreads if you’d like to check it out, but long story short, I loved it! Fonda Lee is such an icon and such an intelligent person. I could hear her talk for hours on end. I was able to get my ARC and other books signed, and overall, it was an amazing evening!

I was also lucky enough to attend a ThrillerFest party hosted by Cosmo Reads and Sourcebooks! This was also how I learned that there is a book festival called ThrillerFest that is hosted every year in NYC. I can’t say that I read a lot of thrillers myself, but I’m definitely more intrigued by the genre now, especially with the books that I took home because they all sound like a slay. I shall come back and update you on how these books are in the fall.

As many of you know, I was able to attend a Heated Rivalry event hosted by Spotify. I’ve already written a blog post about this experience, but to sum it up, it was amazing and one of the best events I’ve ever attended!

I saw The Mandalorian and Grogu this month, and I don’t care what people say—this movie slapped. I gave it 4.5/5 stars, and I stand by that rating. It was a great way to wrap up the series and these characters’ arcs. I cried in the theater, and I’m unapologetic about that. Because it was my birthday month, I got a free popcorn and drink, so overall, it was a great movie-watching experience. 10/10 would recommend.

Some other things of note: I won the Ticketmaster war and secured concert tickets to see Gracie Abrams next March! I lost the war for her last tour, and I’m so happy that I’ll get to see her live. The Secret of Us was one of my favorite albums of 2024 and I can’t believe I’m going to hear Close to You with my literal ears. I’m going to pass out.

I also bought tickets to see Evita starring Rachel Zegler! One thing about me is that I love “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” and another thing is that I’m a major Rachel Zegler stan. I saw her during her Broadway debut in Romeo + Juliet, and I’m so excited to see her in her next Broadway adventure! Fun fact: I’m seeing both Evita and Gracie within three days of each other, so that’s going to be a VERY busy week for me.

That was my May summed up! I didn’t realize how booked and busy I was, and honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I had a wonderful May, and I’m so excited to see where life takes me as we enter June.

I'm excited to discuss a new book with you all: An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole. This book is in one of my all-time favorite sub-genres: dark academia. I'm a big nerd and I love to read out school (especially in my own free time when I have no such deadlines or stress on myself).

Here is my schedule for discussion:

• June 5: Part I, Chapter 1-9 (p.1-96)

• June 12: Part I, Chapter 10-18 (p. 97-182)

• June 19: Part II (p. 184-296)

• June 26: Part III (p. 296+)

So, now on to my thoughts on the first section.

I'm so glad that the section (that I had sectioned out on length) ends with the scene in the bookstore, because that scene is the one I best remember from my first read back in January. While we get a hint of the unknown creepiness that lurks in the tattoo in the mirror scene, it was when the backwards E pops back up that I knew we were in for a fun secret.

As this is my 2nd read, I am definitely reading with new eyes (but no spoilers from me for later sections!). On my first read, I remember having some issues with this section that do get cleared up satisfactorily later. So if you're on the fence, I'd recommend keep going.

A couple of themes that stood out to me:

Classism/privilege

While both classism and racism are prominent in this book, I do think it's helpful to address them separately. The classism discussion specifically seems to be around privilege: and how when we have privilege, we are often ignorant to the advantage we have.

Ellory sees this a lot in her classmates who assume she has the same background as them, and when they discover otherwise, see the difference as a burden (scholarship students? ewww).

Racism/tokenism

It is not shocking to any of us that Ellory would encounter racism at such an institution. But there were two specific instances that occur in this first section of the book that I think highlight a nuanced approach and can be particularly enlightening, especially to us white folk.

First, Ellory is absolutely tokenized at the institution. She is also seen first as Black and put into box with racist assumptions. They ask if her parents died of gun violence. They ask her about BLM as if its her movement (while also making clear that they're supportive only for appearance's sake).

I also think we see the all-too common assumption at the dinner party that an accusation of racism is worse than racism. Why do we white people focus on defending ourselves against the accusations instead of considering our words and actions? I surmise it's because we can only be accused of racism and not harmed by it, that we focus on the former.

Curious your thoughts on any of this, or anything else that stood out!

Hi friends! It’s time to begin populating our monthly newsletter with all the cozy, creative joy. This month’s theme is: Things Worth Lingering Over.

I love the thought of lingering, just taking your time and letting the moment really settle in. Lingering has this sense of presence, of appreciation, and I think that's worth prioritizing especially as we enter the summer season.

With that in mind, if you’d like to add something to our newsletter this month, here’s a list of what I’d love to include photos, a piece of writing, book recs, recipes, art, anything that sparks your imagination and suits the prompt. Here are some examples:

• A place you stayed longer than planned

• A book/series you never wanted to end

• A beautiful view or cozy corner

• A slow morning or chill summer evening

• A simple summer recipe you savor

Ready to submit? CLICK HERE to send in your photo, piece of writing, book rec, drawing, etc. by June 26th and I’ll do my best to include it.

I can’t wait to see what you submit!
Meg

Happy Friday, friends! I'm back with this week's edition of Friday Faves. Make sure to join my Discord server and share your own weekly faves with everyone there!

My favorite book I read this week was Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba. I read this for the "Aspec Rep" square on my Pride Reading Bingo board, and it totally blew me away.

This is a YA novel about Sasha, a teen girl whose music goes mega viral on TikTok and makes her an international star. Everyone is trying to figure out who the love songs are about, but Sasha is actually aroace and the songs are all about her favorite characters in TV, books, etc.

This book so beautifully covers the many nuances of aromantic and asexual identities. This is woven in with the bright spotlights of viral fame, being a woman, coming out (or not), and navigating changing friendships through it all.

I really loved how Sasha pushed hard against the idea that friend love can't be as meaningful and important as romantic love. The book lets her make some mistakes around that belief as well, which I liked. Everyone in this book makes mistakes, learns, and has complex conversations about it all.

It is vanishingly rare to get portrayals of queerplatonic relationships in novels, let alone traditionally published ones. I'm so glad that Peñalba included a plotline exploring the possibilities of QPRs, along with a few other types of nontraditional relationships among the secondary characters.

On top of alll that, the characters are racially diverse as well, adding yet another layer to the complexity of coming out. Layers on layers on layers!

I really hope to see more from L.V. Peñalba in the future. This book has such a unique voice, telling a story that is practically absent from YA literature.

My non-bookish fave this week is that I got to go to a The Big Cake Exchange event. Basically, 300+ people all bring a cake, and then you get to go around and take home slices of as many as you can get your hands on. It was joyful chaos, and I had so much fun seeing and tasting everyone's work.

✨ 3/5

What is Helena's story in The Iliad?

Shadows of Sparta is a fantasy romance retelling of The Iliad by C.R. Jane, but this time the focus is on Helena.

While reading, I realized that Helena was the trigger or rather the excuse used by the kings to wage this massive war, conquer Troy, and massage their egos. Yet nowhere is it clearly established whether she was kidnapped, ran away willingly, or was under some kind of spell. Homer says she ran away, but Homer has never been particularly good at representing women in his stories. Anyway, not to digress, Helena's story is not widely known.

C.R. Jane takes her character and weaves an interesting tale filled with magic, power, betrayal, love, and passion. I especially liked how Helena's beauty is used as a weapon or even how lust itself becomes a weapon. Menelaus is also a well-written character; as you read the book, you begin to hope for his death.

That said, this is the first book in a trilogy, which is why it feels more like an introduction than a complete story. Many elements remain unexplained, which I assume will be revealed in future books. Achilles also feels promising as a character, but it's still early. Not much about him has been revealed yet. I also didn't fully understand the Achilles-Helena arc in the book. Helena says that "he sees her," but nothing substantial has happened between them for him to make that claim.

To be honest, I loved Paris more. ;)

I think Book 2 will be a more exciting read. Secrets will be revealed, and there will be more action. I also hope to see Helena become a more powerful FMC rather than remain as helpless as she seems in Book 1.

Thank you so much @podiumentertainment for this copy.

Author - @crjaneauthor

#bookreview #bookrecommendation #booktok #shadowsofsparta

"You're doing it again," Doug says ...
"Doing what?" (Jett)
"(Looking at her) Like she's at the end of every road you drive down. Your center point."

GENRE: Romance
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC
Tropes: Boss x Employee, Set in Australia, only one tent, forced proximity, PR relationship, ADHD and Dyslexia rep

Overall Impression: If Nicole Cubba writes it, I will read it and read it in less than 24 hours as well! I fell in LOVE with the story in Deep in Love and this second book in the series, Wild in Love was no exception to this 🥺

Review:

So Wild in Love follows the journey of both Jett and Sofía and OH MY GOD? I love them so much! Jett is very much an easy going person that we saw in book one and we get to learn so much more about him. His love for what he does carries through his POVs and that starts to translate for how he views Sofía as well. And oh my heart, watching them (well reading) fall in love together?

Jett is definitely what I would call kind of a golden retriever MMC? He is so gentle with everyone but he is ESPECIALLY gentle with Sofía, realising that she needs time to recover from what happened in her past and he helps her through it all emotionally. I loved how we got to see his journey with ADHD and dyslexia. As someone with ADHD, it was relatable read, especially watching Jett question his worth after being told he isn't worth it because he followed a different path in life.

And Sofía is our typical eldest sibling who took on the whole world and carries it all on her shoulders while not taking care of herself. Her POV is vulnerable, getting down to the root of it all while showing us that she is trying to maintain control of her life and manage it all for everyone too.

You can literally see their journey and how they come together. Sofía helps Jett see his worth and that he is perfect just the way he is, no matter what he did because he paved his own way in life. At the same time, Jett offers Sofía a space to be vulnerable and herself.

I genuinely love when we get to see relationships like this, ones that allow space for healing and falling in love at the same time and I cannot wait to read more from Nicole Cubba (and hopefully in this series🥹)

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

May's Sad Rich Girl Salon dove into taste--

I could honestly do 10+ Salons on taste. People had so much to say and the convos were fascinating. The central question I posed was: Who gets to claim good taste? Who is excluded from having it (even when they adopt all the "right" signals and symbols)?

The reading/media below was not required by any means, but I was pleasantly surprised by how many people dipped into it (2 people told me they watched The Square which is one of the best disturbing/uncomfortable movies about elitist art/culture professionals).

Suggested Reading & Media

• Tasteslop by Emily Segal

• Little Nolitas Everywhere in The Cut

• Tech Bros Have Just Discovered Taste (reel)

• "I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America" in The Atlantic

• When Harry Met Sally wagon wheel coffee table scene

• American Dad! Season 10, Episode 2 “A Boy Named Michael” (on Hulu or Amazon Prime)

• Xavier’s Substack (he’s harsh & very funny. a lot of what he says is just saying the ugly parts of status/power out loud, which is uncomfortable to some people)

• T Magazine “How to be Cultured” (I hate this soooo much)

• “Bitches with taste” reddit

• Ruben Östlund's The Square (2017)

• Bourdieu’s 500 page tome Distinction (if you want to join my book club and read this with us, tell me but you have to take it seriously)

• David Brooks' Bobos in Paradise

• Chris Lehmann's Rich People Things

• Martha Stewart interview (full length, 1 min clipping on taste)

Discussion questions:

• Who was the first person that you thought had ‘good taste’?

• Can taste be faked?

• What are the typical metrics of good taste?

• What are the less-obvious, subtle signals of “good taste” that are used to gatekeep?

• What is taste really a euphemism for?

• Does taste look diff for women/men?

• What’s wrong with “learning” taste (if anything)?

• “Taste can’t be divorced from class, except when _________[fill in the blank]”

• What is it “pretentious” vs “tasteful”?

• Who in your life would you go to for recs about taste? (it could be yourself lol)

• Has "having taste" become more or less accessible?

We made a pact to walk 3 miles every day in June. So far so good! Watson gets about 1.3 miles with me in the morning. It’s an early start, but worth it to see the breaking dawn and woodland creatures (deer and rabbits mostly)

Not sure what he will do when it rains. 😂

I was going to start the Elmore Leonard books today, but opted for a Friday start instead.

I hope you are having a great day!

June is Audiobook Appreciation Month, and to celebrate, Libro.fm is hosting a global audiobook walk on June 13! Listening to an audiobook is my favorite way to read, and I want to know...what's your favorite audiobook?

My goal is to make a list of favorites from the Bindery community to share before the walk! I would be so grateful if you took a second to comment below with your favorite audiobook (bonus points if it's a rec for Pride Month!). 🥰

Wherever you are, I hope you also join me for the Audiobook Walk on the 13th! 🥳

Happy Audiobook Appreciation Month, and Happy Pride Month!

P.S. Please let me know if you'd like me to include your name and/or social handle with your recommendation. 🫶