SELECTED REVIEWS

The Four Profound Weaves by R. B. Lemberg

"Thoughtful and deeply moving, The Four Profound Weaves is the anti-authoritarian, queer-mystical fairy tale we need right now."

– Annalee Newitz, author of Autonomous and The Future of Another Timeline

No Man's Land by A.J. Fitzwater

"A.J. Fitzwater has created a beautiful tale about creating community and finding love in the face of war and oppression. These characters will stay with me for a long time."

– Charlie Jane Anders

Succulents and Spells by Andi C. Buchanan

"I thought this was a great light-hearted take on the genre – and the New Zealand setting shines, making it very different from another dark magical London or New York. ...this is a fairly slice-of-life-y book, which is something I love.... If you're in the mood for a bit of escapism, this is going to be perfect for you. It's an utterly adorable read, as fluffy as one of the monsters in it"

– A Cat, A Book, And A Cup Of Tea

City of a Thousand Feelings by Anya Johanna DeNiro

"Surreal and lyrical, if opaque, this profound fantasy from DeNiro (Tyrannia) explores the struggle for acceptance. An unnamed trans woman narrator meets the fellow trans woman to whom the book is addressed, whose name changes over the course of the novel from Melody to Mystery to Mercy, when they both join a ragtag army of exiled women intent on storming the city that excluded them. The army falls and 15 years of loneliness pass before the two women reunite. Together they decide to sneak back into the city to steal the city's blueprints and use them to build a new, inclusive home of their own. While the setting is successfully atmospheric, readers learn little about the characters. DeNiro's imagistic style leads to moments of beauty in lines such as 'My heart is a flock of swallows blown out of a barn by a gale,' but can also make it difficult to parse whether fantastical elements are meant to be read metaphorically. While some readers will struggle for a foothold in this strange, cerebral story, others will be gratified by the poetic writing and powerful themes of belonging."

– Publishers Weekly

Mother of Souls by Heather Rose Jones

"[Mother of Souls] is a quiet book, not a flashy one. And Jones is ambitious in the kind of quiet stories she's choosing to tell: it is an unusual choice in a fantasy novel to have the politics and sorcery, although an integral part of the story, come second (not co-equal with, but very definitely second) to character growth and development. Mother of Souls is an interesting novel, and a compelling one."

– Liz Bourke, Tor.com

Blood Moon by Catherine Lundoff

"An intriguing premise about menopausal women and (super)natural change, mixed with a touch of romance and mystery, make for a fun and grounded story. Definitely pair this book with its predecessor, Silver Moon, to understand the characters' back stories."

– Library Journal

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff

"Menopausal lesbian werewolves? Seriously? You bet. Nothing serves to re-energize a tired genre than a swift kick up the ass, which is what two-time Goldie winner Catherine Lundoff delivers to lycanthropes in Silver Moon, a nifty page turner that empowers as well as entertains."

– Out in Print: Queer Book Reviews

Glitter + Ashes by Dave Ring

"This well-edited anthology is remarkably tonally cohesive, united by a fresh view of the apocalypse and themes of community, mutual care, and self-actualization in the face of adversity. Readers both queer and otherwise will find much to love in this joyful celebration of difference and the power of choosing tenderness in a tough world."

– Publishers Weekly

Queens of Noise by Leigh Harlen

"A queercore dirtbag ballad with sharp teeth and a soft heart."

– Nino Cipri, author of Finna and Defekt

Stone and Steel by Eboni Dunbar

"Stone and Steel is a sharp and sexy story of love, loyalty and magic. Eboni has given us a world where Black Queerness reigns supreme, and our world is better for it."

– Danny Lore, co-author of Queen of Bad Dreams

Dropnauts by J. Scott Coatsworth

"The thing I always know I'm going to enjoy with any Scott Coatsworth novel is the worldbuilding because (i) it is my JAM and (ii) Scott is very good at it. Dropnauts is no exception. This is a well-realised, fully-fleshed world he has created here, of a destroyed Earth, thought unpopulated, and the attempt to reclaim and recolonise it from the Lunar colonies that are humanity's last home... a good read with a really smashing finish."

– Anna Butler, Author

Skythane by J. Scott Coatsworth

"I loved the way the way every little thing has been carefully crafted and molded into a truly believable, fantastical, terrifying world, full of conflict but at the same time, alien and beautiful. Add in divided loyalties, a burgeoning romance and peril from sinister pursuers, and you have science fiction in its purest sense. I loved it."

– Jayne Lockwood, WROTE

Stories to Sing in the Dark by Matthew Bright

"A wildly entertaining set of yarns that combine thrills with soulful reflection. A dazzling collection of literary fantasy with never a dull moment."

– Kirkus - Starred Review

Burning Bright by Melissa Scott

"Intricate plotting and interesting characterization… an intelligent, engaging, and memorable book."

– Publishers Weekly

Highfeil Grimoires by Langley Hyde

"A gripping homage to sensation fiction, this is a thrilling and deftly written debut that seamlessly mixes romance and adventure; easily among the most enjoyable steampunk novels I've read."

– Amal El-Mohtar, NPR