A couple months ago I asked my friend Caitlyn if I could borrow a flower crown for a cottage core themed birthday party. She lent me not just the flower crown but also two Abby Jimenez books. I mostly use audiobooks for nonfiction but drew the library lottery and was able to hybrid read between the physical books and audiobooks from the library. It also meant I was able to enjoy the spring midwestern weather when it cooperated.
Part of Your World – My first of Jimenez’s books. I have a deep fondness for small town romances (my favorite from last year was If It Make You Happy) and Jimenez did not disappoint. Much like the other book it gave me big Stars Hollow vibes. The whole town felt very magical, the side characters are dynamic, and I didn’t want to leave. The character’s problems kept me tense even knowing everything would work out. Four stars.
Say You’ll Remember Me – What a great first encounter between main characters. My wife loooves escape rooms and our first escape room together was in Minneapolis, Minnesota which meant the escape room scene immediately won me over. I also have a family member with dementia so those scenes hit pretty hard too. The main characters were wonderfully balanced by the other characters and growing menagerie of pets. I loved how the audio narration worked – with the different narrators cutting into each other’s narration when their respective character was speaking. Five stars.
Just for the Summer – I love the premise that starts this book. I’m a sucker for a fanfic written in social media posts or in group chats, so starting with a reddit thread was right up my alley. I love the running theme of animal characters in these books. Brad is an excellent additional to the universe. A lot of what I liked about this one are spoilers that tie into other books in the series, so suffice it to say they’re lots for fans of other books by Jimenez.
Now I can return Caitlyn’s books (check out her bookstagram) and decide which of Abby’s books to read next. After I balance things out with more books for the Trans Readathon Challenge. Happy reading!
Set Point by Meg Jones is now the second tennis based LGBT+ romance I’ve read. The first being Thirty Love by Tom Vellner, which was one of the first books I read this year and rated four stars. Like Thirty Love Jone’s Set Point is a rival to lovers story, the hottest trope right now in sports romances. In terms of the trope I found Set Point to be an effective rivals to lovers and liked how those roles ebbed and flowed depending on the competition.
This was another time I failed to notice that a book was later installment in a series. However I found it easy to jump into the deep end, or onto the court, of this series. The main characters from the previous books are in the book I imagine enough to please fans of the series but not so much that I couldn’t keep up. I am looking forward to going back and reading the earlier installments and awaiting the next installment.
Audiobooks are my favorite format for taking in nonfiction and I was not let down by the audiobook for A Terrible Intimacy: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South by Melvin Patrick Ely. I was provided both the ebook text and audiobook by the publisher for review and I hybrid read between the two. That said the majority of my reading was with the audiobook.
The book is formatted into following six different legal cases that demonstrate the dynamics between races in the slaveholding South. The author wanted the books to feel as if the reader and author were “walking through together.” I think this format was successful in creating that feeling. The author explains that this is a different approach than previous books and despite this I find myself wanting to read those previous books based on my experience reading this one.
The author gives the reader a window into the research process by including details about the archives, sticky volumes, and antiquated terms which he breaks down for the reader. Tips on conducting research made me, as a reader, feel like I was part of the process. Perhaps its the time I spent in special collections as an undergrad but I could practically smell the archives the author waded through.
Now I haven’t reread the original Pride and Prejudice since high school so I can not speak to whether the book is an authentic remix. That said I have rewatched the 2005 film many, many times so I have the general beats and characterizations down pat. I listened to the audiobook and Harrison Knights does wonderful character work. I cackled when I first heard Mr. Collins’ voice.
The scene with Mr. Bennet had me in goosebumps. Mr. Bennet has long been one of my favorite characters in the 2005 film, so it was lovely to see his positive reaction and wholehearted support of Oliver. Historicals with queer characters sometimes have me tense until its clear how the character will be received by their loved ones and this book gave Oliver several supportive characters almost right off the bat. This set me at ease and allowed me to relax more into the book and have fun.
I was glad to find this book worth the wait. Happy Reading!
For Audiobooks I read The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green on my commute to Indianapolis, Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates, Anderson in Bloom by Jennifer Dugan, Masha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by @tourmaliiine, and Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H 📚
I chose Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H to fulfill the “book recommended by a friend/bookseller/librarian” category of the Trans Rights Readathon. It is the second book I have read for the 2026 Trans Rights Readathon. I’ve been saving the memoir for this purpose since hearing about it in a video by Alex on Pucks and Paperbacks.
I love memoirs so this one was an easy sell to me. I appreciated how the memoir weaves between childhood and adulthood and between the memoirist life and the life of figures in the Quran. As with most memoirs I read I chose to listen to the audiobook of Hijab Butch Blues. It is a well preformed audiobook and was legible at the various speeds I listened to it at (1x to 1.5x).
The memoirist ventures into queerness are tender and vulnerable. The various family of birth and found family members round out a cast of dynamic personalities. To meet my goal for the March period of the readathon I need to finish one more book.
Thanks to Alex for an excellent recommendation! Happy reading everyone!
Kind: A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens by Hannah Leigh promises that “nothing bad happens.” It delivers. That is not to say there are not stakes in the novel. Both main characters undergo tremendous character growth and face difficult, complicated choices that they help each other navigate.
The main characters, Drew and Ellis, aren’t quite opposites but do approach life in very different ways. I appreciated the ways they complimented each other and encourage each other’s growth. The book is often humorous and spicy. Recommended for a cozy day’s read.
My first read in the Trans Rights Readathon is Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline. It fulfilled the category of “a book by or featuring trans elders, or a trans history book.” I highly recommend the audiobook which you can find at the Queer Liberation Library or another library near you! Remember you can read books by and about trans folks year around 🏳️⚧️💖🏳️🌈
When given the opportunity to check out the audiobook for Jennifer Dugan’s Anderson in Bloom, I jumped on the chance. I have previously written about my take on the book itself here, so I will focus on the production, quality, and my enjoyment of the audiobook in this review.
I found the narrator did an excellent job conveying the emotions and nuances of each character. The audio quality is great and good at various different speeds (I tried 1x, 1.25x, and 1.5x). I found my enjoyment of the book increased with this relisten to the book. I recommend this book in print, audio, or ereader format for lovers of Sapphic romance, celebrity memoirs, and second-chance romances.
The trans rights readathon is coming up from March 17-31, though the reading challenge on Storygraph goes through the end of the year. Below is what I’m hoping to read by the end of the year. My goal is to read three of the picks by the end of the readathon itself.
Official StoryGraph Challenge Prompts
1. Transmasc and Trans Man Representation: An author and/or main character who identifies as a trans man or on the masculine side of the trans experience, which can include people who view their gender along the expansive nonbinary spectrum.
Extra Challenge: This year, we encourage readers to read a transmasc book by a BIPOC author.]
Harry’s Pick:Most Ardently by Gabe Cle Novoa. This one has been on my tbr since it came out. While my physical copy is currently with a friend, I found the audiobook at my library.
2. Transfemme and Trans Woman Representation: An author and/or main character who identifies as a trans woman or on the feminine side of the trans experience, which can include people who view their gender along the expansive nonbinary spectrum.
Extra Challenge: This year, we encourage readers to read a transfemme book with multiple trans characters for this prompt.
Harry’s Pick:Woodworking by Emily St. James was one of my five star reads last year and I decided to make it a reread for the readathon though I’ll be trying it in audiobook format this time around.
3. Nonbinary, Agender, Genderqueer, and Other Gender Expansive Representation: A work by an author and/or featuring a main character who exists outside of the gender binary. This includes nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, genderfluid, and other gender expansive identities. For some people, this may mean identifying as both masculine and feminine; for others, it means being neither masculine nor feminine; and in some cases, this means identifying as a midpoint (or multiple shifting midpoints) between masc and femme.
Extra Challenge: This year, we encourage readers to read a gender expansive rep book with diverse body representation for this prompt.
Harry’s Pick: How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva just came out in 2026 and I have an advanced reader copy that’s burning a hole in my ereader. I’m hoping I enjoy it and can get a physical copy from my local romance bookstore HEA Book Boutique who had it on display last I checked.
4. Intersectional Trans+ Representation Outside Your Own Experience: A work by an author and/or featuring a main character who falls under the greater trans umbrella, including trans men, trans women, nonbinary, and other gender expansive identities, and who ALSO holds another intersectional identity, such having a different racial or cultural background than your own, or a disability you have not personally experienced.
5. 2Spirit, Indiqueer, and Indigenous Gender Expansive Representation: A work by an author and/or featuring a main character who holds a gender identity or cultural role outside of the gender binary, and which exists outside of Western definitions of transness and/or queerness. Please note that these identities and terms are specific to the culture in which they originate. Examples include two-spirit identities in Native and First Nations cultures, hijra in South Asia, waria in Indonesia, and other indigenous identities that predate Western colonization. For this prompt, we do not require the author or character to self-identify as trans, but we DO require that the author be writing from their own cultural experience (in other words, no white authors telling 2S stories, etc.). Please be mindful of the language you use for each of these books as these identities and concepts do not always map one-to-one with Western LGBTQIA+ labels, and existed long before Westernized ideas of gender and sexuality.
Harry’s Pick:Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Ever since finishing The Death of Vivek Oji (also by Emezi) I have been wanting to read another book by the author. I love the cover and it’s what grabbed me over other options by the author.
6. Trans Joy, Love, and/or Resistance: The annual International Trans Day of Visibility is a day to celebrate trans joy, love, and resistance. Please use this prompt to read a work celebrating trans life.
7. Trans Youth and/or Imagining Trans Futures: A work featuring Trans youth or imagining trans futures. This can be speculative fiction or sci-fi, a Young Adult/Middle Grade/Children’s book, or any work celebrating trans youth and/or the building of a better world for trans people.
Harry’s Pick:Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H is yet another book I intend to take in in audiobook format. I started it once but ran out of minutes before I finished listening so am going to start again.
I hope you consider joining the readathon! Happy reading!
Hedgehog Harry 