OH YEAH!! Fridays

Like the Kool-Aid man, my fluffy orange cat Budbear smashes through everything in his path. Also like the Kool-Aid man, he sometimes gets so excited he can’t help letting everyone know. Which is why he’s the host of this feature, highlighting the most fun and/or amazing stuff I’ve read recently. 

These are the books that delighted me. Sometimes they’re heavier, but mostly they’re straight-up romance (because what’s more fun than a guaranteed happily-ever-after). These books have shorter write-ups but stronger recommendations.

  • Cover of "That time i got drunk and saved a demon," featuring the title in purple font on the top, over a cloudy blue sky. The bottom is an illustration of a Black femme protagonist with short natural hair, being held in the arms of a pale horned masc. person
    That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
    In a nutshell, this book is pretty much nothing but pure joy. It had me from the start and kept me in a beautiful bearhug of a chokehold til its last pages.
  • Cover of "Drag Me Up," which is black with abstract playing cards and card symbols
    Drag Me Up by R. M. Virtues
    Wow. This fucking book. It might be erotica AND a Hades and Persephone retelling (2 things I never thought I’d recommend), but it’s the damn best erotica or Hades and Persephone retelling I’ve ever encountered. Hell, it’s one of the best books PERIOD I’ve read all year.
  • Cover of "Legends and Lattes," featuring a green femme orc (think she-Hulk) and a horned pink femme person in a medieval-style coffee house, holding a mug
    Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
    This book is basically pure serotonin, a novel that fully accomplishes what it says in the subtitle (“a novel of high fantasy and low stakes”).
  • Cover of "Didn't Stay in Vegas", which is yellow with white and red font and a white, brown-haired girl in the bottom half, staring out of the frame with a surprised, open-mouthed face
    Didn’t Stay in Vegas by Chelsea M. Cameron
    This sapphic romance is an utter delight!! It’s the perfect not-too-frothy, not-too-heavy romcom for Pride month!
  • Cover of "The Greatest Thing," with an illustration of 3 white teens (the 3 main characters) at the bottom, leaning against each other, with a purple backdrop and a star in the top left corner
    The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle
    This is a story about queer teens dealing with depression and eating disorders while holding on as tightly as they can to friendships and new love. The immense weight of these teens’ emotions is never diminished, and it seems to me (a very middle-aged lady) like this might be fabulous reading for a real YA audience (despite its “vintage” setting in 2002). 
  • Cover of "Where the Rhythm Takes You," with the title in white cursive font, outlined in blue, over an illustration of a Black girl with wavy mid-length dark hair, in 3/4 profile, facing the viewer and wearing a blue tank. The background is hot pink, with orange palm fronds all around her and blue birds flying overhead.
    Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass
    This is a gorgeous YA contemporary coming-of-age/romance that balances heavier topics with a lush, ultimately feel-good plot. Plus, it’s a reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion–what more could you want?!
  • Cover of "Another Kind" featuring the title in lime green font at the top, over an illustration of all the kids from the book (a reptilian kid, a Black masc. teen, a white-haired Yeti teen, a blonde girl at the center casting a spell or bubble, a brunette Selki with her pelt around her shoulders, and a much younger tentacle-haired girl) against the backdrop of a spooky mansion lit in purple and red. Around the side is a black tar or oil-like substance.
    Another Kind by Cait May and Trevor Bream
    This is an utterly delightful graphic novel, though I wish it were a series!!
  • Cover for "The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor," with the title at the top over a night sky. Most of the cover is an illustration of our heroine (a Black girl) in an orange 19th-century dress and an umbrella raised over her head, about to fight off a hoard of glowing-eyed rabbits. In the background is a white man in a black suit, and a mansion
    The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher Baldwin
    An incredibly fun graphic novel that blends gothic and early-19th-century romantic tropes with a contemporary satirical take on the multiverse and pocket dimensions.
  • Cover of "Thirteens," with the title in yellow font at the top, over an illustration of 3 kids (a Black masc kid and 2 white femme kids, all in jeans and sweaters) walking furtively past a large tree. In the background lurk a wolf on the left and a man in a hat on the right
    Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall
    This is the perfect not-too-scary-but-still-pretty-damn-scary book for spooky season.
  • Cover of 'Act Your Age, Eve Brown,' with part of the title and author Talia Hibbert's name in medium purple font, 'Eve Brown' in larger white font, all against a blue background with music notes and an illustration of a couple (a shorter, Black femme person with purple hair, jeans, white sneakers, and a green top) embracing a taller, white masculine person wearing a button-down blue shirt and dress pants
    Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
    As with pretty much all Talia Hibbert books I’ve read (including a lot of her indie titles), this book was a pure joy to read.