The 2016 Rainbow Awards are In!

This year's Rainbow Award Winners have been announced, but before we get to that, let's take a gander at the list of Honorable Mentions - books that received a rating of 36 or more out of 40 from at least one reader. Trans* titles on that list include:

• Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (YA, MTF)
• Grind by E. Davies (Contemporary Romance, FTM)
• Artifact of Foex by James L. Wolf (Sci-fi, Genderfluid)
• Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings (Biography, MTF)
• Paralian: Not Just Transgender by Liam Klenk (Biography, FTM)
• Spy Stuff by Matthew J. Metzger (YA, FTM)
• What It Looks Like by Matthew J. Metzger (Contemporary Romance, FTM)
• The Complete Horse Mistress Collection by R.A. Steffan (Fantasy Romance, FTM)
• The Gift of Gravity by Sage C. Holloway (Contemporary Romance, FTM)
• Transformed: San Francisco by Suzanne Falter & Jack Harvey (Thriller, FTM)
• Perihelion by Tami Veldura (Sci-fi, FTM)
• Roller Girl by Vanessa North (Contemporary Romance, MTF)
• The Servant Duchess Of Whitcomb by Vicktor Alexander (Alternative Universe/Reality, Genderfluid)

And the Rainbow Award for Best Transgender Book goes to . . . Lily and Dunkin, while the Rainbow Award for Best Transgender Romance goes to . . . What It Looks Like! Although neither one I read this year, other judges called Lily and Dunkin well written, entertaining, thought provoking, and challenging, with a complex realistic plot, while they called What It Looks Like genuine, with believable dialogue and characters.

I did have the pleasure of reading The Complete Horse Mistress Collection for the awards, so I am very pleased to see it as a first runner-up for Best Transgender Romance. I thought it was a marvelous read, distinguished by some absolutely lovely characters and a unique relationship. It is an utterly captivating heroic fantasy story on its own, with some real drama and tension in the plotting, populated by bisexual lovers, eunuchs, and a gender-swapped heroine.

Similarly, The Servant Duchess Of Whitcomb was probably my favorite book in the list, so I am delighted to see it as first runner-up for Best LGBT Alternative Universe/Reality. It works as a gay romance, a transgender romance, and an mpreg romance - all at the same time. I can see the potential challenge for new readers, but I loved deciphering and keeping track of the genders and roles. Compared to a contemporary romance the plot is a bit slow, but it fits the Regency style very well, and I (for one) enjoyed the leisurely pace.

Sadly, my other favorite read didn't make runner-up, so I am just going to have to draw your attention to it myself. Transformed: San Francisco was an intriguing novel that was both funny and disturbing, thrilling and romantic. It's origins are rather dark, but the characters serve to bring some light (and even some romance) into it. It is a funny thriller with a lot of heart - and I have the second book, Transformed: Paris, cued up for a read/review this month.

Congrats to all, and here's to an even bigger and better 2017!