Wednesday, September 27, 2017

New and Notable - Trans* Reads

On the last Wednesday of every month we take a few moments to look ahead and admire some of the books coming to shelves. There is nothing quite like the joy of anticipation that comes from pre-ordering a book that speaks to your heart, and then having it arrive in your hot little hands. It is like a present to yourself, and there is just something a little more special about a book you have waited for.

So, without further ado, here are the New and Notable releases coming to shelves in October.


Refuse by Jennifer N Roush
Expected Publication Date: October 1st, 2017

Psyche: it used to mean the seat of intellect, but now refers only to a tiny asteroid housing the solar system's human garbage.

When Antoinette Foucault's dream of motherhood circles the drain, an emotional outburst is expected, but not a revolution. Her official "Deviation" permits her to express otherwise-illegal discontent, but no one could predict it would be her key to an organization of misfits with designs on overthrowing the government.

Can she save the innocent before warring revolutions destroy them all? Only if she can do more, be more, than REFUSE.

In this irreverent, sarcastic novel, the heroine Antoinette conspires with freaks against an alien-run government bent on making all humans healthy by suppressing the expression of negative emotions. But Antoinette is an average person, with bad feelings and snarky comments and a predilection for toilet or bedroom humor.

When the fate of the solar system is in her hands, she's on the jump, willing ot make love to as many lesbian alien octopuses as she must. With the help of her transgender doctor and her counsellor husband, she'll either take down the Colony or kill everyone trying. But will it be enough? Will it be on time?

Only if she can figure out exactly what she's rebelling against and be better than the human garbage her government takes her for, better than the average woman her society believes her to be, better than the hero revolutionaries expect.
I love the concept here. This sounds like such a fun read, with a wonderfully snarky protagonist, lesbian alien octopuses, and transgender doctors. Wow. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Seven Suspects by Renee James
Expected Publication Date: October 3rd, 2017

"You've most likely never met a narrator like Bobbi. Tough, tender, funny, full of heart―and a transgender woman." ―Jodi Picoult

Bobbi Logan is a successful businesswoman and a celebrated hairdresser. She is a witty, articulate woman who has survived rape, gender transition, a murder investigation, and countless acts of bullying and bigotry to get where she is—and she's made enemies along the way. Now one of them is stalking her. With each passing day, the threats become more brazen, more violent, and more personal. No one knows who here stalker is or why he's after her, but he's getting closer every day.

Bobbi is intimidated but she has vowed to never be the victim again. She accumulates a list of six suspects, and with courage and persistence, she hunts them down, one by one—stalking her possible stalkers. But as she confronts those men who may want to do her harm, the number seven keeps haunting her—there must be a seventh suspect.

And when she finds him, Bobbi’s world implodes.
Now that the second book in the The Bobbi Logan Series is out, I really need to get on with reading A Kind of Justice. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Castle Danger - The Mental States by Anthony Neil Smith
Expected Publication Date: October 10th, 2017

American crime - Nordic style!

"Hey, it's me again, Manny. Are you surprised? It's the dress, right? You'll get used to it. So, when we last met, I'd been fired, assaulted, chased by cops and criminals alike, and coerced into a political conspiracy.

This time, I'm working for the next governor of the state of Minnesota. Alongside Joel. Sort of. He's still adjusting to the new me. But corruption spreads like fire and somebody has to douse the flames ... Here's the thing. They say that knowledge is power. But nobody tells you that what you know can be the death of you."

The CASTLE DANGER saga continues in THE MENTAL STATES as Manny and Joel work together doing what they do best: getting into deep trouble.

State Senator Andrew Marquette looks like a shoo-in for the governorship - appealing to votes across the political spectrum - and he's brought Manny and Joel aboard to help steer the ship. But when one of Marquette's most trusted advisors goes missing, our heroes can't help but play detective once again, in spite of everyone around them trying to block their path. Is there more to this disappearance than meets the eye? It will take a harrowing journey around Minnesota's backwoods, the back alleys of the Twin Cities, and the mysterious "dark web" online, where some sick individuals pay a fortune to see their most depraved wishes come true.
I am just discovering The Duluth Files, two books in, but I am instantly intrigued and very excited. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The Stark Divide by J. Scott Coatsworth
Expected Publication Date: October 10th, 2017

Some stories are epic.

The Earth is in a state of collapse, with wars breaking out over resources and an environment pushed to the edge by human greed.

Three living generation ships have been built with a combination of genetic mastery, artificial intelligence, technology, and raw materials harvested from the asteroid belt. This is the story of one of them—43 Ariadne, or Forever, as her inhabitants call her—a living world that carries the remaining hopes of humanity, and the three generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers working to colonize her.

From her humble beginnings as a seedling saved from disaster to the start of her journey across the void of space toward a new home for the human race, The Stark Divide tells the tales of the world, the people who made her, and the few who will become something altogether beyond human.

Humankind has just taken its first step toward the stars.
I have gotten to know Scott a little bit through the Queer Sci Fi group, so I am naturally excited about this . . . and it does not hurt that an early reviewer talked about how refreshing it is to have a character that just happens to be trans. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Fishy Queen by Malachite Splinters
Expected Publication Date: October 30th, 2017

Machyl Mostroso Lyons is the fishiest queen in New York City.

This has to be the year Machyl's annual audition for the Vivesse drag beauty pageant is finally successful. He's got the look, and as a voguing champion, he's got talent, too. And anyway, he's been a Vivesse superfan since the age of ten.

But now Machyl's drag mother is making him train zero-talent baby drag Anthony Alcantara.

Machyl knows there's no point in trying to train Anthony, who's nothing more than an absurdly pretty face. Machyl has other things to worry about, like the fact that his ex-military boyfriend Angel has just left him for a former brother-in-arms.

Machyl knows that sweet, beautiful Anthony will never amount to anything in the world of drag. It's impossible that Anthony could ever be competition for Machyl, let alone stand a chance at getting into the Vivesse pageant.

At least, that's what Machyl keeps telling himself...
I still need to read the first Drag Queen Beauty Pageant book, which came out in August, but this sounds like such a fun series. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Mick & Michelle by Nina Rossing
Expected Publication Date: October 31st, 2017

Fifteen-year-old Mick Mullins has a great life: his parents are sweet, his sister is tolerable, and his friendships are solid. But as summer descends on Queens, he prepares to turn his carefree existence upside down by disclosing a secret he has kept long enough. It’s time to work up the courage to reveal that he is not a boy, but a girl—and that her name is Michelle. Having always been the perfect, good boy, Michelle is terrified that the complicated truth will disappoint, hurt, or push away the people closest to her. She can’t continue hiding for much longer, though, because her body is turning into that of a man’s, and she is desperate to stop the development—desperate enough to consider self-medicating with hormones.

Most of all, Michelle fears that Grandpa, who is in a nursing home after a near fatal stroke, won’t survive the shock if he finds out that his favorite grandchild, and the only boy, is a girl. If she kills her beloved Grandpa by leaving Mick behind, she isn’t sure embracing her real identity will be worth the loss.
Every time I see a new YA novel come out with a transgender protagonist, it makes my heart soar. I only wish there had been stories like this when I was young. - Sally
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥


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