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New LGBTQ Fiction for Pride Month: Triple Sec and Mirrored Heaven

5 Jun

Triple Sec
by TJ Alexander
Triple Sec is TJ Alexander’s latest stand alone romance novel. Mel is a bartender at an upscale NYC lounge, the site of many marriage proposals despite her own failed love life. When cute curvy Bebe flirts with her at the bar, Mel is interested, but then she meets Bebe’s spouse, Kade. Mel’s never dated someone in an open relationship before, but Bebe seems worth the try and she soon discovers the quiet and quirky artist Kade also might have some hidden romantic depths she’d like to explore. Like all of Alexander’s excellent queer romances, this story expands not only Mel’s dating horizons, but also has her thinking more about her future, in this case of her career and letting go a past romantic failure. Bebe and Kade are also well developed characters. Kade is nonbinary and though not given a specific diagnosis reads as neurodivergent; both of which are handled in a nuanced way. When a cocktail contest that could fund Mel’s dream of owning her own bar comes up it could be her chance to make all her fantasies come true. This might be my favorite of Alexander’s yet!

Mirrored Heavens
by Rebecca Roanhorse
Mirrored Heavens is the third in Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky Trilogy. The books draw from a variety of pre-Columbian American influences and feature a variety of LGBTQ representation with one of the main characters Xiala being bisexual and several other characters are non-binary. I had highly enjoyed the first two books Black Sun and Fevered Star. I would recommend reading the books in order to best understand the story. This book does move back and forth through time uncovering some more details about the past that help illuminate what has happened so far and better explain various characters motivations. What I love about Roanhorse’s work is that she has complex characters who have different goals of their own or pressure from those whom they represent to act in a certain way sometimes against their own best interest rather than generally having “good guys” and “bad guys.” Even good characters do not always make the best decisions. It also looks at the weight that is put on a person who has been raised to become a god or favored by their god in the cases of Serapio and Xiala whose elemental romance provides the beating heart of the story.

Our Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Club pick for June features a gender fluid love interest. Join us on Monday, June 24 at 6:00 PM in the small programming room at the Main Branch, when we will be discussing The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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A New Adventure Based on an Ancient Story: Strike the Zither

8 May

Fantasy can be ground for many great and original works, many of which go on to become well beloved classics. It can also be grounds for retellings of fairy tales, legends, and mythology of all sorts, leaving for a different sort of take on a classic story. Love them or hate them, they are a staple that will continue for times to come. 

In this retelling of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, author Joan He tells the story of Zephyr, an orphan who would grow up to become one of the greatest strategist in the kingdom, serving under warlordess Xin Rin, whose loyalty to the puppet empress is a double edged sword that could put their survival in danger. When forced to infiltrate an enemy camp, Zephyr meets the mysterious Crow, a strategist from a rival kingdom who is her intellectual match. The destined meeting forces both of them to realize that there are more enemies around them and not all of them are human. 

If you are a reader who is not familiar with the story of the Three Kingdoms, this is a great book to learn about it while seeing the author’s take on this classic tale. Joan He’s narrative style is quite enthralling, pulling the reader right at the height of a danger, letting us see first hand just how skilled Zephyr’s skills are in the art of strategy and into her personality. Zephyr is quite a fun character to read about, confident to the point of arrogance, but still quite endearing at the same time. 

The second of our main cast of characters is Crow and from the moment he and Zephyr meet, there is immediate tension between them on a multitude of levels. They clearly match each other in terms of intelligence and the sparks of something more between them is undeniable. In terms of personality, while Zephyr is arrogant to an almost boisterous degree, Crow is much more quiet and mysterious, but still just as intelligent, and arrogant, as Zephyr. Of those she has encountered, it is only Crow that Zephyr considers to be a true rival. The plot is very well paced and has a great set of twists and turns that will make readers want to reach for the sequel, Sound the Gong, out now. For readers seeking a new adventure, Strike the Zither, is one not to be missed!

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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