Tag Archives: Rebecca Roanhorse

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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It’s Complicated: Fantasy Novellas with Complex Relationships

16 Nov


Often with fantasy fiction and movies there is the “good” guy and the “bad” guy, but in two fantasy novellas I enjoyed recently, Tread of Angels and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, things are more complicated than that as are the relationships depicted between the characters.

Tread of Angels
by Rebecca Roanhorse
I had written previously about Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky series so was curious when I was offered an ARC copy of Tread of Angels from the publisher. This story takes place in an entirely different setting from her previous works, in an Old West where the descendants of Angels and Demons reside. For a short work, it brings up a lot of complex issues about race, family, friendship, romantic relationships and what makes someone “good” or “evil.” Celeste, the main protagonist, can pass in appearance for one of the Elect, though she is of mixed descent and also part Fallen. When her sister is accused of murder she must try to find the truth, forcing her to seek the help of her former demon love for whom she still has feelings. The conclusion surprised me but felt satisfying to the story that was being told, which to me is always the signs of a talented storyteller.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth
by Cassandra Khaw
Nothing But Blackened Teeth was suggested by one of our Science Fiction and Fantasy book club members for our Halloween read this year, when we pick things that veer into the horror genre. It is set in an old Japanese mansion where a group of childhood friends go for a wedding, where the ghost stories they tell awaken the yokai, Japanese spirits, living there including the Ohaguro Bettari, a faceless bride whose only feature is her black teeth, a style that was popular with wealthy women in the Edo period to show they were married. This isn’t your typical haunted house story and like with Tread of Angels, I and the other book discussion group members were surprised by the ending. Again it is another work that will have you question who the “evil” ones really are. While some of the group members would have preferred the story be a bit longer, we had a interesting discussion about toxic friendships. I enjoyed the lush language throughout, which managed to bring beauty to the horror.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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