It simultaneously feels like I’ve been on Bookstagram forever & also not long at all, but April 3rd is my 1 Year Bookstaversary! To celebrate that + my 28th birthday on April 9th, I’m hosting my first ever monthly photo challenge: #OneYearOfManicFemme!
In true Landice fashion, this announcement is happening way later than I’d planned, but I’m hoping that everyone will be able to participate in at least a few prompts.
Prompt List:
01. “Let’s go, lesbians!” | April TBR 02. World Autism Day: #RedStackforAutismAcceptance | Stack of red books 03. Landice’s 1 Year Bookstaversary | LGBTQ+ Books & Plants (real or fake) 04. SFF Sunday | Sci-fi & Fantasy Books 05. “We do bones, motherfucker!” | Books with necromancy 06. TBR Tuesday | Books that have been on your TBR for a long time 07. #WickWednesday | Bookish candles or candles & books 08. Ocean’s 8 | Badass Female Characters 09. Landice’s Birthday | Share a book you bought or read because she rec’d it! 10. #SapphicSaturday | Sapphic books 11. You Make Loving Fun: #SmutSunday | Steamy reads 12. Miranda Stillwater Monday | Compass Rose (or another book w/ pirates) 13. Villainesses Do It Better | Book with a female antagonist 14. Bookish Flatlay | Share a bookish photo shot directly from above 15. I Forgot That You Existed | Books you should feature more often than you do 16. (Urban) #FantasyFriday | Fantasy books with an urban/city setting 17. Sea & Stars Saturday | Sea & Stars trilogy (or another book w/ mermaids) 18. Put a bird on it | Book with bird(s) on the cover 19. Medusa Did Nothing Wrong Monday | Greek mythology books 20. These Feathered Flames Release Day | Retellings/reimaginings of any kind 21. Judge a book by its cover | Cover buy (or just a cover you love) 22. Don’t judge a book by its cover | Questionable cover, good book 23. “We are all stardust and stories.” | Books about books for World Book Day 24. Rainbow #StackSaturday | Bonus points for a rainbow stack of LGBTQ+ books 25. Magical MCs | Books with a magic user main character 26. Lesbian Visibility Day | Books with lesbian rep or by a lesbian author 27. Trope Tuesday: Fake Dating | Books that feature a fauxmance 28. 6 Star Reads | Books so good that they deserve more than 5 stars! 29. “I’m you, but stronger.” | Recreate an old photo 30. “That’s all.” | April #WrapUp
GIVEAWAY STUFF
I’m planning to host some flash giveaways throughout the month, so keep an eye on my Instagram stories for those. Additionally, I’m going to be entering everyone who posts a book they read or bought on my recommendation on my birthday into an extra giveaway with the prize & other details, like bonus entries, TBD. I know that isn’t ideal, but I want to get the prompts up sooner rather than later and figuring out giveaway stuff will take more time.
#RedStackforAutismAcceptance
World Autism Day is April 2nd, but all of April is Autism Acceptance Month. So I encourage everyone to post a #RedStackforAutismAcceptance at some point in April, even if you can’t participate on the 2nd!
I’ll be creating a separate post explaining the details/meaning behind the hashtag, but in the meantime you can find more info in my Instagram story highlight that’s called “Autistic.” The TL;DR version is that Autism Speaks (who heads up the “Light it up blue”/autism awareness initiative) is a hate group that promotes eugenics, and Actually Autistic people created #RedInstead for Autism ACCEPTANCE as an alternative. Also, no puzzle pieces please!
Anyway, I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting, so I might edit this post later, but in the meantime, you can like/save/share the post on Instagram and comment on that post with any questions ❤
Hello and welcome to Sapphic September! I decided to kick things off with my first ever Booktube video, in which I go over my very ambitious TBR for the readathon!
My TBR for the month (from top to bottom): • Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley⠀ • The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers⠀ • Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden⠀ • Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins⠀ • The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar⠀ • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell & Mariko Tamaki⠀ • The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth⠀ • The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett⠀ • The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska⠀ • Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron⠀ • The Music & The Mirror by Lola Keeley⠀ • Once & Future by Amy Rose Capette & Cory McCarthy⠀ • Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust⠀ • The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson⠀ Not pictured:Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, Iron Heart by Nina Varela ⠀
Also, check out these TBRs that include Sapphic September from some awesome bloggers and Booktubers Will update to include new links as needed 🥰)
Introducing #SapphicSeptember, a month long readathon & photo challenge celebrating sapphic representation in books!
The Sapphic September bingo card includes 16 reading prompts, but to keep things as fun and stress free as possible, I’m adding a bit of a twist – in addition to reading, you can also fulfill a bingo prompt by posting a photo of a sapphic book that fits it! Obviously, the aim of any readathon is to encourage participants to read more books, but 2020 has been an incredibly hectic and stressful year for many people. I’ve included this additional option in hopes it will allow more people to participate however much they want or are able to.
Additionally, I know ten days (can you believe August is almost over already?! I can’t) isn’t much notice to plan for a month-long readathon. With that in mind, I tried to keep the prompts broad and open ended, so that (hopefully) everyone will be able to fulfill at least some of the prompts with books they already have on hand!
Without further ado, the prompts:
To help those using screen reader technology: The bingo card is 4 x 4. I’ve listed the prompts below by row, from left to right.
Row 1: ✨ Myth or Fairytale Retelling ✨ Indie or Small Press Author ✨ Adult Book if you usually Read YA, and vice versa (YA if you usually read Adult) ✨ Backlist Title (Published in 2018 or earlier)
Row 2: ✨ Enemies or Rivals to Lovers ✨ Group Read: Iron Heart by Nina Varela (Out September 8th) ✨ Let a friend choose your read (or post a poll and let your followers choose!) ✨ Contemporary Romance
Row 3: ✨ Format you read the least (ie. audiobooks, ebooks, physical books, etc) ✨ New or New to You Author ✨ Has Been on Your TBR Too Long ✨ By a Sapphic Literary Icon (This is open to interpretation, and I would absolutely accept queer coded classics like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for this prompt!)
Row 4: ✨ Quick Reads: Novella or Graphic Novel ✨ Historical Fiction/Romance ✨ Opposites Attract ✨ Sci-fi/Fantasy (or other Speculative Fiction) with an F/F Romantic Subplot
A Note on Inclusivity: For the purposes of this readathon, sapphic is defined as: “An adjective for a female-aligned person who feels romantic or sexual attraction to female-aligned people. This applies to female-aligned people who are not only lesbians, but also bisexual, pansexual, etc.”
I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this, but I’ve been on the internet long enough to know that I do: Do not use this readathon as a vehicle to be a bigot or intolerant asshole. No TERFs allowed. Also, non-binary people and characters can be sapphic if they say they are and I will not tolerate any nonsense claiming otherwise.
Anyway, I might be forgetting some things, so don’t hesitate to contact me via Instagram or Twitter if you have any questions or need recommendations on sapphic books to fit the prompts! I’m super excited to be hosting this readathon, and I’d love it if you’d join us!
Where to begin with Gideon the Ninth? Perhaps with its tagline: “Lesbian Necromancers in Space.” If that’s not enough to hook you, I don’t know what is.
Gideon the Ninth was one of the most unique, fun, and imaginative tales I’ve read in a long time. I started with the ebook, proceeded to become engrossed to the point I could accomplish absolutely nothing besides reading it, then decided to spend an Audible credit on the audiobook so that I didn’t completely wreck my GPA and could instead listen to the novel while working on graphic design homework.
I don’t buy many audiobooks, but Gideon the Ninth, narrated by Moira Quirk, was hands down the best one I’ve ever listened to! Quirk gives an amazing performance and really makes Muir’s words come to life. I’ve seen other reviewers say that they found Gideon to be dense and confusing for the first bit, but I honestly feel like listening to the book instead of reading it outright helped me circumvent that issue. It’s a lot easier to avoid getting bogged down by the spelling and pronunciations of complicated, fantastical names when someone else pronounces them for you.
That aside, I loved Gideon the Ninth to absolute (bone fragment) pieces. This imaginative tale fused two of my favorite genres (fantasy & sci-fi, aka “science fantasy”), and checked all of my boxes – lesbians, necromancy, political intrigue, witty repartee, enemies to lovers subtext, and sword play! There wasn’t a single thing about this novel that I didn’t like.
Gideon was so deliciously wild and complex that I won’t kid myself into thinking that any plot summary I could write myself could possibly do the book justice, so here’s the official blurb:
“Gideon the Ninth is the most fun you’ll ever have with a skeleton.
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.
Of course, some things are better left dead.”
In closing: GO READ GIDEON THE NINTH!!! I don’t care who you are, or what sort of books you usually read – this is not one you want to miss. Though Gideon does include horror aspects, it isn’t particularly scary. Definitely creepy, but more fun than terrifying. This is important for me, as I’m generally not a fan of ‘scary’ books, because I’m kind of a giant weenie. So I would encourage my fellow weenies to give Gideon the Ninth a shot, because it’s seriously worth it.
If you’ve already read Gideon the Ninth and, like me, are chomping at the bit for Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #2) to come out later this year, Tor has your back! You can download the entire first act of Harrow the Ninth from their website, for free, here!
Genre: LGBT, Dark “Science Fantasy”, Action/Adventure
Themes/Tropes: Reluctant Hero, Enemies to Lovers (Subtext), Thawing the Ice Queen/Taming the Beast, Swords & Sorcery
LGBT Rep? Yes! The main character, Gideon, is a useless lesbian who essentially falls for every beautiful woman she comes into contact with.
Content Warnings (CW): Graphic violence & gore, Death (like lots of death, but that’s to be expected in a book about necromancers), multiple conversations about suicidality, in depth discussions of trauma & grief, a few instances of self-harm (as a means for necromancy rather than for its own sake, if that helps)
Hello friends! I had planned for my first ‘real’ blog post to be a regular review, but in light of recent events I’ve decided to change course. Since we’re all relegated to our homes for the foreseeable future, I’ve instead decided to do a round up of book recs for this period of social distancing. Because many people are also going to struggle financially through this crisis, I’ve also elected to focus primarily on low cost ebooks and those you read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription (or free trial), so you can read some awesome books over these next few weeks without breaking the bank!
Synopsis: “When faced with monstrosity, become the greater monster. The sting of victory will fade with time.”
Haunted by a history of horror and abuse, Flowridia, a witch with a tender heart, finds a second chance in the home of her kingdom’s royal family. With employment comes friendship, and perhaps she has finally found a place to belong—until she catches the eye of Lady Ayla Darkleaf, a woman with enticing grace and a predatory smile. The corrupt world of politics consumes her, and Flowridia falls into a toxic love affair surely doomed for heartbreak. Yet when Ayla’s legacy as a monster unfolds, Flowridia sees only the tender soul hiding beneath.
An ancient deity returns, hell-bent on restoring the world to its natural order, and Flowridia’s kingdom is tasked to stop him. Caught in the ensuing clash of gods, her loyalties will be tempted at every turn—by family, by fate, and by the woman whose claws grip her heart.
What I Like/Love About It: This is the rec that keeps on giving! There are currently three books from the Fallen Gods series available on KU, and the author has revealed that there are three more coming! Simper has created a complex, immersive world for the series and that’s not even touching on the well developed characters or the complicated, fucked up unhealthy relationship you can’t help but ship anyway. However, there’s a reason Simper added “A Dark Fantasy Lesbian Romance” subheading to the title – the novel and series do get pretty dark at times – but it’s absolutely worth reading if you can handle a little dysfunction.
Bonus: If you’d rather stick to happier books (or if you just love mermaids), you can pre-order Fate of Stars, the first book in Simper’s upcoming sapphic mermaid trilogy here! I was a beta reader for this one, so I can absolutely vouch for its quality. Can’t wait til May for sapphic mermaids? Check out Beneath the Dark Moon, a short story prequel to the series that I did the cover design for!
LGBT Rep? Yes, but not overtly. One of the main characters, Millie, is a closeted lesbian who is secretly in love with one of her fellow witches. It’s also worth noting that the author handles the topic of homophobia in the 20th century well.
Synopsis: Britain may have won the First World War, but the witches of ADAM lost.
Now an embarrassment, the Allied Directorate for Alternative Means is to be disbanded and its witches scattered, their lives overturned and shattered once again. Presented with a final chance to keep their budding coven together, it will take more than magic for them to succeed.
When Millie Brown’s best friend goes missing from the program, she must track her down and bring her home before she’s hunted down by a government that no longer wants anything to do with witchcraft. If that weren’t enough, if Millie fails, not only will ADAM be disbanded, but the beguiling witch Elise will be sent back to France. Fearing that as much as her own feelings for Elise, Millie will have to look within herself to find the truth of her magic and hold together that which is most important to her or lose it all.
And a young woman known only as November wakes up on Christmas morning in an empty grave with no memory of who she is or why she can do impossible things. With no memory of her past, she must struggle to find out just who she was and why it has come back to try to kill her. The sudden manifestation of a power she can’t understand and barely control makes it all the more urgent, for the sake of everyone around her as much as herself.
What I Like/Love About It:Remember, November is a unique, magical realism take on a bygone era (the late 1910’s, post-World War I) with great characters and a complex plotline laced with mysteries I really enjoyed unravelling. Darrow’s prose was a genuine pleasure to read, and I liked that the witches of ADAM aren’t overtly powerful from the get go – in fact, at the start of the book their sole talent is creating “witchlights” (tiny balls of light) out of thin air. I absolutely loved seeing the magic using protagonists learn and nurture their powers throughout the course of the book.
LGBT Rep? Yep! Kay (the main protagonist) is bisexual, and her love interest is a lesbian.
Content Warnings (CW): Some Biphobia
Synopsis:Go big or go home. For privateer Captain Magdalene Landon, it’s all about going big. For Kay Ellis, it’s about getting home. Together, they’re about to architect the most daring heist in the galaxy.
Kay knows too much. She knows it’s a matter of time before a Conglomerate hitman finds her. She’s desperate for safe passage back to Union space. Then Magdalene shows up, promising a way home in exchange for that information. It’s a risky bet, but Kay is out of options. So she strikes a deal: the heist of the century for her freedom.
Kay is playing a dangerous game, and she knows it. She’s made herself Enemy Number One of the Conglomerate. She’s relying on privateers for her safety. It’s a fool’s game. But the worst part is, her fool’s heart is starting to warm to the enigmatic captain. And that’s a risk for which she hadn’t planned.
What I Like/Love About It: Safe Passage is an entertaining science fiction lesfic novel with lots of action (including a heist!) and an enemies to lovers romance plotline. There is a little more angst than necessary in the latter half of the book, but the good really outweighs the bad here. Overall, Safe Passage is a fun story that works great for an afternoon of escapism!
LGBT Rep? Yep! Though Among the Hollow doesn’t really include any romance subplots, the main character, Sevila, is definitely not straight!
Content Warnings (CW): It’s honestly been so long since I’ve read this that I can’t recall any – sorry!
Synopsis: An empire steeped in cutthroat politics and black magic wavers upon the knife’s edge of civil war. The empress has been overthrown, and her only remaining heir taken into the custody of her killers, leaving the empire divided between the old imperial family and the zealous general who has seized the capital.
Meanwhile Aurel, a disemboded soul with no memory of their former self, must forge an uneasy pact with Sevila, a mysterious traveller from across the southern sands. In the hunt for Aurel’s body, strange alliances form and dark secrets emerge, threatening to plunge the empire into a crisis far greater than they could imagine.
What I Like/Love About It:Among the Hollow is unique in that it’s a high fantasy novel set in a world that couldn’t be further from your typical Euro-centric, Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy setting, which I love. Also, the primary magic system is necromancy! I am literally always here for necromancy. That aside, Ankenbrandt is an incredibly talented writer who will pull you in and not allow you to come up for air until you’ve consumed the entire story in one sitting, which makes this novel a very good choice for quarantine, especially if you’re looking for something to read that’s more plot than relationship centered!
As an added bonus, the author created this masterpost on Tumblr that links to all of the comics, illustrations, and other content they’ve created for the novel!
Themes/Tropes: Rich Girl/Poor Girl, May/December (technically, though age gap is small), Breaking the Glass Ceiling, Coming Out
LGBT Rep? Yes! Both of the romantic leads are WLW, with allusions to other sapphic characters/relationships.
Content Warnings (CW): None that I can think of!
Synopsis: As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.
Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.
While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?
What I Like/Love About It: I’m typically not a big fan of historical fiction or straight up romance novels. Celestial Mechanics is both, but I was really glad I decided to give it a chance anyway. This is a fairly quick and easy read if you’re in the mood for something light hearted and steamy.
My name is Landice Anderson. I’m a graphic designer and marketing student from Tyler, TX. I’ve created this blog to keep track of & review books I read and enjoy. The site is currently under construction. For now you can follow my reading adventures on Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram!
manic femme reviews 