Six of Crows is a high fantasy novel set in the fictional city of Ketterdam. Focused on the not so bright parts of the city, this novel follows six teenagers, each with their own dark past. Together, they have to do the impossible: break into the unbreakable prison in a country that wants most of them dead. 

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Kaz Brekker, dirty hands, the Bastard of the Barrel, is a thief and the honorary leader of The Dregs, a gang in Ketterdam. With black gloves covering his hands and a past he won’t speak a word of, Kaz remains a mystery, even to those closest to him.

 

Inej Ghafa, the Wraith. One of the most skilled acrobats in the world, there is nothing that she cannot climb, all without making a sound. Inej is paying of her indenture that Kaz has for her after removing her from the Menagerie, a hellish place meant to utilize children stolen from other lands and forced to work for their almost unachievable release. Her trauma from this runs deep and she struggles with her religion being at odds with the actions she must take to survive.

Jesper Fahey is a sharpshooter with a dangerous addiction. There is not a shot that he cannot make, trick shot or otherwise. Jesper came to Ketterman to attend university, being a brilliant student, but his own impulsivity and inability to walk away from a bet lead to him becoming part of the Dregs.

Nina Zenik, the Grisha. Grisha are people born with special abilities, some with the ability to control the elements, some with the ability to control materials, and some with the ability to control parts of the body. She is a heartrender, a Grisha with the ability to manipulate the heart and blood flow. Running from her own past that brought her to Ketterdam, this heist forces her to face that past head on.

Matthias Helvar, the Prisoner. Drüskelle are witch hunters from the country of Fjerda. They hunt down Grisha, believing them to be abnormalities that do not deserve to live (not at all ethically wrong, clearly). Matthias has spent the last year in a Ketterdam prison after being forced there by a betrayal he never saw coming. Now, he is being broken out in return for betraying his country that he believes to be perfect.

Wylan, who has a last name that I am not disclosing because I don’t want to. His past remains a secret from all those around him (except not as much as he thinks because Kaz is not someone who respects others privacy when it could put his “not his family” gang at risk). Eventually, his past comes back to bite him and he is forced to face it to save his newly formed family.

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Built off the back of Bardugo’s previous trilogy, the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Six of Crows immerses the reader in a world of high stakes heists, life-threatening exchanges, and general bad-assery, all from the safety of their pile of blankets they’re cocooned in on their bed.

I have a serious obsession with this book. I own four copies of the first book, and three of the second one. (I honestly wish I could say that this was the most copies I have of a single book, but it isn’t). I also pulled an all-nighter to watch the Netflix show when it first came out (3 am is a great time to have a show come out, Netflix) and screamed/cried so hard I fell of the sofa and hit my head on the table. So, if you too want to become obsessed with 6 fictional teenagers, you should read this book.

The Darkness Between Us

by Eliot Schrefer

YA Romance/Sci-Fi

The Darkness Between Us follows two boys who are trapped in space. Alone. 

In the year 2472, Ambrose and Kodiak, each a representative of the last two remaining countries on Earth, are sent on a joint rescue mission to Titan.

When Ambrose wakes up in the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of launch, something is already off about the mission. As the mission continues, more suspicious things start happening. 

The two boys start getting closer to each other and to the truth.

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This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I could not put it down and read it within one day. Schrefer created such a unique story with twists and turns I could not see coming, all while weaving a beautiful romance between the two men. If you are ever looking for a roller coaster read, this is the book for you. Creating a book with only 2 characters is not easy to do, but Schrefer does it wonderfully. This book touches on far more than just romance, but also human impact, industrialization, and scientific ethics.

“Intimacy is the only shield against insanity. Intimacy, not knowledge. Intimacy, not power.”

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Last Night at the Telegraph Club

by Malinda Lo

YA Historical Romance

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a historical romance set in 1954 Chinatown. Lily Hu begins questioning her sexuality, struggling against the time’s view on lesbians. Then she meets Kathleen Miller and is introduced to The Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar nearby. 

As time goes on, the two girls grow closer, forming a beautiful relationship that they are forced to keep hidden from everyone around. They begin frequenting the bar and meeting other queer people from the area.

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This book is such an important read, shining a light on the dark parts of America’s past, while giving an important message of hope. Setting a queer romance in a historical period serves as a reminder that we were always here and always will be. 

“The word felt dangerous, and also powerful, as if uttering it would summon someone or something”

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Milo and Marcos at the End of the World

By Kevin Christopher Snipes 

YA Romance (slight magical realism)

I just did a post about this book so I will do my best to keep it brief. If you want to know what it’s about, check out my first post.

This read does a wonderful job illustrating what it is like, living with internalized homophobia and having trouble accepting yourself for who you are. I wish that was enough to get people to read the book, but it probably won’t be. But this book lets you take a walk in someone else’s shoes, and that is incredibly important. 

There’s also meteors, hurricanes, other natural disasters, and also a car chase. Got to love a car chase.

“Maybe a God that roots for love is the only God worth believing in.”

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Red, White & Royal Blue 

By Casey McQuiston

New Adult Romance

Red, White & Royal Blue is one of the most popular queer romances out there. I am not one to just take people’s word about a popular book and go into reading the book with negative expectations. However, Red, White & Royal Blue did live up to the hype. 

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the first son of America. Naturally, he despises Prince Henry, youngest grandson of the Queen of England. However, when the two are photographed in a rather…unfortunate situation, the two must go on damage control, especially with Alex’s mother up for re-election in the fall. The two have to pretend to be friends for the press, showing up and hanging out together. This leads to a development in their relationship as the two become friends and then more.

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When I read this, I absolutely despised the romance genre, so much that it was honestly a miracle that I bothered reading the book in the first place. However, this book changed my mind a slight bit. I started giving a few other books a try, and now here we are with me giving a list of a whole 5 romance books that I like, which is a fairly big deal for me.

“History, huh? I bet we could make some.”

(Also, there’s a movie coming out soon-ish)

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Heartstopper 

By Alice Oseman 

Graphic Novel/Romance

Heartstopper is a romance graphic novel following Nick and Charlie, two high school students who get sat next to each other in their form group.

The whole school knows Charlie Spring is gay after he was outed during the previous term. Being out as gay in an all-boys school is not an easy situation, coming with being bullied a lot.

Nick Nelson is a year older than Charlie, but is placed next to him during form. He is the tall heartthrob, captain of the rugby team, he’s practically the definition of a straight boy…or is he?

The two grow closer, developing a friendship. Heartstopper currently has 4 print volumes out (and a hit Netflix TV show), each covering the development of the relationship between Nick and Charlie, and their close group of friends. 

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It’s a fun and cute read, that emphasizes the bright parts of life, but doesn’t ignore the dark. Covering prejudice, homophobia, and mental health, this series reminds the world to have hope, even in the dark.

Heartsopper is definitely not a book that I ever thought I would read, which is weird because it is pretty much a longer, queer comic book, so maybe I should give graphic novels more chances.

“I was just FREAKING OUT, like honestly I am having a full-on proper GAY CRISIS”

*For reference, I specifically only chose books that are by  QUEER authors, as they are the representation that should be pushed and highlighted.  (So if you thought I was gonna include The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo now you know why I didn’t)

Author: Kevin Christopher Snipes

5 stars

I will be completely honest when I say that I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into when buying this book. I bought it when I was out at Barnes and Noble with my aunt and cousin during the long weekend, partially because the title was too good to ignore, and mostly because the cover was really pretty. However, what I ended up getting was far more than I ever imagined from a random book on the bottom shelf of the Young Adult Fiction section of Barnes and Noble on the Saturday before labour day. 

If there is one thing I want to say about this book, it’s that I think it’s a book that everyone should read. Often, books about queer people discovering their sexuality deal with being scared of whether others will accept you. This book took another route that is less common, showing a young boy struggling to accept himself. 

This is a journey about how being yourself is not wrong, and even when it seems like the world is against you, you are still worthy of love.

 

Summary

The book follows Milo Connely, a boy starting his senior year in Port Orange, Florida. On his first day of senior year at Spruce Crick High School, Milo sees none other than Marcos Price for the first time in over three years.

Three Years Ago:

Milo and Marcos met during the summer before their freshman year of high school at a Bible Camp. Milo was attending the camp with his best friend, Van Silvera. Milo is a religious white boy, who gets paired up with Marcos, an atheist hispanic boy, as roommates for the 3 weeks of camp. As the camp continues, the two boys grow closer and Milo begins to realize that the way he feels about Marcos is far more than just friends. Milo struggles to come to terms with this new revelation, believing he just needed to get it out of his system. However, two weeks into camp, Marcos disappears without saying goodbye.

Back to the Future (present, whatever)

Marcos moved from Orlando, Florida to the small town of Port Orange because his father got a new job. As the two boys are reunited, Milo begins to deal with all of the emotions he buried inside for the past three years. The minute the two boys touch for the first time, the ground begins to shake, and soon after, a sinkhole forms. 

As time goes on, and the two boys get closer, more and more natural disasters start to occur. Milo begins to freak out that these strange occurrences are happening because of his relationship with Marcos. He feels that the universe or God is punishing them for being gay, trying to keep them apart. 

“If I let myself start to feel all things I’m trying to bury inside of me, I’ll never be able to say goodbye. And this has to be goodbye. 

We have no choice” (309)

Marcos and Milo struggle with hiding their relationship from the entire world, especially their extremely religious and conservative families. Milo struggles with his sexuality, believing it’s something to be ashamed of and something wrong with him. This causes a rift in their relationship due to the stress of having to hide who they are and their love for each other. As time goes on, the two boys must decide whether their love is worth sacrificing everything for.

Review

Unlike many romance books about two people getting a second chance in their relationship, Kevin Christopher Snipes did not bother to hide what had happened in their past. A lot of romance novels use the mystery of the couple’s past to add suspense and to move the plot along. This is somewhat lazy writing, as the past is something that is necessary to the story, and keeping it a secret is most of the time not actually adding anything to the story but frustration. Instead, Snipes lays out their past of meeting and forming a relationship before Marcos left with no explanation or goodbye. This allows the reader to understand why Milo is upset instead of just knowing they have a past history with each other.

Snipes takes the end of the world and uses it as a metaphor for internalized homophobia, and the struggles of dealing with homophobia of any kind. 

“So if tomorrow, some scientist said they’d invented a pill that could make you straight, you wouldn’t take it?’… I think about my parents and how much easier my life would be,” (240)

Milo is raised in a religious household, and he himself is religious. This makes it hard for him to love himself for the way he is. He realizes that he likes boys the summer before his freshman year, but believes it’s a phase that he can pray away. Now, in his senior year, he is confronted once again by those feelings. The relationship between the two boys grows, and as it does, Milo gets both more and less comfortable with his feelings. He understands that he has feelings for Marcos and even calls him his boyfriend. At the same time, he becomes convinced that they’re doing something wrong and God is punishing them.

 “I think you still think there’s something wrong with you. And I think that ‘something’ is your feelings toward guys. Toward me” (240)

I think the best part about this book is the end of the world. Throughout the novel, as more and more strange and random natural disasters start happening, Milo becomes convinced that they cannot be just coincidences and are actually trying to keep the two apart. As the world comes to an end, Milo realizes that it doesn’t matter if the world wants to keep them apart. That there’s nothing wrong with them loving each other. 

“And I am done feeling guilty for that. So if this really is our last chance, if I really do have to make a choice between you and my parents, or you and God, or you and the whole stupid planet, then I choose you. From now until the end of time. I choose you,” (350).

After it all ends and it’s just them, Marcos and Milo realize that it has been them the whole time. Being scared about how the world would view them and what it meant. They realize they deserve to love whoever and if the world cannot accept them, that’s their fault. Milo learns to accept and love himself for who he is and not let anyone get in the way of that. 

“I don’t think it was God or the universe that was trying to keep us apart.’

‘You don’t?’

‘No. I actually think the universe wanted us to be together. And all the bad things that kept happening to keep us apart, I think they were just manifestations of our own fear and anxiety getting in the way.” (page 357)

They were scared to love each other because the world made it hard for them to do so.

“And as frightening as it might be, I know Marcos and I deserve a world as real as our love.” (361)

Being gay is never something to be ashamed of, and this is a story of a boy who learns that and the boy who helped him do so.

Have pride in who you are and never let anyone take it from you.