5 BISEXUAL Books That Helped Me Come Out!

Happy Pride Month! The month of June has brought many things with it- great weather, more mosquitoes, but most importantly it gave me the courage to finally come out as bisexual to my family and friends. For a long time, whenever I talked about relationships with my friends, I realized that a part of me felt like something was missing. It wasn't until I immersed myself into the world of queer lit, did I begin to feel like I could really understand and accept my own queer identity. Here a list of BEAUTIFUL books with bisexual main characters that inspired me to love myself. I hope I can share some more LGBTQIA+ recs for now and for forever. 

1. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate 

Still one of my favorite books of all time. Noteworthy follows Jordan Sun, who after getting rejected to be cast in her school's musical because of her low voice,  pretends to be a boy to join an all-male identifying acapella group. This book is absolutely hilarious and incredibly endearing as Jordan navigates her sexuality and friendship in this new reality she has created. With a cast of incredibly diverse characters, this book confronts the gender norms that are so often perpetuated in most YA lit. Our main character is coming to terms with her own identity as a bisexual and it's amazing to go through this journey with her. I'd also recommend giving Riley Redgate's Final Draft a read if you enjoy this one. 

2. Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

YA fantasy is not the first genre you think of when you want to read queer lit. Reign of the Fallen changed my mind on how well queer characters can be written in YA fantasy books since it is own voices and really normalized being queer. In this book, the fantasy elements, and the world-building are merely a background for this amazing story with a bisexual main character. I mean the book literally follows a bisexual necromancer. What else could you possibly ask for? Here is an interesting article that the author wrote for Penguin Teen about bisexual visibility in literature. 

3. The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde

This was the first Jen Wilde book I read when my friend Belinda and I chose it to be our book of the month for Diversify the Verse. The Brightsiders features characters who are bisexual, genderfluid, lesbian and also biracial. The rep is sooooo good. For me, the most important thing that this book taught me is that anyone can face issues of coming to terms with their sexuality, even if you are a famous rockstar in a band who has seemingly the most perfect life. It was a quick read and it was the first time I EVER saw they/them pronouns used in a book. Isn't that crazy? 

4. Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde 

Not only is Jen Wilde a lover of colored hair on her books, but she is also a fantastic YA author of queer lit. I had to recommend another book from her because  I think she excels at writing about fame! Compared to The Brightsiders, I think this one specifically talked a lot about bisexuality through the main character's inner monologues. We heard all of her feelings and thoughts, and it was so great to read. Along with that it confronted stereotypes about bisexuality and biphobia! I absolutely loved this book and whatever Jen Wilde book you end up picking up will literally chnage your life. 

5. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert 

Props to you if you've made it this far and you get to hear why Little & Lion is one of the best books written in YA Lit. If you'd like to read my full review, I'll leave it here. This book follows a Black, Jewish, Bisexual main character whose brother has bipolar disorder. As I wrote in that review, this book discusses a lot of the social stigmas of bisexuality and mental illness. One of my favorite things about this book was how it didn't necessarily have a set plot, but it felt real and in the moment. And if you enjoy this one, feel free to read ANY other Brandy Colbert book because they are equally as amazing. 

Even though June is on its way out, don't forget to share the love and treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they love. Please leave any recommendations for queer books in the comments, whether it's bisexual rep or any other queer rep! 

Animal Crossing Book Tag

By now, you have come across the game on Nintendo Switch called Animal Crossing. I never thought I'd be the type to buy a game console, however, I caved and bought a switch for the sole purpose of playing Animal Crossing New Horizons. I also learned that there have actually been four other installments of Animal Crossing in the past, so this isn't really a "new" game, I'm just not an OG Animal Crosser. Once I learned that my booklover self can actually manifest in this game, I became obsessed. But that wasn't all. I then learned that there was an Animal Crossing Book Tag, and my whole world shattered. I realize that this tag was created in 2017, but I really enjoyed these questions! 

This tag was created by Bookish Things and Tea. Head over to McKenzie's blog to check out her answers. The following questions and graphics are all originally created by her. With that, let's get started! 

You know that feeling when you leave high school and the days of obligatory classic reading, and for the next few years shut out classic books from your TBR? Because I do. I never imagined myself going back to classic books until I read Anna K by Jenny Lee, which is a modern reimagining of the classic Anna Karenina. Now all I want to do is read Tolstoy's timeless love story because of how much I loved its modern counterpart. 

I am so mad about this series because the first and second books were amazing, and then I don't know what happened to the third book. Sometimes I pretend that the third book doesn't exist in the same realm as its predecessors. Firefight was definitely my favorite book in the Reckoners trilogy by Brandon Sanderson because it naturally took everything I loved about the first book and amplified that. 

What can I say? I live and breathe New York City, so when this book came out and everybody was obsessed with it, I too was excited to read it. I've read a lot and I mean a lot of books set in NYC, but this one stood out to me as the plot was intriguing and fast-paced. I miss this series so much.

I haven't read a new release this year, but Circe always feels like a new release because its hype has still been all the rage on Instagram. Loved this book and you can read my review here! 

If you're new to the blog, you wouldn't know that I am absolutely obsessed with this book and all the lessons that I've learned from reading it. I have met the author several times, and I feel like this book always comes to mind when someone asks me for a recommendation.

I apologize for being the most predictable booklover ever. Six characters and POVS, what more could you ask for?

I am in the unpopular opinion gang with this book, but yeah. Bye. 

I am not a historical fiction reader, much less interested in WWII novels, but THIS BOOK. I received the title in a book subscription box and had no idea what was coming for me. This book is filled with great intrigue and characters. It's super underrated in the popular book community. 

I tag...

Anyone that wants to try this!

Circe by Madeline Miller | worth the hype?

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Pages: 393 pages
Release Date: April 10th, 2018
Source: BOTM book club pick
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology
Rating: 4/5 stars

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Where to Purchase:

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

TW for the book: rape, gore, violence 

You are not imagining things. It is I, Alyx, back from months of nada to bring you another review. I think I honestly spent most of 2020 buying books and then DNFing them, which isn't a good mix let me tell you. But I think I was just waiting for the right book to grace my readerly eyes and keep me sucked in. I loved Miller's first book, Song of Achilles and I am a sucker for anything Greek Mythology, so I had an inkling that this book would be right up my alley. I remember when this book first came out and my feed blew up with stories and posts praising this title. Even still, two years after its release, this book is still talked about as if it was released just last month. I decided to finally read it for myself and see if it is really worth the hype.

I wouldn't say that I'm so well-versed in aspects of Greek Mythology, but I had this point in my life where all I read were books about Greek Mythology. I know the basics and some of the lesser Gods, but it was so interesting to see so many deities' stories intertwined in this story. This book caters well to both audiences- avid Greek Mythology book readers and new and eager readers ready to step into the genre. Most importantly, this book centers upon a very underrated figure in mythology, Circe. Even before I started the book, I did not know of her existence, yet I picked up what was going on rather quickly. Miller has a knack for writing beautiful stories about mythological figures, without you ever needing to know much beforehand. And for that, I praise this book because I didn't have to do any Google searches, and if I did it was only because I was interested to learn more, not that the web search was super integral to my understanding of the story. So if that was keeping you from reading this book, it didn't seem like a problem. My advice, though, is not to fixate on pronouncing every new character's name correctly in the book. It will definitely slow you down and isn't as important as remembering who they are in the story. I just gave everyone nicknames :)

As for the writing, I really admire her lyrical writing, which was often filled with some beautiful metaphors and descriptions. There is very little dialogue, since our main protagonist is most often by herself on her island of Aiaia, and so the author is forced to immerse us in the world through the different senses. Though I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed this, the book kind of lacks a specific plot. The story is much more character-driven than it is plot-driven.

Let's talk about characters, my favorite part. I think the author really had a challenge tackling this story because she's taking these well-known figures in mythology, who we already have pre-conceived associations about, but she adds her own spin on these characters and truly makes them come alive from the pages. I think the draw about Greek mythology is that it connects so much with history, and we love seeing their personalities come to play in the books we read. The main character, Circe, goes through some incredible character development very early on in the story and my only gripe was that I wish it was more drawn out through the length of the book. I also wanted to see more of the side characters developed more. Although I knew they were only minor side characters, I was so interested in Circe's brother Aeetes and one of Circe's lovers, Daedalus.

It's hard to admit that Circe was the first book that I was able to finish so far this year. I have spent many months reading through many books, only to find myself at another DNF. But with Circe, I succeeded in finishing the entire book and it was more than enough to captivate my attention.

Did the pressure of the book community contribute to my enjoyment of this book? Maybe, but the world will never know. Circe is certainly a super entertaining book that was a nice mix-up for me since it has been years since I have read some Greek Mythology. It is probably not the most mind-blowing book of the year, and I much preferred the author's first novel, Song of Achilles, but rest-assured it lives up to its name in the book community.

BLOG TOUR: We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian | Wallpaper Designs

Title: We Are the Wildcats
Author: Siobhan Vivian
Pages: 368 pages
Release Date: March 31st, 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

A toxic coach finds himself outplayed by the high school girls on his team in this deeply suspenseful novel, which unspools over twenty-four hours through six diverse perspectives.

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. But at tonight’s team sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win. 

Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony—a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now.

Coach—a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure—changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure. One where they take a rival team’s mascot for a joyride, crash a party in their pajamas, break into the high school for the perfect picture.

But as the girls slip out of their comfort zone, so do some long-held secrets. And just how far they’re willing to go for their team takes them all—especially Coach—by surprise.

A testament to the strength and resilience of modern teenage girls, We Are the Wildcats will have readers cheering 

Buy now! 

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble 

Here is a peek at the very rough sketch I did for this wallpaper project. You can see the ghost-like figure of a tiger in the center (because I can't really draw) and the quote. The elements shifted slightly from sketch to final because I didn't take into account of the actual wallpaper's orientation (which I should have definitely done!). I was inspired by the We Are the Wildcats marketing campaign imagery which is where the idea of the tiger and scratchy texture originated. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to bring out a boldness into the colors and overall energy, so I chose a bright palette and enlarged the tiger. Added some texture and ta-da!

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iPhone X

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Credits: Tiger (Pixabay)