I did a lot of rereading this year, so this is full of more new music than books.

Fiction books

M.A. Carrick’s The Mask of Mirrors and The Liar’s Knot (Rose and Rook #1 & 2)

Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty

Jackie Lau’s The Stand-Up Groomsman (Donut Fall in Love #2)

Ed. Andrea Purcell’s Sordid Past

Honorable mention: Robert Jackson Bennett’s Locklands (The Founders Trilogy #3) and Ilona Andrews’ Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy #6)

For sticking the landing as a trilogy closers.

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Books

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Tread of Angels

This was so good, and I hope Roanhorse revisits this heroine. While not a romance like Bridgerton, it does hit the same sweet spot S2 hit for me about being bound by guilt and familial obligation. I also love that the heroine realizes her own capacity for cruelty.

Re-read: Akwaeke Emezi’s Dear Senthuran

On rereading this, I think this is overlooked as a book about the writing life.

Re-read: Nalini Singh’s Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5)

Re-read: Joey W. Hill’s Worth the Wait (Nature of Desire #9)

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Books

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin (Great Cities #2)

For whatever reason, I didn’t like the first book in this duo, but I adored The World We Make. I laughed, I hollered, and I shed a tear or two too.

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

I’ve been following Rai since her indie days, and this is the first of her trad pub novels that I think captures the magic of her indies.

The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau (Donut Fall In Love #2)

Representation I didn’t know I wanted or needed.

Other Ever Afters by Melanie Gillman

My heart!

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Books

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Pipezna-Samarasinha

Author’s Patreon here.

Pimiko and the Uncharted Island by forthright

This series remains some of the queerest stuff I’ve ever read (FFM queerplatonic triad in this one), and yet some of the worldbuilding choices are bewildering to me. That said, I will be sad when this series ends with the next (7^th book). Author’s Patreon here.

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Music

dolltr!ck’s Let This Go

Leyla McCalla’s Dodinin & Fort Dimanche (Live at NPR Tiny Desk)

Allison Russell’s Kathy (Live at Juno Songwriters’ Circle 2022)

Pharaoh Sanders’ Selflessness

Sophia Subbayya Vastek’s album, In Our Softening

Jazmine Sullivan’s Stand Up

Vienna Teng’s Lost Words Blessing (Spell Songs cover)

The last song on her Live @ Home Set #2 (Oct 2022) if you subscribe to her Patreon.

Jamila Woods’ Boundaries

Misc.

Re-read: Alyssa Cole’s Can’t Escape Love (Reluctant Royals #2.6)

Re-read: Alyssa Cole’s A Prince on Paper (Reluctant Royals #3)

Don’t miss the epilogue from the teddy bear’s POV.

Podcast: Therapy Ghostbusters

After reading Stephanie Foo’s What My Bones Know, I heard her do an interview with Esmé Weijun Wang where she mentioned this topic. I’m thrilled she was able to explore it in podcast form. Transcript here.

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Books

Ilona Andrews’ Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy #6)

No complaint in this trilogy ender. So good. Also dead @ Vicky Baby. I’m hoping for an Arabella trilogy in the future! That said, this is not the book to start on in this series; start either with Burn for Me (Nevada’s first novel) or Sapphire Flames (Catalina’s first novel).

Jamie Wesley’s Fake It Till You Bake It

The romance book club made this for me.

Julia Whelan’s Thank You For Listening

The author has spent a lot of time in the romance industry, and you can tell. If you read romance, this is an absolute delight.

Kendra Allen’s Fruit Punch

Broadened my mind on what is possible in memoir with the way time slips when you look back.

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Re-reads

Ruby Dixon’s The King’s Spinster Bride (Aspect and Anchor #0.5)

Laurie J. Marks’ Earth Logic (Elemental Logic #2)

Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling books

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Lots of Ilona Andrews, good tunes, and some live events.

Rereads

Ilona Andrews’ Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) & Blood Heir (Aurelia Ryder #1)

This series/universe continues to be a joy/comfort.

Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy #1-5

In case you couldn’t tell, Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors. I didn’t time this in order to be ready for Ruby Fever, but it worked out quite nicely. Also I will take Alessandro over Rogan any day.

Forthright’s Dragged Through Hedgerows (Songs of the Amaranthine #3)

Another comfort read.

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Audio

Beyoncé’s Break My Soul

A jam.

Seinabo Sey’s Blessed

Blue and Rom Com were two of my favorite tracks last year, and this one is no exception.

Wooden Overcoats S4

Whewwww the character development/pay off, especially Antigone’s. Also Chapman’s mysterious backstory revealed!

Relisten: Life With Leo(h) S1

Which is also crowdfunding it’s second and final season here!

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Live

Hadestown

I hate unhappy endings, and yet here I am saying this was excellent. See it live if you can.

Stars on Ice

Holy smokes, watching the Olympic programs live was an Experience. Especially Jason Brown’s Sinnerman, which broke my brain with its brilliance.

Books

Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty

Whewww, what a book about being alive. The implorement to live reminds me of Princess Mononoke, tbh.

Ed. Andrea Purcell’s Sordid Past

An Iron Circus comic anthology is guaranteed to be great art and very gay. Their Smut Peddler line continues to be some of the best erotica anthologies on the market. This one is no exception.

Re-reads: Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels #6-9 + Iron Covenant #1

Smart, hilarious, and unforgettable characters you love dearly. In other words, magic.

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Music

Olivia Dean’s I Wish I Didn’t Miss You (Angie Stone cover)

This grooves hard.

dollstr!ke’s In the Blue

I love a good pop song.

KAINA’s Casita (Live at NPR Tiny Desk x SXSW)

Rebirth Canal’s AI

I keep thinking about these lines: “i want to you be gentle / i want you to be strong // with all senses uncompressed”

Allison Russell’s Nightflyer (Live at the 2022 Grammys)

I love her voice in this lower register.

Sophia Subbayya Vastek’s The Seas That Made Us

The Suffers’ Don’t Bother Me

Doesn’t it just make you wanna dance?

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Misc.

Film: Maggie Q’s The Protege

The cat-mouse UST? *chef’s kiss*

TV: Bridgerton S2

OMFG. SO GOOD! I know a lot of people weren’t into all the changes between season, but I am into it. (Also, it’s normal in romance books anyways.) The eye-fucking! The UST! A dark-skinned leading lady! I do think the season could’ve benefited from additional episodes to work through the fall-out though.

Podcast: Where Should We Begin? S5x06, Twice Married, To Each Other

I really liked her tips that to help diffuse an argument, try arguing while lying down or touch each other. Transcript here.