I’ve found that I’ve been in a 5-star drought recently. In June (so far), I’ve only had 3 new 5 star reads. That may seem like a lot for some people, but I find that usually in a month, I read between 5 to 7 new 5-star favourite reads (because I know what I like!). For example, in May, I read 7 new 5 star favourite reads! So for this post, I want to talk about the 5 star reads from May and June, because they are favourites for a reason!

June:
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley-Parker Chan. (genderqueer MCs)
This is the sequel to She Who Became the Sun, which I also loved (4.5 stars), but something about this sequel just made it so much better! I don’t want to talk too much about this because it is a sequel, but trust me, this duology is amazing.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. (lesbian MCs)
I requested this on Netgalley around 10 days before it was set to release, and got approved for it on June 6th (4 days before release day). When I saw that email, I knew that I had to drop everything and start reading (I did). I finished this on release day, and oh my god it became an instant favourite. I love a lot of what V.E. Schwab writes (I even have a tattoo of a quote from their book, The Tunnel of Bones, as part of a memorial piece for my granny), and this was no different. People describe this as toxic lesbian vampires, and honestly, yeah that’s really all you should know going in. It’s so worth it to go in knowing very little.

Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett.
I’ve been in a nonfiction drought, but I borrowed this on Libby because I’ve been looking forward to a graphic novel of trans history. This was very good and I loved how readable this is. It goes into a lot of history, but it’s written and presented in a way that is accessible to most! I believe there is also an audiobook available! Highly recommend this because it’s a great book for an introduction to trans history.

May:
These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa. (disabled trans masc nonbinary MC)
I have loved everything I’ve read by Gabe Cole Novoa so far, and this is no different. This is a book following a teen descended from the god of Death who must keep their identity a secret. The few descendants of the god survived the genocide and must hide their magic to stay alive. I loved this world and I loved Crow as a character. They are truly one of the best characters I’ve read. Highly recommend this standalone YA fantasy dystopian book!

The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe. (trans man MC)
Naira, disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, plans to destroy his ship before it lands. Yet, neither of them planned to be stranded on a dead planet. Tarquin, heir to the dynasty, never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wants to study rocks and read book, but his father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, even if he doesn’t want to. I loved this book and I’m very excited to read the sequel. I love how Tarquin being trans is not a main focus, and rather just who Tarquin is. I feel like Tarquin, I just want to read books too dude!

Pantomime by L.R. Lam. (intersex MC)
Micah runs away from a debutante’s life at home and joins the circus, harboring not one, but two secrets- he was born between male and female, and he may have powers last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. This is a rewrite of Lam’s first series published, and I loved this rewrite. L.R. Lam is one of my favourite authors (if it isn’t clear enough already), and I loved revisiting this world with updated writing! Truly can’t recommend Lam’s books enough.

A Single Brutal Fate by Lee Paige O’Brien. (nonbinary MC, trans boy LI, T4T)
This is the sequel to A Hundred Vicious Turns, and I loved it even more. This duology follows Rat, the heir to one of the oldest magical bloodlines in New York, who doesn’t cast spells anymore. For as long as Rat can remember, they’ve been surrounded by doorways no one can see and corridors that aren’t on any map. Then one day, they manage to open a passage and found a broken tower in a field, and something followed them back. Rat is accepted in Bellamy Arts, and all they want to do is make sure they never open another passageway again. But when Harker, the only other person who knows what really happened last year, shows up, Rat realizes that Bellamy Arts might not be as safe as they’d thought. A Single Brutal Fate was SUCH a great sequel and I loved the exploration of Rat and Harker together. I don’t want to say too much, but this is such a fun duology about magical bloodlines!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters.
A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest, disappears after sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of a field. Her six-year-old brother, Joe, who was the last person to see her, is devastated and her loss ripples through his life for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up an only child in an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother overprotective. As she grows older, Norma senses there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to let it go, she pursues her family’s secret for decades.
This is truly a heartbreaking beautiful book. I don’t read a lot of literary fiction, but my god this was beautiful. I could not put it down. You just need to read it to find out what happens. Trust me, it’s worth it.

The Second Rebel and The Last Hero by Linden A. Lewis. (nonbinary MC)
These are books 2 and 3 in The First Sister Trilogy, and they are fantastic. I gave the first book 4 stars, but books 2 and 3 got SO MUCH BETTER!
The First Sister follows a comfort woman as she claims her agency, a soldier questioning his allegiances, and a nonbinary hero out to save the solar system. Without spoiling this series, the stakes get higher in each book. One of my favourite series of all time, and I wish I had read them sooner! So many of my BookTok friends were raving about this series back in 2021 and 2022, why didn’t I listen?!?!?!