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Shrike 🐦‍⬛

@shrikebait.bsky.social

300 followers 530 following 750 posts

he/they 🏳️‍⚧️✨ GAY WRONGS ✨🏳️‍🌈 Physician by day, feral birdthing by night. Pfp by Royal Poff 💖 https://linktr.ee/shrikebait

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 21d

🐦‍⬛Unfortunately, I do love...
💖 tea
💖 cute agression
💖 trans wrongs
💖 parasitic flora
💖 monster boys
💖 murderous songbirds
💖 toxic codependence
💖 gay wrongs

Graphic of a shrike framed in a barbed wire heart with rainbow backsplash surrounded by rainbow and black hearts with text reading:

Unfortunately, I do love...
tea
cute agression
trans wrongs
parasitic flora
monster boys
murderous songbirds
toxic codependence
gay wrongs

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 11h

Thanks so much for the chance to read an advance copy. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 11h

The Prince in particular had my heart in his froggy fist. After a life of endless loneliness and rejection, his hope is so fragile it's heartbreaking. The way his world lights up when Otto helps him trust again is everything.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 11h

The Frog Prince by A.M. Rose

This book challenged the extent of my monster-lover proclivities and won. New "woulds" have been unlocked. Adalwin and Otto are PRECIOUS.

🌈📚💙
#arcreview #grimmtales

Mockup of The Frog Prince by A.M. Rose surrounded by Lily pads, one with a spadefoot toad on it. Below is the text "New 'woulds' unlocked" surrounded by sparkles

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12h

Thanks so so so so much for the chance to check out an advance copy. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12h

This book is fast-paced and hot but these two really, really love each other. Their tender moments and their mutual protectiveness got a few tears out of me. Whew. I am loving the GriMM series so much.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12h

Rumpelstilzchen by Sam Northman

God truly gives their toughest battles to their gayest soldiers because reading this in public without biting my lip was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. The D/S dynamic had me on the floor almost as fast as Boy.

🌈📚💙
#grimmtales #bookreview

Book mockup of Rumpelstilzchen by Sam Northman flanked by shadows and a golden thread with the text "had me biting my lip"

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 4d

I do!! That's so sweet, I absolutely don't mind 🥺💖 I got some rad headshots done by @houseofroyal.bsky.social at Killer Pride and they absolutely killed it

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 4d

They've really brought the Dusty Brooms to life. When an author adores their characters this much the passion becomes contagious.

Thanks so much to Genesee for sending an advance copy my way. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 4d

I'm so excited for more of Ray and Gene braving the hazards of love and rock 'n' roll. The slow burn is going to be so worth it.

Not to mention the ART. Gosh this is a pretty book. I'm also loving all the gorgeous accompanying pieces Genesee's been making.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 4d

SYMPATHY FOR THE BLUES by S.S. Genesee @geneseedraws.bsky.social

HAPPY PUB DAY!

And they were /bandmates/ 😱

Just the right amount of tugging at my heartstrings with a dash of heat to hook me.

#bookreview #mmromance
🌈📚💙

Book mockup of SYMPATHY FOR THE BLUES by S.S. Genesee with a vinyl record leaning on one side and a shrike nibbling on the other side of the cover. The text below reads "and they were bandmates" in retro font with retro starbursts

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks so much for the chance to check out a copy through BookSirens. I ordered a copy before I finished because I knew this was the kind of book I needed in my life.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

He blurs the line between desperate self-preservation and depraved self-interest until I could no longer tell the difference. The man is the worst. I love him.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

Lamb, Stag & Wolf by Airic Fenn @airic-fenn.bsky.social

Ask my taste in books and I'll point at this novella until you read it.

I just adore a story about corrupted faith and old gods. Shelby struggles to maintain control while bitterness blackens his heart.

#queerhorror #chartreusehorror

Cover of Lamb, Stag & Wolf by Airic Fenn surrounded by bare tree branch graphics. An ink sketch of a shrike is happily nibbling on the book's spine above the text "Shelby is the worst (I love him)"

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

While I started this book expecting to feel unsettled, I don't mind subverted expectations.

Thanks so much for the chance to check out aka advance copy. I also purchased a copy for myself because how could I not, LOOK AT IT. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

For a story about grave-robbing cultists, the overall tone of First Oaths leans surprisingly cozy. The steady pace allows for dread to creep in but keeps urgency and angst relatively low while Penny and Kit find their footing.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 8d

First Oaths by @cjtuma.bsky.social and @cquinnwrite.bsky.social

First Oaths is a solid start to the Bone Men series. I closed this book with a good foundation for the story and anticipation for book two.

#thebonemen #firstoaths #mmromance

Hardcover of First Oaths by CJ Tuma and Quinn Cameron surrounded by animal bones and shredded brown paper on a brown background to simulate soil.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 10d

Thanks so much for the chance to check out an advance copy. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 10d

Dysphoria is still a very real issue, but Cin's identity isn't invalidated by his family or his prince. There's also a delightful bit of aromantic rep. I thought Bryn did a fantastic job of normalizing natural differences in attraction even in the context of magical influence.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 10d

Cin's family aren't always the evil caricatures of some famous Cinderella tales. Cin also deals with more insidious abuse: parentification, weaponized incompetence, and complacency.

I also liked how the world of Cinder normalizes transness.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 10d

Cinder by D.N. Bryn @dnbryn.bsky.social

Shout out to D.N. Bryn for serving the weird bird representation we need.

I loved this take on Cinderella, especially this particular brand of familial manipulation.

#arcreview #mmromance #romantasy #grimmtales

Cover of Cinder by DN Bryn surrounded by falling grey feathers. The text below reads "Weird birds (the queernormative world is cool too)"

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12d

I really enjoyed the suspense and spice once things heated up. When the double meaning behind the title clicked for me, I was done for. I'm glad I stuck with this book.

I'm grateful for the chance to check out an advance copy. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12d

In the spirit of honesty... the slow start almost lost me, but WDF won me over in the end. I was hoping for more tension at the outset, particularly between characters who share years of mutual obsession.

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 12d

What Death Forgets by Thea Verdone

What Death Forgets is a slow-paced gothic romance where obsession lurks beneath a pretense of propriety.

#bookreview
🌈📚💙

Mockup of the cover of What Death Forgets by Thea Verdone surrounded by paint swatches with the text "obsession beneath a pretense of propriety"

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Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 13d

Killer Pride wasn't /technically/ a book event, but I knew I wouldn't make it out unscathed. 💋
Shout out to all the beautiful folks I met this past weekend. You're my favorite kind of weirdos.

#queerhorror #scaresthatcare #killerpride

Stack of books in front of a crochet blanket backdrop including:
Moonflow by Bitter Karella
Virus Shark by Cat Voleur
The White Bishop by Brandon Perrae-Sanchez and Aron Beauregard
In the Club We're All Monster by Phrique and Asher Dark
I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing
We'll Always Be Here from Gloom House Pub
the Home by Judith Sonnet
From Dark Places by Judith Sonnet
Arcane Carolinas II and III
A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper
Channels by Jason Nickey
Scissor Me Timbers by Phrique
Sleeping Among Wolves by Royal Poff
Perishables by Michael G Williams
Children of Solitude by Michael G Williams
How to be a Professional Mourner by Matt Forgot
Pappy by Nick Levi
The Cuck Chair by Bray, Nickey, and Shrader

Shrike 🐦‍⬛ @shrikebait.bsky.social · 13d

Enjoy! 🔪💋