you all sucked at that and you should be ashamed
i thought it was cute we did our best Brats and
welcome back to another episode of Rainbow Book
Rats, a queer romance podcast where four feral
rats nerd out about their favorite reads. On
this episode of Digging Deeper, we will be talking
about our recent buddy read and doing a deep
dive into a bookish topic one of us is foaming
at the mouth to talk about. So grab a treat,
settle in, and let's get to yapping. I'm JD.
My pronouns are they, them, and I don't like
blueberries. Were you talking about that? I was
really slow on the uptake there and I didn't
realize. That's my fact. I don't like blueberries.
What do they do to you? I just don't like them.
I wish I liked them. The skin? I try them often
because I don't understand why I don't like them
because I like every other berry, but every time
I eat one, I'm like, bleh, bleh. I just don't
like them. Yeah, I know. It makes me sad, too,
because blueberry muffins smell delicious, and
then I eat them, and I'm like, I don't like blueberry
muffins either. They look good. They smell good.
My thing's not a surprise to anybody. I don't
like anything. Kit, that just means more blueberry
muffins for you and I. This is very true. And
I will look on longingly. I wish I liked them.
Anyway, I don't like blueberries. I'm Kit, they,
he, and all my favorite animals are super weird.
They are. That's true. But we love that. Yeah.
I am Megan. She, her, they, them. And I don't
like honey. What? You guys are killing me today.
That seems crazy, but... I kind of get it, though.
Yeah. I'll allow it, I guess. I'm Katie, she,
her, and in high school, I superglued fake vampire
teeth to my mouth. And that's why we're friends.
I wanted them to stay in. Like the plastic ones
you get when you're in elementary school or like
the ones from Hot Topic. She was in high school.
They were sophisticated. They were obviously
the Hot Topic ones. The ones you like molded
with the wax. Yeah. But I wanted them to be real
secure. That's amazing. Yeah. No one here is
going to fault you for that. no i actually have
thought about like actually getting like real
like implants yeah like like yeah like real oh
i love that i think it would look so cute it
would be it would be i think it would be so cute
in my face i think it would be too so today's
episode would be discussion on our buddy read
and then a deep dive however yeah so it was my
pick for buddy read this time and it was just
one of those occasions you know how sometimes
you pick a book and it was a long time since
you read it and it just isn't quite as you remember
it like the things that i loved about it i still
really loved but there were just a lot of problems
with it that i didn't really remember and at
the end of the day we decided as a group that
it wasn't for us i enjoyed some of it yeah for
sure yeah there was it wasn't like a like angry
i'm gonna you know burn this book i don't want
it it wasn't a dnf situation which for me isn't
saying much but you know it just yeah yeah you
never dnf we just didn't want to dedicate that
much time to talking about it if we didn't all
love it yeah yeah i'm not afraid of dnf books
no me neither yeah i did finish it kate and i
will do it yeah i finished it too crickets crickets
instead we thought we would talk about some of
the books that are on our tbr that have been
out maybe for a while that we're really excited
to get to read yeah yeah somebody save me yeah
so i will go first i have three that i picked
out the first one that i have is magnificent
mess by roe horvat It is the third book in the
Bears of Beauville series. I read the first two.
I really liked them. Yeah, I'm excited to read
this one. It just came out recently. So it's
an Omegaverse book based on the title. You might
be able to guess that they're bear shifters.
Shocking. I know. The Bears of Beauville. It
is about bear shifters. Yes. I love a bear. I
know. Don't we all? So this one is about two
bear shifter alphas who are friends and one Omega.
who is a burned out superstar who comes to their
small town to kind of take a rest. Oh, this is
the best friend of the MC from book one, right?
Yes, that's correct. Yeah. I actually have that
written down so that I would say that. This one
is described as. A book with an intense heat
and a slightly unusual fate bond. So yeah, it's
a grumpy sunshine. Well, the friends are grumpy
sunshine together. Laurel is the superstar. He's
been a burned out rock star and he's a lot younger,
so it's kind of an age gap. Yeah, I'm excited
for it. I love all of that. Yeah. Yeah. Same.
I was just gonna say, I know it's a weird trope,
but I really like a burned out character finding
somebody to like help them and not be like, like
Roman with Danny. Hey Bratz, Editing Megan here.
Just letting you know that JD is apologizing
here for coughing. I took that cough out because
no one wants to hear that, but the resulting
banter was funny. So I left it in. Enjoy. Yeah,
me too. Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, you guys. Do
it again and you're fired. Oh, mean Katie. She's
here. The next one that I have is actually from
my physical TBR. It's His Slender Embrace by
Amanda Matheson. so good i know that some of
you have read that already i wonder who yes love
it it's so good Yeah, I'm excited to read this
one. This is the fourth book in the Monster Match
series. It is about a shy human seeking confidence
after a bad breakup with a gaslighting ex. Yeah,
fuck him. Via fantasy fulfillment. And the other
character is described as a magnetic monster
who has tentacles. He's a slender man. He's a
slender man. He's a slender man. It's a hurt
comfort book. And the monster, it says in the
description that the first time people hear his
voice, they lose consciousness. Yep. Yep. Yep.
And they'll lose their mind if they look at him
too long. Yep. Oh, my God. So I'm curious to
see how that works out. Oh, it's so good. It
is. I'm very excited to read this one. I found
this book at... charlie's queer books in seattle
shout out charlie's amazing bookstore they carry
a lot of indie books there and they recently
well maybe not recently at this point but when
i bought this one they had recently expanded
on their romance section and did an amazing job
i was so impressed with their selection so go
to charlie's queer books in seattle and i want
to give two words for for his slender embrace
oh yes train hentai yes fantasy fulfillment yay
okay well yeah so that's my second one excited
to get to that one and then my third one is called
secrets and sake by cj ravina oh yeah it is a
paranormal yakuza it's number one of a duet and
it is wolf shifters insta love faded mates um
It's a grumpy Yakuza werewolf and a sunshine
undercover reporter. Ooh. Yeah. There's touch
him and die. Yes. Oh, yeah. And another thing
that was said about it is that it has searing
spice. Oh, searing. Can confirm. Yeah. I'm excited
to read that one. That one has actually been
on my TBR the longest. And I keep not. going
there and i don't know why so i was looking through
my tbr to see what books to include and i was
like this one i must get this one read so this
is my push to myself to say like hey do it this
book yeah yeah so those are my tbr picks what
about you kit yeah great picks um so i've got
one It is Becoming New by Annie Bennett, which
is book two in the Isle of Donuts series. Yay!
I love this series so much! So both books are
paranormal, low -angst, cosy romances set in
the Scottish Isles. Book one was so cute. So
cosy, yeah. Right. So book one is a really grumpy,
sad boy werewolf who's forced to take in a sunshine
witch who's escaping heartbreak. They're stuck
in only one bed situation in a small cottage
with a whole lot of pygmy goats. who enjoy causing
trouble yes and that book has so much hurt comfort
it's got mutual pining and generally being ridiculous
around each other and i just loved it they're
so sweet together this one is another one of
my communication kings tag yeah because they
talk everything out together it's oh we love
the best yeah so for this one What I've been
able to work out from looking at reviews, looking
at the blurb, essentially, so this is another
of the werewolves from the werewolf pack. So
he's a werewolf bookshop owner and he's really
lonely. Aww, lonely boy. He's so lonely. Yeah,
and he wants someone to do puzzles with and eat
cheesy pasta together. Oh my god. Me too, me
too. Right? Like, sign me up. And so his love
interest is a socially awkward veterinarian human.
Aww. And essentially they are both sweet weirdos
who find their person like first as friends and
then as more. Yeah, it's a friends to lovers
situation. It's so cute. There's so much cuddling
in this book, you guys. Oh my God, I love cuddling
in books so much. Yes. Me too. It's slow burn,
it says, and it's a demisexual awakening, but
it heats up quite quickly after the first kiss.
It does. And it's so spicy after that. Yes. I
can't wait. We've got the whole werewolf family
as well from the pack that we met in book one.
But it sounds like we spend more time with them
in this book. Sorry. I'm trying to support you,
Kit, and my cat is yowling down the hallway,
and I just had to mute to yell at her, and I
didn't hear what you said, and I felt like you
were waiting for me to help you. She's so mad
that Matt hasn't gotten up yet. I think she can
hear him on the other side of the door. Yeah,
sorry, sorry, sorry. I said werewolf found family
that we met in book one, but we spend more time
with them in this one. Yeah, we do. We do. We
get to see a little bit more of a few of the
other characters. I love them. The whole series
is so good. All the characters are so good. I
just like try to get everybody I know to read
it. Yeah, we met quite a few of the different
werewolves, didn't we, in book one, but we didn't
spend that much time with them. Yeah, no, not
really. Yeah, only a little bit at the end. So
I'm really looking forward to getting to spend
a lot more time with the whole pack. Yeah. Yes,
it's so cozy. And also the second book is kind
of broken up into two sections -ish in my mind.
And the title is a hint at why and what happens
to make. to make that a thing. Something anyone
wants me to say to them, but maybe it's intrigued
you enough to go pick it up. Yeah, because I
know that we learn more about like the backstory
of the whole world and stuff as well, which might
be what you're talking about. So that's really
interesting. Okay, then, JD, keep your secrets.
I will. They wouldn't be secrets if you guys
would just go read the book. Listen, I got to
stop signing up for ARCs and then I can... You
do, you have a problem. I'm real deep in this
Leighton Green hole, so I'm sorry. Yeah, that's
also my fault. And I won't apologize for it.
So the first book, it looks like it was her debut,
at least under this pen name. If it was her debut,
it was so good. Fantastic. And all I can say
is that I really wish that the Isle of Donut
was a real place because I would move there now.
Oh my gosh. It seems so magical. Right. And just
like peaceful and lovely. Yeah. Annie's writing
is so, so good. I really, really love it. Yeah.
So if you're looking for something that's basically
almost no stakes, low angst, just really sweet.
definitely check out this series and I can't
wait to go and rebook too. I mean, I did cry,
but I mean, yeah. Oh yeah. It's a bit emotional.
Yeah. It's a bit emotional. There's big emotions.
Yeah. Not angsty. So that's what's on my TBR
coming up very soon. Hopefully Megan, what's
on yours? I've got three for y 'all today. So
I'm going to start with one that was recommended
to us by a friend slash listener slash fellow
books to grammar screaming possum reads. Yay.
We love you. Yeah. Thank you. They commented
on one of our posts recommending Orthea Rising
by Atlas Laika. Oh, I saw that. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Got a freaking gorgeous cover. So, of course,
I was like, oh, what is that? And it's a gay
space opera. Yes. Yes. I'm excited. That sounds
very fun. Yeah. And growing up watching Battlestar
Galactica. Oh, I am very normal about Battlestar
Galactica. That sound you made proves it. Yeah.
Totally normal. As well as The Expanse, right?
Yep. So yeah, it's a gay space opera. We're in
like a queer normative universe, which we love.
I love that so much. That's my favorite thing.
Same here. And it's arranged marriage. It has
a lot of world building with like rival feuding
planet. And it's hurt comfort. And it's got fight
play. Oh, fight play? Yes. Fighting as a love
language. Oh, okay. Yes, please. and it's got
politics and romance and rivalry and yearning
and i'm all for all that yes sounds amazing And
a transmasc main character. Yay. Yay. Next one
I have is Our Dark Mirror by James Chance. Oh,
yeah. And he popped up recently on my feed. And
I was like, this is another gorgeous cover. And
it's a supernatural murder mystery. Yes. With
a hellhound. Yes. Yeah, I know, right? We love
the hellhounds. He's sent to our world to recapture
an escaped fugitive. And so, therefore, he has
to team up with a monster hunter. It's Grumpy
Sunshine in that the hellhound is like. this
grumpy bad boy character and the monster hunters
is like this sunshiny football jock character
hopefully i can't hear betty in the background
um so yes they team up to hunt down this fugitive
it's one of three books supposedly the story
doesn't conclude in this book but the second
book's already out so it's got like dark themes
and morally great characters and it's a slow
burn yes yes that sounds really good yes this
one's been on my tbr for a little bit and i'm
super excited about that and then my last is
uh residence by lily jane oh yes i keep seeing
bunch of posts about this book and the art is
so pretty for it right yeah some of the quotes
i've seen as well yes right i know like i probably
went with all really pretty books but no shade
to people who can't get the pretty cover i see
no problem with that i know exactly so yeah this
one is a rock star romance so it's rock star
slash ex -ballerina turned makeup artist And
they like go on tour together. And it has a lot
to do with emotional healing and recovering from
addiction. And it says that it's a hard -earned
HEA and a slow burn, but high heat. So that sounds
good. Yes. That sounds really good. Yeah. And
they have a sobriety pact. forced proximity friends
to lovers all these fun fun things that i'm like
just like okay yes please now please it just
came out and i'm okay it's on my kindle it's
on my kindle oh fuck i gotta read this book now
yeah you and your arcs i know i did this to myself
i like i love arc reading but not stressful not
to sound you know higher than now but i don't
do that I am very particular about books I arc
read, and I won't apologize for it. I learned
my lesson, because last year I signed up for
NetGalley for the first time, and I always heard
that NetGalley, it's super hard to get approved
for books, but when you first make an account,
your approval rating or whatever is 100%, so
you'll pretty much get any book you sign up for.
Mine was zero! okay well when I first signed
up I was like oh all these books sound good I
signed up for like 16 books and then all of a
sudden like literally while I'm sitting there
signing up I'm getting email after email I'm
like oh my gosh I got approved for like nine
books immediately um wow and and then I had to
like rescind all my other things because I was
like oh my god what have I done yeah I'm I'm
just a commitment phobe so I'm like I I can't
I can't be out here Just willy nilly signing
up for whatever. I can't do that. Like last year,
I was really good and didn't do too many arcs.
Like you said, I just did ones for authors I
knew I was going to read the book for. And then,
you know, something shifted this year. Something
changed. Megan is back on the bullshit. I've
managed to get them all done and like enjoyed
all of them. But I don't know. Yeah. I just got
to stop. It's just a lot when they pile up like
that. Yeah. They all came out the same time.
And then the most recent one was 600 pages. So
it's like. Oh, my God. Oh, man. So, yeah. Just
to end this one up. It's a standalone. And it's
opposite the tracks. And it's got lots of confessions.
And like a roller coaster, you know, ride while
they are on the road to recovery and working
through that. And getting towards their happily
ever after. Yay. Those are mine. Katie, what
about you? Yeah. Well, I had to kind of look
through because most of my TBR right now is just
books that you guys have been talking about on
this podcast. Whoopsie. Yeah. Or more late and
green books. But I wanted to get back to some
of the series I'm already in the middle of. So
my first book is Kiss Kill Thrill Me Daddy by
Lance Lansdale. Which we're going to buddy read.
Yes, so that's book two in the Murder Daddy series.
And if you remember the first episode, I loved
book one. It was so fun. Just crazy wild balls
to the wall. It was a good time. So this is Tatum's
book, Scotty's Best Friend. And at the end of
book one, you find out he had been kidnapped
by Kincaid. And they've got this weird dynamic
of Kincaid's like... I'm kidnapping you for your
own good. This is what you need. And Kenan's
like, no, I don't want to be kidnapped. But also
is like, yeah, okay. Yeah, he does. He does want
to be kidnapped. Yes. So I'm hoping for more
disquiled shenanigans like book one. You will
get it. This one features a lot of exhibitionism,
which I'm really excited about. And there was
one of the things in the synopsis was over -the
-top finger warming, which I'm excited for that.
It's like his comfort blanket or something. I
kind of love that. Yeah, I thought you were going
to say pacifier. It's a reverse pacifier. It's
his assifier. His assifier. Oh, my God. Oh, no.
But I'm super excited for that. It's coming to
audio. It's in the works. Yes. Eventually. And
I cannot wait to listen. Are you going to wait
for that? No, I'm not going to wait. I'm going
to. Yeah. I can't be bothered to wait. I need
it. I will probably re -listen when it comes
out on audio because I just did The House Husbands.
I had read book one and then I got an advance.
copy of the audio and i listened we listened
to it oh my god crying down the highway it was
so good oh no that's not dangerous at all it's
fine i actually cry on the highway a lot if i
think about it like we all have our places i
cry i cry everywhere yeah This does not surprise
us. That's true. The world is Megan's crying
place. I'm just thinking of like the places I
listen to books the most in a carpool. And then
like highway and the driveway of my house. Cause
whenever I go somewhere, when I come home, I'll
just sit in the driveway and like mentally prepare
myself to enter the house again. You have to.
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Oh man. So my other question,
question about the carpooling. Do you, do you
listen to our audio books and then cry when there's
kids in the car? No, I cannot listen to a book
if there's the children, my nephews in the car
with me, because one, I don't want them to hear
my books. But two, I don't think they could be
silent if it like if their lives depended on
it. Yeah, they're not at the age yet where they
can, where they know that they shouldn't. talk
over an audiobook. The five -year -old, we were
driving the other day, and he has learned beatboxing,
I guess you would call it. Oh, no. Oh, I'm so
sorry, Katie. I'm so sorry. He starts beatboxing.
He's like, I'm going to do this until you stop
the car. And I was like, we're driving. We're
not going to stop. I don't know what you mean.
And it's just bad fart sounds with his mouth
the entire time. He's really passionate about
it. I mean, I admire the passion, though. Good
for him. Yeah, I'm glad he's found a hobby. I'm
just sorry you have to listen to it while trapped
in a vehicle. There is no escape. I know, it's
rough. And the other one, the nine -year -old,
is just sassy and he's always giving me shit
because maybe once or twice I've run a red light
on accident. We'll approach a stoplight and he'll
be like, just so you know, it's red. That means
you're supposed to stop. I know! The sass. Okay.
My other books. So I just finished the newest
release in the Passing Through Cafe series, Enchantment
and Envy. And I realized I skipped the prequel
novella. So Passion in the Pentagram is a prequel
novella. You silly goose. I know. What am I doing?
But it sets up the story between Quinn and Glimma
and how they meet. So Quinn is like set to marry
somebody, but she doesn't. She doesn't love them.
She doesn't want to marry them, but she's going
to do it for her family. And then she meets Glimmer,
who wants... I know. Glimmer wants to come and
start a cafe. So she comes into Quinn's office
and is like, I want to get this cafe going. And
it's their little love story, which I'm so excited
about because I love them in the books. Sounds
very sweet. They're very hot in the books. Oh,
yeah. No, I know. It's like Succubus. There's
not a lot of books I've read with Succubus, but
one of my favorite books ever is Maneater by
Emily Antoinette. And that's a Succubus. am in
love like i don't ever want to get married but
if i had to marry somebody i would marry l um
i thought you were saying i would marry a succubus
yeah yeah a very specific one that one yes yeah
um So I'm really excited to read that. It's a
novella, so it's short, but it's got, like, forbidden
love, desires, fated soulmates, and, like, a
matchmaking fake fiancé, which sounds fun. Ooh,
that does sound fun. And I'm thinking that you'll
get to see some of the other characters from
the Passing Through Cafe series, which I love
because I, like, my favorite all -time team of...
like little weirdos I just love the every one
of those characters so much yeah we love a cameo
yeah yes um and then my third book I don't have
I have like next to no information on this because
I don't like reading spoilers about books so
I'm just going off of what Storygraph has But
it was recommended to me because I decided I
wanted to do one of those, like, 12 books by
12 friends recs. So, like, I reached out to some
people, but I never reached out to 12. And I
have, like, maybe six recs. You did your best.
I honestly forgot about it. It's ADHD. Yeah.
I'm still going to read the recs. So Carly, Carly
Reads Clear, had recommended. I love Carly. Yeah.
We all love Carly. Hi, Carly. Hi, Carly. I will
see you soon. We should have timed it together
so we could all say it in one. Let's do it. I
can edit it. We can edit it in. Or we could just
say it now. Okay. One, two, three. Hi, Carly.
You all sucked at that. You should be ashamed.
I thought it was cute. We did our best. She recommended
Heart by Jessie H. Rain, and that's been on my
TBR for a while. I actually just got the audio,
I think. You need to tell me what it's like.
I'm excited for it. It's an obsessive swoony
stalker romance with a broken boy and all the
green flags. Broken boy, broken boy. Sign me
up. I'm really excited for it. So I did get the
audio of this. You went balls to the wall on
that audible sale. I'm going to go back. I'm
going to go back in for seconds. Good for you.
Yeah, balls to the other wall. Katie's hitting
every wall. My balls will be bruised after this.
It'll be great. Can we edit that part out? I
don't have balls. Listen, anytime someone asks,
can we edit this out? It's staying in. I was
going to say, there's a 75 % chance that no,
we can't edit it out now. Dang. All right. Well,
those are my TBR books. I'm very excited to read
Heart and all the other ones. Yeah. I can't wait
for you to tell me all about it. Yes. Oh, I'll
be in your DMs, all of you. Excellent. Well,
we are going to hand things over now to Megan,
who has prepared a delightful deep dive for us
on Femboy. Yay! Thank you so much for that introduction,
JD. You are so welcome. So. As I said, let's
talk about femboys in queer romance books. Let's
do it. Yes. Let's do it. So as we all know, and
as other people in the community have also known
and seen and experienced, it is becoming more
common for femboys, femboy characters to be in
romance books, which we love. We love to see.
And basically it's just, it's characters who
are either male or mask aligned who present.
This could be done in like the form of wearing
makeup or wearing feminine clothing or even just
something as feminine mannerisms and physique
or the way they talk. Because as we know. Clothes
do not equal gender. It's so true. And so authors
who are including feminine men in their books,
they aren't doing it as a fetishization of queer
men. They aren't doing it because they wish they
were writing an MF romance. They aren't doing
it because it's what's popular. They're not doing
it as a kink. These are actual human men that
exist in. real life not the characters but it
is a gender non -conforming identity yes yeah
very a very real gender non -conforming identity
that exists in the real world can i jump yes
go ahead yeah uh so hi uh i'm kit So I've discussed
this before, but I am transmasc and I do actually
identify as a femboy sometimes. So, yeah, this
is, yeah, I am a real person. Hi. Hi. Hi, real
person kit. They do exist. Yeah. And I'd love
to talk about, like, why and what it's like for
me and why I think people do it just really quickly.
Yeah. Because, yeah, because here's the thing,
like, okay, first off, gender is something to
play with. in my view and i think in a lot of
people's views we're past the point where a lot
of people believe in these very strict gender
roles and you can't go outside of them i mean
women have worn gnc clothes for a long time now
you know there was a time where women couldn't
have worn trousers but we are past that time
and it men are starting to and mask people are
starting to be much more excepted when they explore
as well and wear clothes that are considered
traditionally feminine because clothes do not
have a gender they do not and this is so we play
with it and we experience things and it's not
a trans identity but it is about for a lot of
people it's about seeking that gender euphoria
um in their clothes because here's the thing
cis people can experience it too and that's what
i'm looking for because so much of the trans
experience is about your dysphoria yes yep wearing
the right thing can be that euphoric experience
and i wear a lot of mask stuff that's or androgynous
stuff that's where i feel most comfortable but
sometimes you know what men are masked people
We want to feel glam too. We want to feel cute
too. And a lot of those kind of clothes tend
to be traditionally more feminine. Or makeup.
Makeup is a fun thing. It's transformative. It's
empowering in a lot of ways. It's a fantasy.
It's a mask. It can make you feel really strong.
And I'm sure a lot of people, feminine people,
understand that too. And as men and masc people,
we can enjoy playing with that as well. Makeup
also has no gender. Surprise! so I think that's
where for me it comes from it's that fucking
with gender exploring how the two can mix together
because I am never a feminine gender I am always
masculine or gender neutral I just enjoy presenting
sometimes in ways that feel more traditionally
feminine also because the waistlines on feminine
clothing tend to be less restrictive and much
more comfortable So that's why I do it. It's
not gonna be the same reason for every femme
boy. But that's why I do it. Thank you. Yeah,
thanks, Kit. This is why it's important to also
have these type of characters in queer romance.
Because not only is it representation, but it
also helps other people kind of understand or
learn or maybe see themselves in that character,
you know. And also shows that, yeah, like you
said, you don't have to be one way. You can be
whatever whatever way you are. You can be right.
Yeah. So true. It's becoming more common, though,
for mask presenting and male. men there are a
lot of male men right now who are starting to
feel more comfortable yeah with their fem identities
well it's yeah it's just becoming more common
for them to be able to to explore more that side
of them and i think shaming an author for writing
that and i think shaming a person in general
for doing that is just we that you you might
as well be a transphobe in my my book yeah official
um so where did i leave off um this is our public
service announcement yeah stop doing that yeah
check yourself um yeah so basically at the end
of the day femme boys they are not a fetish they
are not a feminization kink which it could they
could be it could be a thing but Just because
someone's femme doesn't mean they want their
parts referred to as a pussy. They can also wear
lingerie and not be considered a femme boy. Like
Kit said, they're not trans. They're not always
trans. They're not enby. They can be cis. They
can be straight. They can be queer. We don't
make assumptions. With all that said, let's talk
about some books. yay so some of our favorite
books some of my favorite books and if you guys
want to chime in with some of your favorite books
if i miss any of them that have femboys in them
we have hothead by mika nix temptation by kiki
clark biker daddy by gianni holmes nightmare
for hire by morgan lysand yeah gray brian has
wreaking havoc and um or wrecking havoc It's
reeking. Yeah, I think it's reeking. It's reeking.
Gray Brian has Wreaking Havoc and Inviting Bedlam.
We've got I'm Not Your Pet by Faye Quinn. Felix
by Emmy Sanders. Good Night by Kelly Fox. Kiss
Kill Thrill Me Daddy by Lance Lansdale. Devil
May Care by Lark Taylor. Yes. Other than specific
ones I'm going to talk about, do you guys have
any? I have a couple that I would love to shout
out. One of them is Scarification by E .M. Lindsay.
Oh, yeah, I need to read that. It's so good.
I wrote a couple of I wrote some things down
like about it. Do you want me to share anything
about it or should I just move on? No, share
about it. OK, so, yeah. Scarification by E .M.
Lindsay is book six in the Irons and Works series,
which is one of my favorite found family series.
So good. But it features a bisexual, deaf, and
femme character named Amit. And he's just such
a delight. He has to hide that part of himself
from his conservative family. But he meets Miguel,
who really sees him and lets him shine. Yay!
Yeah, it's really, really sweet. Amit wears skirts
and lingerie and makeup, and he's just absolutely
adorable. I love him, and I love that book. It's
so sweet. Also, in that book, Miguel... has a
split tongue which i don't find very often in
books and it is oh my goodness it's very hot
he puts it to good can you imagine a blowjob
with a split tongue did you know that when you
split your tongue like that down the middle Each
side moves independently. Yep. You have control
of both sides. Yep. Anyway, if that entices you
further, great. The second one that I wanted
to mention is actually a book that I am choosing
for our next buddy read, which is called Pretty
in Peak. I'm so excited. Yes. So that one, it
features a plus size. construction worker named
Mateo he is also hiding that side of himself
from his family and he meets a daddy through
a daddy event who helps him kind of come out
of his shell and it's oh also it's His daddy
is blind, and I love, love, love the representation
in this book so much. Also, the nicknames Kitten
and Peach are used in this book. Kitten is one
of my favorite nicknames. Me too. And I have
highlighted this one quote, let daddy feel how
pretty you are. Stop it right now. I'm very excited
to read this with you. It's called Pretty in
Peak by Reese Morrison. Yes, we are reading this
for our buddy read next. This is my buddy read
selection that cannot be vetoed. Like any of
us would do that. Yeah, which, well, I mean,
you know, if you don't want to read it, you can
opt out. But this is the one that is decided
and then not the one that we're voting on. I
just must. you must read this so we're gonna
read this and we will have an episode talking
about it um eventually who knows but yeah those
are the two i wanted i wanted to shout those
out because those are like the two that really
come to mind for me when i think of uh femboys
yes love it thank you and i've got two if that's
okay i haven't got anything about them though
okay um i just want to shout out airborne by
quinn cameron which uh recently released And
My Everything by Jada Marks, which I talked about
recently on a previous episode. Oh, yes. Oh,
yay. Yeah. I wanted to add, I wasn't sure if
you, I couldn't remember if you mentioned it.
I know you said Goodnight by Kelly Fox, but also
Navarro. Desi. Oh, yes. Yes. We love Desi. I
love that book. Oh, it's so good. Also, Plaything
by Colette Davison. Yes. Yeah. I have to read
that one still. I'm really enjoying the Kinky
Housemates. I'm excited to read the next one
because it's got puppy play. Puppy play. Yay.
I can't wait. So the first one on my list is
a favorite of ours. Angel by Lyndon Bell. Yes.
The fate book. pause for kiel seriously i yeah
sorry yeah go ahead no it's um it's from uh her
camboy network series it's the third book in
the series and the camboy network is about a
group of friends who start a cam boy network
so wow i would not have guessed that no one saw
that one coming um but yeah we love we love lyndon
because she does such an amazing job of like
in these books balancing spice and plot and emotion
and tenderness and yes yes yes slutty slutty
feet oh yeah and the real foot fetishist is discovered
jd was this your foot awakening I don't think
I had a foot awakening. They just always knew.
Yeah. This one has a really great foot fetish
in it. Yes, it does. So we have Angel, who is
a teddy bear. Sweet, sweet teddy bear Angel.
Yes. Yeah. He's like, he's just this really sweet,
gentle giant. He's Reese's brother's friend from,
I guess, from high school. They were in football
together. Nope, don't have to sneeze. Okay. He's
like this quiet, sweet cinnamon roll who is just
kind of taken and enamored by Reese. But he doesn't
understand why. He's, you know, he's a sweet
little virgin who still lives with his mama.
and then we have Reese who is one of the cam
boy friend group and he's this like small fierce
Femboy, who left home at 18, as tends to be kind
of a theme in the Femboy books, is like his family
doesn't know him as Reese, the feminine dresser
who dyes his hair every week. His family knows
him as Ricky. And he left home at 18 and went
off to do his thing to become himself. He's a
pole dancer. He's a power bottom. And he loves
makeup and fashion. And like I said, changes
his hair color every week. He has beautiful long
hair. Yes. Beautiful long hair and wears beautiful
platform shoes. Yes. He has a very sexy heel
collection, which you get to see in this book.
So, yeah. Reese returns home at the beginning
of the book for his dad's birthday party. And
that's where he runs into Angel. In a vulnerable
moment, Reese tells Angel about what he does.
And Angel, for some reason, tends to become very
interested and intrigued by it. And one thing
leads to another. And next thing we know, Angel's
going to be joining Reese for some videos where
he's doing a... Where it is a... um well angel
thinks it's a gay for pay situation i was gonna
say it's it's technically a gay for pay but that's
not actually true because surprise surprise yeah
it's a gay awakening book yes and it's yeah poor
angel's just like so obsessed and not not obsessed
but he's just like enamored is the word right
he's just enamored yeah captivated i would use
that yeah yeah captivated by reese and he poor
sweet baby just doesn't know why but he just
wants to be with him and he wants to talk to
him but he's straight and he can't understand
uh his feelings why he's feeling like that yeah
yeah and so the tropes from this are the gay
awakening it's a virgin mc it's got First time,
size difference. Is it standalone? No, it's the
third book in the series. You can read it as
a standalone. You can. It's like those other
series, right? You can read it as a standalone,
but technically it's the third in the series.
Yeah, each book in the series you could technically
read as a standalone, but they're better together
because it's sort of a found family situation.
So all of the friends are in each other's books.
And if you don't know them, it's just less enjoyable,
but still very, very enjoyable, no matter which
one you pick. Yeah, they're all really good.
Yeah. And this one's relatively low angst. Reese
does start having feelings for Angel. Even though
he's like, can't catch feelings, can't catch
feelings, you know. Lots of whining. He just
doesn't want to break his own heart because he
thinks that Angel is straight. Yeah. Straight.
Yeah. But some of the kinks in this are, as we
said, shoe and foot fetish. There's quite a bit
of come play, including felching. Obviously,
exhibitionism because they perform all their
stuff on camera. um 69 which we love and then
i want to read a few quotes from the book that
i love i was sending these to the group chat
last night i love this book so much and they're
both from angel talking to reese and it just
it touches my heart because it's angel being
so lovely so the first one is no Reese you were
made to shine you should never hide how bright
and beautiful you are I love I love the way that
he sees Reese like he's I love who immediately
in the beginning he's just like so captivated
and awed by Reese and how like unapologetically
him he is and he just thinks that Reese is so
perfect in every way he really shows that in
in every interaction that they have together
and the second quote is i'll never let anyone
hide you away or cover you up or make you less
than you truly are yeah i chose this because
yeah because it's just like that's how that's
how this is how people should be treated by yes
i have i have a list going right now of Well,
I have several lists of posts that I want to
make eventually. But this book is on my list
for it's just titled Don't Change Who You Are.
Oh, yes. There's a bunch of books that have moments
like that. And this is this is one of my favorites.
It is. It's so great. So that's that one. The
next one I'm going to talk about is A Thousand
Cuts by A .M. Rose. Yes. As y 'all know, we love
the A .M. Rose in this house. yes yes so this
is the third book in the curse breakers series
this is the one i'm gonna read next yes yes yes
and i can't wait i know i'm here to get you pumped
for it and ready for it and it's the yeah so
it's the curse breakers series is that like an
urban fantasy series about it's kind of like
about this group of adoptive brothers who are
curse breakers they have the magic ability to
go in and break curses that exist in this universe
this book is fix's book he fix is much like daddy
fix yeah daddy fix uh he's like if angel was
a daddy like um is this action an actual daddy
book yes an actual daddy book yes excellent yeah
no it's not age play but it's you know it's daddy
boy in their um in their relationship fix loves
to um fix things he loves to like fix situations
he's the type of character who if something's
wrong he's the first it's gonna be like okay
what can we do what can we you know he's daddy
i think he's into personal curses isn't he Yes.
I think he's interpersonal. Exactly. Exactly.
And he's he's another giant teddy bear who is
covered in gorgeous, colorful tattoo. He's the
oldest of the Curse Breakers in this group. So
he's got he's got gray in his hair. He's buff
as fuck. He's yummy. Is it an age gap? Yes, it's
an age gap. So his newest job is helping out
a down on his luck cam boy. Oh, man, I got the
cam boys in this. down on his luck cam boy named
liam and uh poor liam is uh basically he's being
stalked and he's just literally everything in
his life is cursed um and i think it's in book
two that he goes to the curse breakers inc to
try to get help and then they're in the middle
of something important and yes i was just gonna
ask is this the guy from the club or from the
the fight ring oh my god okay yes he shows up
like basically asking for help and then they
have to turn him away and so because they're
a bit busy they're a little bit busy rude well
that's that's exactly what daddy thought fix
that daddy fixed like couldn't stop thinking
about the boy that showed up And they had to
turn away. And so he hunts him down, figures
out who he is, and shows up at his door to fix
things. I love this. I know. And so Liam is hesitant
at first. First off, because he doesn't think
he can afford it. And also, it's kind of hard
when it's hard for you to reach out, and then
you finally do, and then you get turned away.
You kind of are resistant to it at first. Yeah,
it makes you shrink back. exactly and so that's
what poor Liam does and he turns fix away but
fix won't be deterred and shows up at Liam's
house when Liam's gone and breaks all the curses
oh my god yeah yeah and so Liam shows up at the
curse breakers office pissed off being like like
you broke my curses like and trying to pay for
him but fix is like no don't let him pay for
it like oh my gosh um yeah so yeah so liam is
the femme boy and he's like i said he's a cat
cam boy he's also like a you know sad boy and
um such a sad boy and you know we love a sad
boy yes he is baby girl yes he is he is the definition
of baby girl yes he also is a dog daddy He has
his rescue baby named King. Oh, I used to have
a dog named King. He was my favorite dog in the
whole world. Aww. You'll love this dog. A what?
An Airedale Terrier. Oh, cute. I love Airedales.
They're so cute and they're so sweet. Aww. Yeah.
This is another book where it's the perfect blend
of spice and sweet. As we know, A .M. Rose is
great at writing tender, emotional relationships,
but also having the spice in there and having
the funny moments. The way they balance everything
is just so great. I was just thinking about book
one in this series yesterday. my ash my baby
yes and like uh with liam being a femboy it's
just kind of it's a great part of his character
and nobody really gives him shit for it it's
just yeah it's a fantastic part of his character
and it's just there yeah it's like it's like
a normative thing to them yes which i love yeah
again queer normative best kind of universe yes
best best best yeah and this one he doesn't have
like a family that he's trying to you know hide
himself from he's just who he is like there's
a scene i read last night where he's talking
is it's just a scene that's talking about him
getting ready and it talks about how he puts
on his makeup and then he puts on these really
pretty thigh high um tights that have little
pink bows on the back and puts you know wears
like these jeans shorts and this soft buttery
sweater and i was just like oh i love this moment
they just explained him getting ready and like
you know nobody was like why is that man wearing
women's clothing you know yeah yeah i won't give
too much away um but basically uh it's a slow
burn to get daddy fix it's insta lust but it's
a slow burn to get daddy fix and liam to finally
start acting on these feelings and fix is a daddy
who will be gentle and caring and sweet and concerned
outside the bedroom but inside the bedroom he
will pound you into the mattress oh my okay he
will restrain you and this is what is what liam
wants right so he will restrain you and he will
give it to you use his size against you in the
best way yep oh and there's like there's a scene
where liam is is on camera and fix is behind
the camera and it's just oh yes i love now that's
a micro trope i would love to see yeah right
we have that in always watching oh yeah by rs
mckenzie and lee mccormick Yes. I'm taking notes.
It's so good. Yeah. Katie's in her dark romance
era. So this absolutely must be on your list.
It's one of my favorites. I've actually been
thinking about rereading that one recently. Me
too. Me too. How dark is that? We'll talk about
it later. Let's not get into it now. Yeah. So
like I said, this one's got size difference,
age gap, tattooed fix. found family like one
of the best found family books series ever um
yeah and then exhibition of exhibition exhibitionism
as i say that again exhibitionism bondage um
it's another one that's a part of series technically
can be read as a standalone but i would read
it in order because there's an overarching plot
yes exactly there's an overarching yeah exactly
so um read and plus the other two are so good
anyway um yes also that there is there is angst
there's quite a lot of it yeah but it it'll hurt
but you'll love it it'll feel it'll feel yes
it'll be worth it yeah i love when it hurts a
little yeah well this will hurt a lot all I'm
ready. We need a sticker of that with an axel
waffle. And then the last one I'm going to talk
about is Breakfast at Bennett's by E .M. Denning.
Oh, yeah. And this one I just read a couple weeks
ago on audiobook by Kurt Graves. Woo -woo, we
love him. Yeah. And this is a low -angst series
about a father and his three sons who own...
and works slash used to work in a diner and they're
the wife slash mom passed away years ago so each
book is a different brother and then the last
book is the dad all finding love and it's just
such a sweet cozy like i said low angst series
that is just When you want just queer joy of
men finding their partners and experiencing what
it's like to find love and fall in love and go
on dates, this is a perfect series to read. I
love cozy queer joy. That's my jam. Me too. That
is Katie's jam. We have enough queer trauma in
the world right now. Exactly. There's a place
for queer trauma books. We love those too. It
is nice to have a nice little sprinkling of Drama
-free queer joy. Yeah, exactly. So books two
and three in this series have femboys in them.
So book number two is called The Jock, and it
is Colby Bennett, who is one of the brothers.
And then Milo Kennedy is a former drag queen
whose ex -boyfriend kind of shamed him out of
his femboy ways. No. Yes. So basically the book
starts with Colby coming over to his dad's house
and his youngest brother lives with his dad.
And so he walks in on his youngest brother putting
makeup on and dressing femme and his youngest
brother Taylor freaks out and tells him to get
out and starts being pissed at him and doesn't
want Colby to see this side of Colby. Oh my God.
I know. And poor Colby is just like trying to
find a way to let him know that what Taylor's
experiencing is normal and he supports him. And
he loves him and he doesn't want Taylor to be
mad at him for this. But Taylor's kind of like
embarrassed and is just like pissed at him and
won't talk to him. Yeah. Feeling vulnerable.
Exactly. Feeling vulnerable about it. Colby is
a CrossFit instructor and is at work one day
when Milo shows up. And Colby notices that Milo's
wearing makeup. And when they're talking about
it, he brings it up and finds out that Milo used
to. perform in drag so he kind of just like well
can you help my brother like and explains the
situation to Milo about what happened with Taylor
and kind of sort of reluctantly Milo agrees because
like I said Milo's ex had forced him to kind
of turn away from that life from being a drag
queen and from wearing makeup and clothing so
it's really sweet though because he agrees to
do it and he takes Taylor under his wing but
so while helping Taylor he also kind of rediscovers
and re -embraces that part of him and so it's
just fun seeing them support each other while
also getting over your asshole ex hell yeah and
this is a queer awakening book where colby thought
he was straight but then starts developing feelings
towards milo and it's one of those things where
the family is like uh dude we knew we knew you
were straight i kind of always like when there's
a when someone's coming out like and that happens
in a book true story when i was younger um i
like was trying to confess to my sister that
i had feelings for like another girl that we
knew and i remember like i we were in like the
back of a car just hanging out and i was like
i need to talk to you about something serious
and i was like i was so emotional about it because
i was really nervous and my sister's like yeah
i know like it's very obvious to everyone i know
my well my husband told me that i wasn't straight
so yeah so it's such yeah when it happens in
books like i don't know yeah to me that's just
a real response to that whole situation right
um in fact i was reading um am lindsey stick
around yes thank you i was just gonna say stick
around does that to you yeah jonah everybody
knew exactly jonah's like i'm bi and i was like
dude and then he's like oh so yeah so then but
because of milo's past with his ex he's very
hesitant at first to kind of get into something
and also he's not sure he's like is colby gay
or is he bi or is he straight or who knows everybody
else except for milo and colby apparently um
so yeah so the So that was that book. And then
book three is Taylor's book, which I love because
it's Taylor getting together with two of his
brother's best friends who treat him like the
princess he is. And that one's called The Princess.
Sweet baby. Yeah. Taylor's a plant dad, which
is like becoming one of my new favorite tropes.
I just started a tag for plant dad. I wish I
could be a plant dad. I'm a plant reaper. I'm
trying. Not by me. The cats would eat the plants.
I wouldn't eat them. I have a lot of plants in
my house and I'm responsible for zero of them.
Because... Nope. Death. But I do get to look
at them and they're very pretty. I bought a zebra
plant once and then I left it in the trunk of
my car for a week. And it survived. It survived.
They like the dark. I was going to say they like
the dark, but maybe not that much dark. Yeah.
And the heat, because this was like midsummer
in Arizona, so like 100 plus. Okay. Oh. You really
tried to kill it though. It survived on my desk.
It worked for like another three months and then
I over watered it and it. That's my problem.
I over water my plants because I'm like, I want
to fucking love you. Let me love you. That's
not how you do it. She's waterboarding her plants.
Love me. That's exactly it. Oh no. so who wrote
this book this is em denning and this is my first
time i've read any of her books so i'm definitely
going back there's a spin -off series from this
i was telling you guys this the fourth book is
the dad and an unhoused mc who the dad rescues
and brings in and gives a hot meal in the diner
which also love that microtrope like the unhoused
plus diner plus feeding him so yeah definitely
recommend this sounds really cute yeah it was
it was it was a nice like read for when i was
just needed something fluffy i did i did yeah
um and that's that's all i've got for today if
you guys have any more you want to say or anything
like that i i don't feel like you covered it
pretty well we love femboys and um we do let
men wear dresses let men wear nothing let men
and also we don't have to let them do anything
they can do whatever they want yeah and so can
everybody else mind your own business yeah oh
awesome well i guess okay are we doing outro
now do i Is that a good way to end it? I don't
know. I think so. Us just yelling at people and
telling them to mind your own business. And well,
that's the episode. Mind your own goddamn business,
okay? And stop telling people what to do with
their bodies. Exactly. Thank you. Let us know
if we have any femboy... books that we missed
and you want to tell us about them we could leave
them oh there you go yeah do that say that or
any any femboy book recommendations you want
to give us yes we are we want more femboy recommendations
so please leave a comment on our instagram or
our facebook page or facebook group email us
let us know if there's any that you want us to
read send us a letter yeah we take well yeah
we take letters send us a send us a pigeon mail
oh yeah that's what i meant a pigeon smoke signals
think about it really really hard and smoke signals
if somebody sends me a letter by pigeon i'm keeping
the pigeon yeah be ready to say goodbye to your
pigeon but you can send us a pigeon thank you
Great. Megan takes a bow. Thank you. And scene.
Listen, we're four nerd virgin people. We don't
know how to end things. I don't know what to
say now. Okay. Those magic tricks where you throw
the powder on the ground and it's just smoke.
That's how we're ending every episode. We need
to find the audio equivalent of that. Yes. Oh
my gosh. Okay. Well, I think that we can use
just the normal pre -recorded outro things, right?
But we need to say goodbye. Because I like it
when we do a different goodbye. So long. Goodbye.
I don't remember the rest of the words to this
song. So long. Farewell. That wasn't how it goes
anyway. I used to not think it was a way to say
that. I thought it was like, and we are saying
goodbye. So long. Farewell. And we are saying
goodbye. You know, we are saying goodbye. I like
that Doremi song better. Love it. Anyway, that's
unrelated. Sorry. Bye. Okay, well, bye. Bye.
Bye, everybody. Peace. Bye. Farewell. Okay, but
also every time we do that. You're not supposed
to be giving the forehead kisses. Yeah, those
aren't free. That was not a forehead kiss. That
was like on your hand. A hand kiss? That's weird.
the lord kisses the lady's top of her hand i'm
the lord and they're all the lady and i kiss
their consensually that's all for this week brats
we are gonna scurry back to our book nests but
we would love it if you join us next thursday
for more rat shenanigans until next time you
can find us on instagram at rainbow book rats
Or join our Patreon where you can get exclusive
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and invites to game nights and other various
events. Certain tiers also get a shout out at
the end of every episode. Hey Brats, it's Editor
Megan here with the Rat King shout outs for the
month. rat king is small but rat king is mighty
we have two new rat kings this month shout out
to carly and to meta for joining our patreons
we love you guys and as always email your comments
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