Ellen Galford (1) (1971–)

This is a lot of fun. Rainbow Rosenbloom is a lesbian, a London taxi driver, and a non-observant Jew. She's also the great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of a woman who jilted her lover two centuries back. Kokos is a dybbuk who's been contracted to possess the female descendants of that woman - although, having been stuck in a tree for the past two centuries, Rainbow is the first one she's got to. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

I enjoyed the glimpses of lesbian London (with the show more exception of the biphobia), and Jewish London, and the intersection of the two, in the early 90s. Beyond that, it reminded me of nothing so much as Good Omens in its portrayal of a supernatural bureaucracy which is all too reminiscent of the earthly sort. Kokos is an engaging if unreliable narrator, and the ending has a satisfying twist (though the direction the plot takes to get there feels a bit forced and melodramatic).

Good fun, though with a hefty dose of fridge horror. show less

Well-written, engaging narrative, bursting with detail on both Hatshepsut and the Egypt of her day. Includes supporting photographs of artifacts alongside the text and a timeline along the bottom of the pages. The layout was somewhat busy, but not enough to be overwhelming. There were a few two-page informational spreads, which were placed cleanly between sections so they did not disrupt the flow of the text. An informative and solid introduction to Egypt's princess who became a king.

Content show more considerations:

Artistic nudity (including an Egyptian painting of a birthing, p 11) show less

This was by far my favorite of my mainstream lesbian fiction stack. It also was the least mainstream, as it posits a offshoot of Christianity that worships Jesus's twin sister. I'm perfectly happy with lesbian nunneries happily writing bible fanfic, though.

I did not love the sort of weird cougar love interest, though. There were a lot of power dynamics there that were almost but not quite fully explored. A fun book overall, though, even if it tended a little far towards the show more lesbian-separatist side of things to totally suit me. show less

An ancient Scottish queen returns to modern day Great Britain in the midst of Margaret Thatcher's reign. Will war break out? Will lesbian priestesses save the day? Will Margaret Thatcher's hair survive? Fun, lighthearted fantasy novel, with some social and political satire thrown in.