Staying Grounded After Heaven & Earth Success

After years (decades, really) of being criminally under-celebrated, James McBride is finally getting the recognition he deserves. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the rare book that wins the double brass rings of both critical and commercial success, was one of the biggest books of 2023, and the momentum doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. But McBride, long accustomed to being a “David” in the publishing industry, isn’t letting his newfound Goliath status go to his head. In a wonderful profile by the NYT’s Elizabeth Harris, McBride discusses how his life has changed since he started putting up the kind of numbers that are usually reserved for celebrity memoirs and—more important—the many ways in which it hasn’t. The key, it seems, is that his writing career is just one of the critical elements in McBride’s. Aspiring writers, take note. This is how you keep your feet on the ground even as your star rises.

Pick a Side

The hype cycle for House of the Dragon, which returns for a second season on June 16, kicked off last week when HBO dropped dueling trailers. GoT is not my flavor, so I understand about 15% of these words, but I love the concept. 

One trailer focuses on Rhaenrya, Prince Daemon and their forces on Dragonstone, and the other is centered on the King’s Landing team of Alicent, her father Otto and her children King Aegon and Prince Aemond. Taking place 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” will officially mark the start of the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war.

Shortlist Announced for the Dylan Thomas Prize

Each year, the Dylan Thomas Prize, created in honor of the Welsh poet who died in 1953 at the age of 39, seeks to honor the “exceptional literary talent” of writers under 40 years old. Is it an arbitrary criterion? Sure, but show me a literary prize that doesn’t have arbitrary criteria of some kind. A more notable unique feature of the Prize is how wide of a net it casts. The Prize is open to “all published literary work in the English language” and celebrates fiction in many forms, including novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and screenplays. Expand your literary horizons with the 2024 shortlist.

An App Created to Help Schools Manage Book Bans is Actually Fueling Them

Follow the money, kids.

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Laurent went on to be an artist in his own right, and six years after his father’s passing, he continued the Babar series, modeling the elephants closely after the original books. He went on to publish more than 40 Babar books. His most recent title was Babar’s Guide to Paris, published in 2017.

Laurent acknowledged the racism and French colonialism in the first Babar books. In response to this critique, he told National Geographic in 2014, “I think it’s right. Absolutely. In some way, it’s a little embarrassing to see Babar fighting with Black people in Africa. My second book, Babar’s Picnic, was also inspired by my father’s drawing. Some years later, I felt embarrassed about this book, and I asked the publisher to withdraw it.”

Bookshelves

After the book collection, the bookshelves are, of course, the most important element of bookshelf wealth. Ideally, you’ll have built-in bookshelves â€?here’s how to build them yourself. Otherwise, antique bookshelves are a great option. I’d recommend checking out thrift stores, estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, and antique shops, but here are some examples of what to look for.

The glass fronts on this Antique Oak Triple Glass Door Bookcase really elevate the look. Plus, they mean you don’t have to dust the books! $2,500 before shipping.

This 5-tier tree bookcase is a stunning way to incorporate a book display outside of the main bookshelves. $69

Think about incorporating non-traditional shelving as well, to add to the cozy and slightly haphazard look. You could get one of these stepladder shelves ($328+), but you could also make your own with boards and a wooden stepladder. You can also display books in stacks on an antique wooden chair, or even on the edges of stairs.

Furniture

Another essential element of bookshelf wealth is comfortable seating. You want to be able to curl up with a book at a moment’s notice. This aesthetic also favors patterns and colors, especially mismatched ones.

I think this black-and-white checkered armchair ($247) is a great way to add pattern to a space without being too overwhelming.

This wide armchair ($290) looks like the perfect place to cozy up with a book. If you’re looking for more options, here are some luxuriously comfy reading chairs.

Another great addition to a bookshelf wealth home is a reading nook â€?or several. This photo is from a listing for the cushion ($176), but a reading nook is necessarily something you’ll have to put together yourself, with a well-placed cushioned bench near a window, perhaps with a bookshelf beside it. If you have a bay window, you’re at a huge advantage for creating a reading nook. Here is some inspiration for your own reading nook.

Frames are a must for bookshelf wealth, to elevate your displayed artwork. You can buy sets like these ornate picture frames ($49), or you can find some at thrift stores and antique shops, swapping out the artwork for something in your own style.

I hesitate to recommend any specific artwork because bookshelf wealth is about leaning into your own collections and aesthetics. This should be art you truly love! Scour local markets, thrift shops, and Etsy for art you want to look at every day. Of course, reading-themed artwork, like this print of The Readers by Jacques-Emile Blanche ($25), is a good match.

Library Ladder

Admittedly, you don’t need a bookshelf ladder to achieve the bookshelf wealth look, but it doesn’t hurt. And who among us hasn’t wanted to have our Beauty and the Beast sliding ladder moment?

Here’s one option for a sliding ladder, on a black metal rail ($98+).

This ladder is retractable! ($300)

Wallpaper

If you’re looking to incorporate more patterns and colors into your space, consider wallpaper! Some people even put it on the back of bookcases, so the pattern is visible where there are gaps on the shelf.

This botanical wallpaper ($7+) is absolutely gorgeous! It’s also removable and renter-friendly.

This book-patterned wallpaper ($9+) would be a perfect choice for the back of a bookshelf!

Decor

Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s look at some complementary decor that will really drive home the bookshelf wealth style.

A blanket thrown over the arm of an overstuffed armchair goes a long way to make a space feel more cozy. This Pride & Prejudice blanket ($94) keeps it bookish.

If you’re going to have a cozy space to read, you’re going to need some lamps. They don’t have to be Tiffany-style stained glass lamps like this one ($150), but they can be statement pieces.

There are so many options for cute bookends that both add variety to your shelves and let you display books on every surface available. These bronze cat bookends ($165) are cute and classy. Other options for decorating your shelves are planters and vases with fresh flowers.

And, according to Architectural Digest, bookshelf wealth can’t go out of style: “While it may take some time to transform your space with copious bookshelf wealth, you can feel confident that the style is fairly immune to the ebb and flow of decor trends.” Readers will instantly recognize the vibe of bookshelf wealth because, for most of us, it’s what we’ve been aspiring to all along.

BookmarkED soft launched their product during a Texas State Senate Committee on Education meeting on March 30, 2023, two and a half months before Texas passed the READER Act. Wandler noted that the app was developed while working with a superintendent in the state. That superintendent, Jason Cochran, is one of the owners of the app, and as of writing, works as the superintendent of Krum Independent School District. Prior to Krum, Cochran was superintendent at Eastland Independent School District. 

At the 4:27:00 mark, you can listen to Wandler talk about why he supports SB 13. He reads through the same talking points as the company’s, noting that his app will make it easier on districts since they will no longer need to go through the “arduousâ€?work of reviewing titles. 

BookmarkED spent $80,000 on lobbyists in favor of SB 13. Convenient, since such a bill would make their product a “necessaryâ€?purchase for districts statewide. 

But the BookmarkED/OnShelf story isn’t about the Llano County Public Library. It’s at the school district, where on February 26, 2024, the school board heard from the company about the power of the app for use in its district. It was listed under the Superintendent’s Administrative Reports on the evening’s agenda; because the March meeting has not yet occurred, full minutes from that board meeting are unavailable. You can access the entire recording of the BookmarkED/OnShelf portion of the meeting. Per the recording, the district was in the process of being onboarded with the software, with a full launch anticipated in the spring. 

Watson explains that every book checked out by a child is then reported to the parent via notification and parents then get a synopsis of the book. Those synopsis are not the ones provided by a publisher. They’re synopses created by artificial intelligence which is “readingâ€?the thousands and thousands of books being uploaded to the BookmarkED/OnShelf app. Parents also get questions sent to them—up to 9—that will encourage discussion about the book with their child. Again: these are created by artificial intelligence software, not actual humans with degrees or backgrounds in education or literacy. 

The same lines about how the software is up-to-the-minute on current book bans and challenges across the country shared in the initial discussion of the app back in summer 2023 comes out here, too. The speaker notes that the PEN banned books list is “onlyâ€?updated once a year, so the information is not as current or accurate as theirs is (this is not true—PEN’s list is updated more than once a year, and more, Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson has been keeping as up-to-date a list as humanly possible since fall 2021). 

BookmarkED/OnShelf doesn’t tell the library what to do if a book pops up that’s been challenged or banned. But “you might want to review it!â€?is what the email prompt suggests. So any book in any part of the country being challenged or banned in your collection is now at risk of being reviewed for that status. Not only does this undermine the entire process of formalizing book challenges and collection management in librarianship, but it also makes quiet/soft/silent censorship conditions thrive. 

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the meeting is the funding sources for the project. At the 23:00 mark, Watson notes that they’re not only “huge on data privacy,â€?but that they are backed by the Charles Butt Foundation—an organization tied to the HEB grocery store chain in Texas—as well as Amazon Web Services. Apparently, both organizations thought the app was “great.â€?Amazon Web Services is apparently helping provide backend support, including the artificial intelligence being used to steal work being done by others determine what books are challenged and banned across the country. The third partner mentioned is Moak Casey, an educational consulting firm based in Austin. 

The next day, Watson reconnected with Munoz, thankful that the library staff had bought into the program. Watson included in the email a notice about data confidentiality with BookmarkED/OnShelf, which you can read here. Though the contract states it would protect the privacy and confidential nature of the information, several lines stand out as concerning: “Vendor agrees that it will maintain the confidentiality of personally identifiable student information contained in the District data at all times and will keep the data in a secure location. Vendor shall restrict access to personally identifiable student information to only its employees and representatives with a need to access the data for the purpose of providing the services specified in the Contract.â€?So anyone who works for the company and their representatives with a need for the data can access it fully. Someone like Wandler has access to student data, as does Cochran, who, as you might recall, is a superintendent at Krum ISD. 

That email also contained the contract between BookmarkED/OnShelf and Abilene ISD. The district would get the software for free in exchange for being a test facility. The contract is here.

Munoz emailed stakeholders in the district about the rollout on September 22. That same day, the CTO emailed other systems administrative employees about the new program and mentioned that “This is real and the district has decided to move forward with working with this company…It will involve data integration with student and parent information and they will also be working with Follett for data integration and library books.�/p>

In the time between the ink drying on the contracts and the first meeting to roll out the app with district officials, Watson was once again in touch with AISD. But this time, it was to invite the district to an event they were hosting with Moak Casey on Friday during the Texas Association of School Boards. They were invited alongside other districts piloting the program. Those districts included Winters ISD, North Lamar ISD, Godley ISD, Splendor ISD, and Mesquite ISD. At least two other districts were piloting the program who weren’t on this particular invite: Troy ISD—their district librarian noted in an email dated November 30 that they were going live with BookmarkED/OnShelf in January and she had not only not seen a demo but was not involved in the decision making at all—and a district that might sound familiar, Eastland Independent School District. That would be the district where Cochran was the former superintendent. (A FOIA has been sent to Eastland ISD, but it has not yet been fulfilled). 

Then the data begins to pour over to BookmarkED. The district was sent a list of tasks in order to onboard into the app. First, on November 2, Munoz emailed the Systems team in the district requesting the following:

But on November 11, 2023, Munoz discovered a problem. She emailed Watson the following: 

We just noticed that we do not have the signed contracts from your end.   We do have the Data Privacy agreement signed by both BookmarkED and AISD but the other two contracts (Master Software & Vendor Confidentiality) are not signed by Steve. Can you get this taken care of for us?

Watson would not respond until the 14th when she noted that the contracts would be sent back signed as soon as possible. Those would arrive on Thursday, November 16.  On November 7, the catalogs for each of the participating school libraries were uploaded to BookmarkED/OnShelf. This included a list of every book in the library by barcode and ISBN, formatted into an Excel file. A little confusion happened in the process, and the catalogs for three of the district’s schools—Abilene High School, Taylor Elementary School, and Bonham Elementary School—were uploaded by November 28. 

None of the books that were being considered were flagging banned or challenged titles, though two of the ISBNs did not pull up any data. Here’s a look at what that looks like on BookmarkED/OnShelf’s side.

The next step in trying out the system, per Langford’s next email, would be to send out emails to the district’s parents, who could try out BookmarkED/OnShelf themselves. This is where the information acquired by FOIA ends. 

Where the ILS is created and developed with privacy and data safety in mind—recall that the Patriot Act was a significant piece of legislation that developers and library workers kept in mind when creating online systems for borrowing items—BookmarkED/OnShelf offers no such thing. Instead, student data is loaded into an app that, as far as can be told at this point, is not secure, is not private, and is possibly available to the people behind the software itself. Folks like Wandler, who have been advocates for “parental rightsâ€?and book bans, having access to the names of children who have books restricted is not only a breach of their privacy but sets up an opportunity for then turning that data over to legislators in the state (and a whole host of other people). 

So much for “parental rights.�/p>

If you see anything in your district that looks suspicious when it comes to BookmarkED or OnShelf, it’s time to reach out to administrators and let them know the truth about this app. Its history proceeds it, even if it claims to have heavy hitters helping push it forward. At the end of the day, this app is not only stealing information via its use of AI, but it’s stealing the work of people who are committed to ending book bans and regressive legislation across the country. 

More, as much as this app is angling to “provide information,â€?what it does is set up not only a tool that completely discredits and disrespects the intelligence, experience, and knowledge of trained professionals, but it also sets forth the prime ingredients for further and further book banning. Parents who are invested in their child’s reading lives have the tools at their disposal already: they have always had the power to restrict books from their children in the library and in the classroom. Indeed, one of the things we know to be true is that Moms For Liberty has fueled misinformation about this by conveniently leaving out the pages of permission forms that allow parents to opt their own child out of lessons. 

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno This Thing Between Us is a little book. Almost square in shape and only 272 pages. But there’s a lot going on within these pages, and this cosmic horror really packs a punch. Just look at that cover. You know something wild is going to happen to these people. And every time you think you have a handle on where this story is going, it takes a big left turn and goes somewhere weirder. Are you in? When married couple Vera and Thiago buy an Itza — the “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” — for their new condo, Thiago isn’t fully committed to the new contraption. Vera, however, just had to have it. After all, with all of the weird things happening in their home, she thought a high-tech home device would bring them a little joy. [Narrator: It didn’t bring them any joy.]Instead, with the Itza in their home, things get weirder. Strange packages start showing up at their door, and the Itza plays eerie music and projects strange lights on the wall in the middle of the night. Thiago can’t help but wonder…is the Itza trying to send them some kind of message? Is the house trying to talk to them through their new speaker?But before Thiago and Vera have a chance to explore the strange happening in their house further, Vera unexpectedly dies, leaving Thiago behind to pick up the pieces and unravel the mysteries of their condo and their demonic Itza all by himself. When things become too intense for Thiago to bear, he does the only thing he can think to do: escape the city and find solace in a secluded cabin in Colorado. But there is no escaping the evil that tore apart his life back in Chicago. It follows him everywhere, and it is slowly causing him to unravel. This Thing Between Us is such a bone-chilling horror novel featuring imagery that is truly the stuff of nightmares. But this book is also such an intense, emotional exploration of grief. I found myself underlining giant passages from this novel, lines about grief, loss, and love that I will hold close to my heart for the rest of time. The story is told from Thiago’s perspective, as if he is telling the story to his late wife, Vera. In this way, the story gives insight into this marriage even after Vera’s death, and the reader is given an intimate look at how the loss of Vera has lasting effects on Thiago’s psyche. Just talking about this book makes me want to read it for a second time and get haunted by this strange story all over again. I gave this one five very enthusiastic stars, and I think you’ll love it too.

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Literati

Literati Kids Book Clubs is a book subscription box mixed with an online book club. They send your child five books each month as well as some stickers, little toys, and art, and they offer free returns for books you don’t want. They provide different box options split into age ranges and personality types (dreamers and tinkerers, for instance). Book-wise, you receive a mix of fiction, activity books, and non-fiction. Boxes start at about $39.99 if you keep only three of the five titles they send.

Curio

Curio is a subscription book club for bilingual kids between zero and ten years old, featuring Spanish, Chinese, and French titles. Give them your reader’s name, age, and preferred language. The site emphasizes that families don’t need to be fluent in the languages to take part, and each box comes with three stories, an audio read-along, reading guides, and pronunciation guides. Boxes cost $49.95 and go out every three months.

Equal Opportunity Book Box

Equal Opportunity Book Box sends diverse books for kiddos according to two plans, their 0-2 board box plan or the 3-7 picture book plan. The monthly plans provide three inclusive stories with LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other underrepresented characters. They also give you discussion questions to go over together. Each time a book is sold, they donate a matching one to Chicago’s Bernie’s Book Bank. Price-wise, it depends on how long you pre-pay for, and on which age range you select, but their options begin at $24.99 a month.

Little Feminist

Little Feminist promotes books that are “anti-racist, body-positive, trans and gender-fluid inclusive� The subscription options range from ages 0-9, and each box comes with discussion questions and activities for families to do together. Price varies depending on which option you choose, as you can sign up to receive books monthly, or every three, six, or twelve months.

StoryCaptain

Kids between 0-7 years old can enjoy using StoryCaptain. You select the age and then a plan based on how often you want books to arrive. You’ll get two or three books in each box, a monthly digest, activity suggestions, and some freebies. Prices vary by how often you receive books, but the monthly option is $24.95.

Little Fun Club

The Little Fun Club sends two or three books per box, individually assigning books to each subscriber based on the data the company collects when you sign up. They provide books for kids ages 0-12, choosing titles recommended by The Association for Library Service to Children, or they select award winners or books by well-respected authors. The price varies, depending on the two or three-book option, as well as how often you’d like to receive a box.

Little Bookish Wardrobe

This CrateJoy subscription provides only one book and a story-related outfit for dress-up-loving kiddos aged 5-9. Along with the book and costume, they send craft activities, educational games, and monthly challenge ideas. The price is $49 per month.

Little Global Citizens

In the Little Global Citizens subscription box, a different country and its culture are featured every month. Aimed at ages 4-10, it comes with a guidebook, a book set in that country, crafts, activities, and recipes. Subscriptions are bi-monthly or annually, with the first month discounted to $39.95 when you sign up.

While we’ve written before about some of our fave book box subscription choices, these eight options are my personal top picks. I hope you find one to get excited about!

But, obviously, we know that’s not the case historically. Not only does the common form of the Western genre conveniently forget that a significant portion of cowboys and settlers in the West were Black, but also that forms of queerness were common in the period of the 19th century we think of as the Old West. Chris Packard has a book on this topic, Queer Cowboys, that is well worth checking out if you have an interest in the history in question! The short of the long is that queer narratives have, and have always had, a place in the Western genre, and it is always a constant delight to see books being published that explore and push out the boundaries of the genre from a queer perspective.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Western Books

The Nightland Express by J.M. Lee This one has been on my radar for a couple of months now because I love the idea of a queer, fantasy take on the Pony Express. It came out a few years ago in hardcover, and if you’re a paperback fiend like me, the paperback edition is actually going to be out this May. The Nightland Express is about a young trans man, Jesse Murphy, who takes a special assignment with the Pony Express in order to feed his family and find his absent father out in California, and Ben Foley, a young, mixed-race gay man passing for white in order to protect his freedom. The two meet by chance at the Pony Express Station, and take up the special assignment together: a dangerous route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to California that finds Jesse and Ben pitted against any number of strange, inexplicable sights and creatures. Apparently, there is another, magical world that exists just beneath our own, only now the two are tearing themselves apart after years of violent war and colonization. Jesse and Ben are caught in the middle of it, with only each other to rely on.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis The Good Luck Girls is a YA fantasy western novel set in the fictional country of Arketta, rather than the American West, but Western fans will quickly note the similarities between the two settings. It’s about a group of five girls who were sold as children to a “welcome house” where they were branded with cursed markings and destined for a life of sex work. They’re known in Arketta as “Good Luck Girls”, but there isn’t much luck about their fate. When one of the girls accidentally commits murder, the girls band together to make their escape. They set out into the world to find freedom, and justice for what was done to them, even as they’re pursued on all sides by those who would seek to put them back in their cage. Only together, and only with the help of a long history of Good Luck Girls before them, can they hope to survive.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey We never say no to Sarah Gailey in this apartment. Their books are always excellent, and Upright Women Wanted is no exception. Upright Women Wanted is a queer, near-future western about Esther Augustus, who stows away in a Librarian’s wagon after witnessing the public execution of her best friend and lover, Beatriz. She can’t escape her grief, but she can at least escape an arranged marriage to the very man who was engaged to Beatriz before her death. The Librarians, whom Esther has run away hoping to join, are a group of supposedly “upright” women who deliver materials deemed acceptable to various towns for the edification of the public. In reality, they’re a close-knit group of radical, queer spies, spreading propaganda to undermine the fascist government. We love to see it. 10/10, absolute perfection in novella form.

Horror Western Books

Cruel Angels Past Sundown by Hailey Piper Hailey Piper’s Cruel Angels Past Sundown is just one of Death’s Head Press’ Splatter Western books, whose gorgeous pulpy covers are almost as memorable as the stories they contain. Set in New Mexico Territory in 1882, Cruel Angels Past Sundown is about a woman, Annette, and her husband, whose life together is violently and irrevocably interrupted one day at sunset when a naked, pregnant woman stumbles onto their ranch. Escaping the bloodshed that follows, Annette flees to the nearby town. But the nightmare of that night has followed her to Low’s Bend. If she wants to survive the hell that’s coming, she’ll have to put her trust in new friends and face down an evil more frightening than anything she has yet encountered.

Salvation Spring by T.C. Parker Salvation Spring may only be novella length, but it packs a lot of story into its 140 pages. Billed as a “weird, queer western”, it’s a delightful work of cosmic horror that definitely deserves a place on this list! The town of Salvation Spring, standing alone in the middle of the desert, isolated and remote, is the only thing that Sasha knows. Literally. She doesn’t know her own past. She doesn’t know what caused the scars on her body, or why. It’s all a blank except for Salvation Spring, calling for her from deep in the desert. This is why, no matter what it takes, no matter what she learns about herself along the way, Salvation Spring is where Sasha has to go.

A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files This next book is a bit of a genre blend — which, of course, I love. Gemma Files A Book of Tongues, the first in the Hexslinger series, is a historical western that also blends in elements of horror and fantasy. And, obviously, it’s queer, which is always a plus! In an alternative post-Civil War America, the outlaws of the West work dangerous magics, and one — Rook, a “hexslinger” — has come up with a desperate plan to unleash a pantheon of sleeping, bloodthirsty gods through whatever bloody means necessary. Hidden among Rook’s men is Ed Morrow, a Pinkerton in disguise whose mission is to discover the degree of Rook’s power; he finds himself forced to team up with Rook’s lover and second-in-command, Chess, if he hopes to stand a chance of surviving the what Rook has planned for himself, for Chess, and for the world.

Historical Western Books

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens Kicking off the historical fiction section is Lucky Red, a western set in Kansas in 1877 about 16-year-old Bridget, who finds herself finally free to determine her own fate when her troublesome father, for whom Bridget was the sole carer, is suddenly killed by a snakebite as they cross the Kansas prairie. Penniless but independent, Bridget finds work and shelter in Dodge City at the Buffalo Queen, a brothel run by women. Bridget settles quickly into her new life, where there’s plenty of food and money and friendship to go around. Then her life is soon upended yet again when legendary female gunslinger Spartan Lee arrives in Dodge City, stealing Bridget’s heart but bringing trouble in her wake. When a shocking betrayal destroys the safety that Bridget thought she’d found at the Buffalo Queen, she sets out instead to make her own way in the world and see if she can’t become a legend in her own right.

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang Set in the end days of the American Gold rush, How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang is about two orphans, Lucy and Sam, who find themselves suddenly alone in an unforgiving world. Following their parents’ deaths, they flee their mining town for safety and so they can bury their father in peace. But as the children of immigrants, peace isn’t easy to come by: their very presence in gold rush land puts them in danger from the hatred of others. There is a slight touch of magic in this story as the two children make their way across an unfamiliar landscape of mountains that seems full of strangeness and secrets. It’s a story about siblings, family histories, growing up, and finding a place to belong, and it’s just gorgeous.

Romance Western Books

Three to Love by Rebel Carter Let me preface this by saying that Rebel Carter’s whole Gold Sky series is delightful, and while the book I’m including here is book 4, I definitely recommend you check out the other books as well! Three to Love is a queer, polyam romance about two newcomers to Gold Sky, Montana — Ansel Ortega and Brenden Black — and Florence Wickes-Barnes, who has lived in Gold Sky all her life and has been waiting for the right two men to walk into her life. Florence grew up with a mother and two fathers, and all she’s ever wanted was that kind of love and stability in her life. But even as she finds herself drawn to the love that already exists between Ansel and Brenden, and wonders whether there’s room for her in their lives, Florence is still plagued by doubts that make her reluctant to trust the two men not to break the heart she longs to share with them. Only time and patience will tell whether the three can find a way to be happy together, or whether it will all fall apart.

They Ain’t Proper by M.B. Guel I’m really excited about this addition to the list, not only because it gives me a chance to shout out Bella Books, a long-time publisher of queer books, but also because They Ain’t Proper just seems like such a cute book. It’s the 1880s, and Lou Ramirez has sent away for house plans so they can build a life of their own on the outskirts of Ghosthollow, far enough away from town to be free from scrutiny. Unfortunately for Lou, they sent away for plans, but the mail coach dropped off a wife instead, and now she refuses to leave! Clementine, on the other hand, doesn’t care if she’s been misdelivered. She just wants to be free of her family, and she’ll marry whoever she has to in order to make that happen. That she ends up with shy, quiet, sweet Lou instead of the gruff, harsh rancher she was expecting is just a bonus.

If you’re looking for even more Western books to read, be sure to check out these lists of diverse Westerns, alternative history Westerns, and 28 of the best Westerns for your TBR, or hop on over and browse Book Riot’s entire Westerns archive!