100 books like Soul Unique

This book hooked me with the first sentence: “Half blinded by the storm, she stumbled into the open area between buildings.” Anne Bishop created a world with infinite care and remained consistent throughout this series. Although this is the first book, it can be read as a standalone. I felt immediately comfortable in Anne’s world and was able to slip right into the story.

Conflicts occurred, followed by dire consequences, yet detailed sex and violence were not used to carry the plot forward. Throughout this book, I felt as if her characters lived in my neighborhood; many of whom I would’ve wanted as friends. I became invested in them and wanted them to succeed. Dialogue was believable and flowed smoothly.

Normally, I catch errors in spelling and word usage in books I read, which slows the story way down. However, either I was too immersed in the story, or there… show more.

I liked the protagonist, Kate Delafield, immediately for her straightforward manner. Within very few pages, Katherine painted a picture of the neighborhood and the bar where a murder occurred in its back parking lot, yet she never caused the story to drag. Katherine pulled me in with her succinct description of the murder scene. It was as if I stood beside Kate Delafield.

As the detectives entered the bar, I felt lesbian history reverberating down through the years. As a lesbian, I identified with Kate Delafield and with the milieu within which she had to live and do her job as a police detective. I also understood the hostility of the bar patrons—all lesbians—toward the police. Without preaching, Katherine described the larger conflict inherent in the situation.

This book was so well-written that I “felt” the emotions of the characters; the sadness that a young life had been destroyed way… show more.

Major Jane McMurty is a complex character trying to work through PTSD acquired under fire in Afghanistan while integrating back into civilian society. Her “sidekick” is a dog named Shady who epitomizes the independence and intelligence of a working dog. As a past breeder of working GSDs, the interactions between woman and dog are quite realistic, and quickly pull me into the story.

This is a woman used to standing on her own two feet, but now they aren’t there. The love she has for the K-9 who went through the war with her, Shadow, shines through her actions, and in the way that she fights to bring Shadow home. Even though this novel highlights several very real issues faced by returning veterans and amputees, this is far from a “sob story.”

I love the strength the main character shows and the way she treats her current dog, Shady. That… show more.

This romance combines a look into the world of working guide dogs with a story of how two people grow to love each other and cherish the very different places from which they came. The characters—canine as well as human—are well-developed. The bond between human and canine, essential to the story, poignantly reminded me of a very special German Shepherd with whom I shared my life for all too few years.

Much like everyday communication, the dialogue flows, stutters, and gets sidetracked. I appreciated how the issues presented throughout the book are resolved realistically, whether between humans or dogs. As the characters grow and change, an unforgettable picture of how love can change the destiny of people and dogs is painted.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a romance with depth and heart.

A beautiful and engaging look at a woman named Grace Porter who surprises herself and those around her when she marries a woman she barely knows during a girls’ Vegas trip. The reason I love this book is the way Grace’s friends support her when she makes a decision she barely understands, but they’re with her regardless of wherever this journey will ultimately lead. A group of people whose expectations are not the determination of their love for you is one of the things for which we all yearn.

I personally like this book because there are very few picture books representing two women falling in love and getting married. This book celebrates two women, a courageous maiden who attends a royal party, and while there, she ends up finding love with the princess.

This fairytale is written with themes of acceptance and love. 

If you’re not familiar with Pat Parker yet, you’re in for a treat.

This collection gathers the published and unpublished writing of a badass literary powerhouse who has yet to get her full due. Written from the 1960s-1980s, Parker’s poems, stories, essays, and plays give a foundation of black queer and feminist thinking.

With striking language and irresistible humor, Parker and her irreverent characters shed light on the complexities of gender identity, state violence, nonmonogamy, pleasure, and belonging. Parker’s work is both ahead of its time and right on time, reminding us that history—and our power to shape it—are less distant than we think. 

I had the incredible fortune of seeing Alabi read from Against Heaven about a month ago, and what I most remember is the feeling of calm that came over me as they read. It's the kind of calm you get when you're in the presence of incredible beauty—like a waterfall, a mountain, or a vast crowd of protestors—and you realize that this is what life is for.

These poems are dear to me because of the way Alabi wrestles biblical language into meanings that they, and we, need. I wish I could feel all the time the way I feel reading this book.

Ah, The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry delighted me and made me laugh from the first page. It’s radically funny and inexorably inventive. Best of all, it follows a protagonist who doesn’t know how great she is—who thinks she’s kind of terrible, really—and it takes a newfound community of friends and fellow wizard ladies to reflect back to her a new opinion of herself. The language is Dickensian (only better!) in its wit and flexibility. It abounds in amazing female characters. And while there’s a fun romance, it’s the friendships that get me in my sticking place. I just wanted to hug this book when I finished. I wanted to have written it. I’m glad Waggoner did instead.

I loved a number of things about Pennyblade. For starters, the main character’s (Kyra’s) race, the Commrach, who are like elves, are ruthless libertines and hedonists. 

The Pennyblade world is a fascinating and grim place where same sex relationships are punishable by death and the action, which is visceral and very explicit, just keeps coming.

I really liked that this is a novel about prejudices, it appealed to me as someone from an ethnic minority group who grew up in London in the late 1970s / early 80s and experienced racism.

Fortunately, Pennyblade has plenty of humour which makes the grimdark nature of the book more palatable.