Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: High Lonesome by Tanya Chris

High Lonesome

"I like this a lot."

Joe doesn’t live on top of a mountain because he loves people. A late summer snowstorm is the perfect chance to send his customers down to lower altitude and enjoy a few days of solo strolls and fireside naps.

Tanner’s not staying at a high-altitude hut to admire the scenery. He’s got a date to keep with the sort of person you don’t want to disappoint, a date that’ll result in him earning some much-needed cash in exchange for what’s left of his self-respect. But that’s OK. He gave up on self-respect when he picked up the needle anyway.

Pyotr didn’t drop into a blizzard to rescue Tanner or to drag Joe back down to the real world. His mission is a lot colder than that. People are only pawns, and spies are only heroes to those who don’t know them.

Hermit, addict, spy. Three men, one snowstorm, zero reason to trust. And someone’s coming …
Content warning: this book contains on-page heroin use and detox. A brief argument follows the reveal of a character’s HIV status.

Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Havesskadi by Ava Kelly

Havesskadi

"Fabulous world building and mythology, I would like to more about the red dragon and how the anasketts corrupted her. The settings were full of imagery and atmosphere, particularly the castle and I really liked the writing style - no massive info dumps here. I really wanted to rate this book higher because I enjoyed the story, but I kept coming back to the fact that almost half the story was about 2 characters who hardly talk to each other and hid things from each other, with little character development at this point and I was left feeling disappointed at the end. I would've liked to see Arkeva and Orsie discovering new things together outside the castle."

Nevmis, the red dragon, is hunting her own. Up in the icy peaks of the northern mountains, Orsie spends his lonely days hiding from her, but eventually he is found and his dragon magic stolen. Cursed to wander the lands as a mortal unless he recovers his magic before twenty-four rising crescents have passed, Orsie embarks on an arduous journey. Spurred by the whispers in his mind, his quest takes him to a castle hidden deep in a forest. Arkeva, a skilled archer, is trapped in an abandoned castle deep in the woods, his only company two companions—one kind, the other cruel. Then a stranger arrives, a young man who soon finds himself confined by heavy snowfalls—and in danger from what slumbers in the shadows of the castle.