Such a moving book with a large and diverse cast of characters, most of whom you can't help but love. As a queer person myself, I found the story especially touching and I loved the different types of love that it celebrated. This is one of the first fiction books I've read that addressed Covid 19 so that was pretty cool!

Thanks to Skipstone Publishing and NetGalley for a copy to review.

The three storylines of each girl are woven together masterfully. This was a pleasantly surprising read!

crystals House of Queers was fun to read. Some of the writing was a bit flat but I overall had a great time reading it.

smut-lgbt It makes me so happy that this book delivered from the first page to the last. I adore sapphic relationships, and I had a great time getting to know the characters and their surroundings.

The beginning very much hooked me! Set in Alaska in 2020 still in the middle of the COVID19, is a teenage girl trying to figure herself out and care for her family. Check trigger warnings since there is abuse from previous family members. New girls come to the school and soon the main character questions her sexuality and what fully being queer in a small town Alaska means in a pandemic when everything around her is crashing. A good story and viewpoint of those newly an adult and figuring out what being queer is and new experiences and how to find your community. Does get a bit boring in the middle since they are still in high school and lots of juvenile things happen. Not my cup of tea from a high school characters perspective.

What makes this book good? To be honest I have no clue I couldn’t get through this book. It was a DNF for me.
I do hope to see more from this author in the future but for right now this was a no from me sadly.

This story start at the beginning of the pandemic where everyone just thinks that Covid-19 is a lie. (Super strange to read about the pandemic) Crystal and her brother have to go back to school because they have learning disability but she is being raised by her grandparents, she is very insistant in going but certain events transpire. Their is a diverse cast of characters and they were just bouncing of the pages it was amazing to see so many different stories being told so beautifully.

Thank you netgally and the publisher for giving me a free copy of Crystal's house of Queers for an honest review.

Such a moving book with a large and diverse cast of characters, most of whom you can't help but fall in love with. As the mother of a queer child, I found the story especially touching and I loved the different types of love that it celebrated. This is one of the first fiction books I've read that addressed Covid 19 and it's handled well as are so many other heavy topics. I'm looking forward to discussing this with my kid once they've read it.

Thanks to Skipstone Publishing and NetGalley for a copy to review.

Honestly don't know what I can say about this book that hasn't already been said.
The COVID aspect was all over the place, and sort of just...cringey?
This book was constantly moving, never any downtime! Event after event kept happening, it was mental.
The writing wasn't my vibe to be honest, and I would have preferred the characters be aged up a bit more to not feel as icky, it's labelled new adult so was expecting slightly older characters and felt a bit uncomfortable as they are so young (to me).

Lots of gay/lesbian (but bi rep would have been nice instead of just nearly everyone being comphet...). Great chosen family, and coming out/be yourself message...but just lots of drama - felt like a two part season finale of a teen CW show.

Honestly, this book was a rollercoaster. I don't think i'm the biggest fan of the writing style, but that’s just my thing anyway. Something i really loved about this book is the art it contained but Im not sure whether i’d recommend it or no. why? well, it was solid plot, but i don’t think the solutions the characters had were correctly made. Everything happened so fast i couldn’t really process anything until they had already solved the problem. Talking about the characters, well, they were nice, but again, the development was kinda rushed? the trauma they must’ve gone through and how quickly they recovered, and if they didn’t get over it, i would’ve loved to see them help each other through it. However, it was a nice book & the LGBTQ+ rep was really nice and welcoming.

I liked all the different types of representation. This was a completely unique, gripping and empowering read! I’ve never read a book with so many complex and special characters, and the queer and disability representation was so honest and positive.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Gay love🏳️‍🌈 so loved this book with its openness and vulnerability. There are no words. We need more books like this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up the book after reading the blurb and felt that it would focus on the presentation of LGBTQ+ characters, disability and focus on a number of different difficulties. I have loved some of the character developments and enjoyed how the story developed up to a point.

Unfortunately, at one point it became a bit a lot to follow and it started feeling a bit unrealistic which made it difficult to remain engaged with the book. I also felt that the end didn't really answer all the questions I had. In particular with Mac as I felt that there was a lot of built up around him.

Overall, I found the story interesting and loved the drawings but unfortunately at parts it did not live up for me.

3.5 stars

I went into this book knowing very little other than it was set during the pandemic in rural Alaska and presumably was very queer. All of those things are true, though the pandemic was more of a footnote with commentary about masks in schools in the beginning and Crystal's grandparents/caregivers getting exposed early on removing them from the rest of the story.

Overall, I found the book enjoyable as a New Adult family drama, and I think the message of being true to yourself regardless of what others think is incredibly important. Also I loved that the author included Crystal and Payton's artwork throughout the book! It was absolutely gorgeous.

That being said, I had some issues with the pacing. The events of the story take place over like 2 days and that felt really unrealistic, especially considering the gravity of some of them. The short time span also made some of the character interactions feel sort of hollow. For example, on Day 1 Crystal is lusting after Haley, who had been her childhood friend but they grew apart, and Payton and her little sister move to town. Then by the end of Day 1 Crystal and Haley are in love and Payton and Sydney have become "part of the family". The last few chapters also felt a little redundant to me. Yes, they serve a purpose in tying up a loose end and cementing the found family, but for me the story felt over before (view spoiler) and adding on those last few chapters, especially with Ainsley in the last chapter, just made the story drag.

Also I loved that the author included disability rep as well as queer rep, but it would have been nice to see more than just lesbian (and a small side of gay) representation, especially considering many of the women had been in relationships with men in the past. It would have been really easy to make at least one of women bi/pan, but instead the author chose to make all of their exes horrible and ignore any multi-gender attraction. And there was not even a hint of trans anything in the book. Really if it wasn't for Mike and Danny the book would be better titled "Crystal's House of Lesbians".

I liked all the different types of representation, but the plot felt convoluted and forced in places.

This was a story about divergence from the norms and the consequences, both positive and negative. It showed the power of determination and self acceptance in the face of bigotry and cruelty. One thing I really liked was that it didn't end with every battle won but with many battles left to fight. The book was a short read but packed full! There was a little too much erotica for me personally, but nice to see unapologetic queer romance and sexuality featured

I devoured this beautiful book!
Crystal is a teenager living in Alaska with her grandparents and older brother, and we follow her while she navigates through many challenges, all in the middle of a global pandemic.
Crystal, Haley, and Payton are the main characters in the story.
But this book is absolutely outstanding!
This book was wonderful, exciting, entertaining, and beautifully written!
This heart-warming book which depicts the difficulties of being queer in rural Alaska is an absolute must read!

Now I've got to read Someone To Kiss My Scars!

Thank you so much for gifting me this ebook copy!
NetGalley and Skipstone Publishing very much appreciated.

Crystal's House of Queers is the celebration of LGBTQ+ families, friends, and romances that we need in the world. I absolutely loved the diversity of the characters, depicting each as real, failable, discovering themselves, and realizing their power to take friendships and love into their own hands. This was a very quick book and left me hoping for just a bit more, but overall I thought it was wonderful and a must-read! This was my second Brooke Skipstone novel and I am sure it will not be my last.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Skipstone Publishing for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set in small town Alaska, this LGBTQIA romance/mystery drew me in so much! While it was a bit too fast paced to be completely realistic, if you are able to see past that it is such a beautiful story of friendship and romantic love. The fast paced nature of the story (it took place over the course of just a few days and a LOT happened) kept me turning the pages, but it was the characters that truly made me fall in love with the story. The young ladies were mature, but not perfect. They were each so lovable and I couldn't help but root for them. The representation of queer and disabled teens would be so invaluable to so very many, especially those who may not have support in their own family or environment. I imagine this book would feel like a warm, deep hug.

Crystal's House of Queers by Brooke Skipstone is a young adult LGBTQ+ novel about found family creating a safe space for one another. It follows Crystal Rose as she navigates her sexuality in a small rural town in Alaska, only further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has neurodiverse characters and celebrates their talents, proving that everyone is special.

I went into this knowing very little about the book or the author, having only read the summary. It was the first story I have read set during the pandemic so it was interesting to see how it had been intertwined in the plot. Generally, I found the pandemic didn't actually add much to the plot, it just gave an excuse for Crystal's grandparents to be out of the house and for the characters to be off school. Other than that you would never have realised there was a pandemic. At times it felt like this was being ignored to avoid complications at some points but then emphasised excessively at other points to aid the storyline. I found this frustrating as it created inconsistencies in the character's behaviours.

Crystal's House of Queers tells a really important story of forgiveness, friendship, and self-acceptance. It shows characters with both mental and physical disabilities thriving, not letting their setbacks stop them from getting happiness. Representation like this is so important, particularly in YA novels to give the readers a sense of acceptance and the confidence that many young people need.

I think the messages conveyed are so so important but the frustrations I had with the writing and pacing made it difficult to fully appreciate these. The entire story takes place over only 48 hours, with so much happening to so many different characters it was unrealistic and difficult to follow. Had the novel taken place over a few weeks or few months it would have made a lot more sense to me, coming out and understanding sexuality are complicated things that most people don't just come to terms with within a couple of hours. I also found the sexual nature of the book made it uncomfortable to read, particularly as it is a YA novel focusing on teenagers. Sex-positive books are extremely important but the sexualisation of characters as young as 12 is inappropriate.

Another disappointment I had was the erasure of the rest of the LGBTG+ spectrum in a book that was supposed to celebrate all queer people. Only lesbian and gay characters were involved, and although I am so appreciative of the representation of lesbian characters it was disappointing that no other sexualities or gender identities were mentioned. Many of the lesbian women had previously been in relationships with men so it would have been so easy to make them bisexual or pansexual. Instead, those past relationships were brushed away as lies. There was also no mention of transgender or non-binary members of the community, despite the insistence that the book was representing all queer people.

Overall I think Crystal's House of Queers had a lot of potential with so many important stories to tell and a great plot. Unfortunately, a few details let it down a little for me when I have read other queer books that didn't have these downfalls. Still, it was a compelling story and it is a good read for anyone looking for books containing queer characters with disabilities. The characters were easily likable and I found myself rooting for them until the end.