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3.5 

Don't Be a Drag

By Skye Quinlan
Don't Be a Drag by Skye Quinlan digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Two rival drag kings competing for a crown might just win each other's hearts.


When eighteen-year-old Briar Vincent's mental health takes a turn for the worst, her parents send her to spend the summer in New York City with her older brother, Beau, also known as the drag queen Bow Regard.


Backstage at the gay bar where Beau performs, Briar just wants to be a fly on the wall, but she can't stand by when the cute but conceited drag king Spencer Read tries to put down another up-and-coming performer. To prove to him that even a brand-new performer could knock him off his pedestal, Briar signs up for the annual drag king competition.


There's just one flaw in her plan: Briar has never done drag before.


With the help of her brother and a few new friends, Briar becomes Edgar Allan Foe, a drag king hellbent on taking Spencer down. But unless she can learn how to shake her anxiety and perform, she doesn't stand a chance of winning Drag King of the Year, overcoming her depression and inner demons, or avoiding falling for her enemy, who might not be so bad after all.

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15 Reviews

3.5
“pride month book #5? (i’ll double check that number) little impromptu buddy read with topaz! i read this whole thing pretty much on my phone so it felt like reading fanfiction (but not necessarily in a bad way). every once in a while i need a romance book where i don’t have to pay attention to things like “worldbuilding” or “foreshadowing” and this definitely worked! i love when romance authors just put the two characters in a Situation (drag contest in this one) and then make them figure it out. favorite subgenre of romance for sure. i really should go read forward march now but i think i’ll save it for when i’m burnt out from fantasy/sci-fi!”
“. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. I want to start by saying that cringe culture is dead. Bring ALL of your special interests in full force, I do want to see you talk all about it. But holy hell, being forced to relive the year of 2016 where I was obsessed with Yuri On Ice hurt like a MF. Hearing about a fanfic between Tony Stark and Loki nearly killed me on the spot. Even the modern instance of "omg have you read the Song of Achilles?" Had me clawing for reprieve. This was WILDLY tumblrcore and proudly so and while I laud it for that I can't say that I enjoyed all of the secondhand embarrassment I got from it. The writing is fine, nothing magical, but the instances of talking about how depression and being suicidal feels hit really hard, and felt very poignant. I saw myself in those descriptions and passages and knew it came from a place of real experience. The on-page panic and anxiety attacks also had that same vibe of "this is MY experience," that I think the author probably injected intentionally. Of course, there's all around trans, nonbinary, queer, fluid, and agender people in this story, as well as all kinds of romantic and sexual love. But I appreciate how we got to see drag performers from every walk of life, be it the days of the AIDS crisis, Stonewall, baby gays, and heroes of Drag Race. Seeing trans, nonbinary, and cis drag performers all spoken of with respect and dignity was great. The characters were fine as well. Let me tell you, I would have slapped the hell out of Selene without a second thought. The level of entitlement never ended up sitting quite right with me even after she was redeemed. Her treatment towards Achilles and Briar was disgusting. The supporting characters were nice, but I got frustrated with Beau a lot. He was way too flighty and irresponsible to act all high and mighty with Briar. My enjoyment of this book was severely kneecapped by the fact that Selene went and found Briar's fanfiction stories and read them. I couldn't even fathom looking at someone in real life after they did that to me, and especially when Briar so clearly dealt with anxiety and social awkwardness. Do not ever do this unless the person says you can do this! Holy crap! This story felt like a really important one from the author and I'm glad they were able to put it out into the world. I'd look forward to seeing more of Spencer Read, Achilles, and especially Edgar Allan Foe.”

About Skye Quinlan

Skye Quinlan (they/them) is a queer, autistic author of YA fiction. They’re an avid reader, have an absurd amount of crystals and gemstones, and if they’re not tending to their garden, you can usually find them playing Animal Crossing. Skye lives in Ohio with their wife, two dogs, a snake, and two lizards.

Other books by Skye Quinlan

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