As we hunker down for a horrible winter storm, Kris and Tara have their first-ever fight on the podcast. Lines are drawn, things are said that can't be taken back, but laughs are also had.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: The Holiday Club (2024)
Kris's official recommendation this week is The Holiday Club, a movie that follows two friends over the course of a year through various holidays as their relationship blossoms into something deeper and more romantic. Kris was charmed by this slow burn, low-angst story, and thinks you will be too.

The Love Book by Gun Brooke
Tara's official recommendation this week is The Love Book by Gun Brooke. It's a sapphic romance novel that's bursting with things. Too many things, some might say, but Tara found it just right. When the poorly performing assistant to a high powered literary agent (who the assistant is also in love with) accidentally sends them their own manuscript anonymously, the two begin a dance of deception intended to keep the assistant's job but might end up winning…their hearts.

Works/People Discussed

• Paradise, Season Two (Hulu)
• Love is Blind (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (World of Wonder)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (BBC Three)
• Drag Queens Trixie Mattel & Katya React to The Boyfriend Season 2 | Netflix (YouTube)
• and I fell heavy into your arms by Libstar (56k words)
• What's In A Name by InBetweens (18k words)

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This week, Kris has no news and Tara tells all about her latest boob squishing appointment. Get your boobs squished, y'all. It's important. They also talk about the Olympics and other current topics like the Newhart series finale.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: The 'Burbs (Peacock)
Kris's official recommendation this week is The 'Burbs, a new TV adaptation of the 1989 movie starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher. Kris found herself late to the Keke Palmer party, but now she's here and loving it.

From Tara: Moonstone Island (Studio Supersoft)
Tara's official recommendation this week is Moonstone Island, an indie game described by Tara as a mix of Stardew Valley and Pokemon.

Works/People Discussed

• The Night Agent (Netflix)
• Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (World of Wonder)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (BBC Three)
• The Boyfriend (Netflix)
• The 'Burbs (1989)

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So… we skipped a week and didn't tell anyone. Sorry about that, folks. Life got in the way in a big way, but we're back with stories to tell.

Kris and Tara share COVID stories. Kris dives into her experience at ReadOUT. And of course, we've got those tasty, tasty recommendations.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Best in Show (2000)
Kris's official recommendation this week is the film Best in Show, in honour of the late, great, and very much missed Catherine O'Hara. It's a mockumentary set in the wild and wacky world of competitive dog shows and the people who devote their lives to it. And, it turns out that the film aged fairly well. If you haven't seen it before, check it out.

From Tara: When She Flies by Lee Winter
Tara's official recommendation this week is When She Flies by Lee Winter. Despite a humiliating first encounter that only one of them remembers, Jasmine and Sienna reconnect later in life by chance and their relationship churns up a lot of things that need changing in their personal lives. Tara thinks this book would make an awesome mini-series.

Works/People Discussed

• ReadOUT 2026
• EF5 by Kris Bryant
• Bridgerton (Netflix)
• Queer Eye (Netflix)
• 60 Days In (A&E)
• The Traitors (Peacock)
• His and Hers (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (World of Wonder)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (BBC Three)
• Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (2026)
• This Love is Undeniable by MJ Duncan

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We talked about this! New year. NEW. Different. Better. Not (waves hands at the world) all of this.

Oh well, at least there's puppies, blurbs, and recommendations on tap. Pull up a chair, fellow sapphic fiction readers. We've got what you've been looking for.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Kris's official recommendation this week is a historical novel set in the distant past of the 1980s, when dinosaurs and other creatures still walked the earth. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid is the story of a female astronaut coming to understand herself as she prepares to go to space. Kris says that this book helped fill in the emotional gaps that last year's recommendation of Sally, the documentary about astronaut Sally Ride, didn't provide.

From Tara: Greta Gets the Girl by Melissa Marr
Tara's official recommendation this week is Greta Gets the Girl by Melissa Marr. Similar to Kris's recommendation, this book reaches back to a previous recommendation by the same author, Toni and Addie Go Viral. This book has that sweet, sweet one-night-to-forever trope that Tara craves. The book comes with a trigger warning because one of the leads is a sexual assault survivor, although no assault happens on the page. (Note: Tara forgot about the trigger warning when discussing this aspect of the book and how it's not mentioned in the blurb.)

Works/People Discussed

• 11.22.63 (Hulu)
• The Traitors (Peacock)
• Canada's Drag Race (Crave)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (World of Wonder)
• The Good Place (NBC)
• 10 Dance (2025)
• Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Sally (2025)
• Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr

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It's a new year and we're already full of surprises here at Queerly Recommended. Kris reveals that she's never seen the sitcom Arrested Development. Tara drops more personal lore that connects her with an infamous Canadian serial killer. We have updates on Daryl Dixon the cat and the newest QR pet, Henry Rollins, Tara's little black schnoodle who hadn't yet arrived by the time of recording but is home now and thriving.

This episode, instead of looking forward, Kris and Tara look back at their favourite recommendations of 2025. They are, in no particular order.

Top Recommendations of 2025

Kris's top three

• Incendiant by Virginia Black
• Younger (Netflix)
• The Hunting Wives (Netflix)

Tara's top three

• Number Six by Lee Winter
• The Woman from the Waves by Roslyn Sinclair
• Discovering Nicola by Clare Ashton

Works/People Discussed

• Stranger Things (Netflix)
• Robin Hood (MGM+)
• The Christmas Baby (2025)
• Canada's Drag Race (Crave)
• Kickboxer (1989)
• Group Therapy (2024)
• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)
• The Science of Sex by charlottepriestly (note: you have to be signed in to an Ao3 account to read it)

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Someone's been rocking around the Christmas tree early and has already paid for it. Kris threw out her back! She's been laid up, recovering and catching up on her Netflix. Tara's on vacation and replaying Baldur's Gate 3. She also has a freckle on her damn eyeball. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Official Recommendations

From Kris: A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025)

Kris's official recommendation this week is A Keller Christmas Vacation, one of the few queer holiday movies that Hallmark put out this year. Kris had a lot of fun with this one and thinks you will too!

From Tara: Christmas Toys by Lily Seabrooke

Tara's official recommendation this week is Christmas Toys by Lily Seabrooke, an erotic, falling-for-the-roommate, Christmas romance that has a surprising amount of laughs. Tara loves Seabrooke's Christmas offerings and this is no different. Pick it up!

Works/People Discussed

• Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Stranger Things (Netflix)
• Ripple (Netflix)
• The Running Man (2025)
• Canada's Drag Race (Crave)
• Bloodsport (1988)
• Asking Kate by Clare Ashton
• Breakup Buddies by JJ Arias and Bryce Oakley

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We're getting into the season here at Queerly Recommended. We're cuddling up with our pets, we're recommending angst-free Christmas books, and shows with so much chemistry they cause a tingling reaction.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Heated Rivalry (HBO Max/Crave)

Kris's official recommendation this week is Heated Rivalry, a new TV series currently airing about two closeted (for now?) hockey players and their relationship as it unfolds over different playing seasons. Kris was really impressed by the chemistry of the leads and how hot the show is.

From Tara: Once Upon a Time in December by Alyson Root

Tara's official recommendation this week is Once Upon a Time in December by Alyson Root. It's an angst-free, charming, wealth-gap romance that, similar to Heated Rivalry, takes place over several years, during holiday parties the leads continue to meet at. Tara was utterly charmed by this novel and secondary characters are particularly notable.

Works/People Discussed

• Scandal (ABC)
• Wits & Wagers Boardgame
• Lost (ABC)
• Stranger Things (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Season Seven (BBC Three, BBC One)
• Canada's Drag Race (Crave)
• Physical: Asia (Netflix)
• The Lady and Her Dragons by bearblue

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'Tis the season! We have our first holiday recommendation of the year, folks!

Kris and Tara react to the Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer, discuss family Dungeons and Dragons time, and talk about co-workers who wear four jerseys to work (yes, at the same time). It's a short and sweet but stacked episode. Enjoy!

Editor's Note: This episode has a couple of recommendations that revolve around heavy topics like people going through cancer treatment, loss and addiction. If that's not where you're at, feel free to skip this one. Take care of yourself.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken

Kris's official recommendation this week is Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken. This two-part docuseries came out in 2024 and follows Etheridge as she shares the stories of addiction and loss with the women incarcerated in the Topeka Correctional Facility.

From Tara: The Milkyway Hotel by Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud and Marguerite Grimaud

Tara's official recommendation this week is The Milkyway Hotel by Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud and Marguerite Grimaud. In the midst of her life falling apart in Paris, Celeste inherits her great-aunt's Milkyway Hotel in the French Alps. And wouldn't you know it, there's a sexy chocolatier there waiting to keep her company. Tara describes this as a slooooow burn, but when it gets there, it absolutely gets there.

Works/People Discussed

• Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)
• Caleb Hearon
• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
• Scandal (ABC)
• The Long Walk (2025)
• The Long Walk by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK, season 7 (BBC Three, BBC One)
• Lucky Girls by GinStan
• Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)

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