Sticking in the queer, debut, and historical fiction Venn diagram overlap, I consumed Florenzer with unusual vigor. This book weaves the stories of Leonardo, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Francesco Salviati from youth through their thirties set in the bustling hub of commerce and art of Florence, Italy in the 1400s. Respectively, the primary characters are an artist and genius, a banker, and a priest. Each have complicated familial, political, and religious challenges and their stories overlap and influence each other repeatedly over the span of twenty years.

I don't often read historical fiction and I've never read about Leonardo's early years as an apprentice and then master painter. I barely knew about the immense wealth of the Medici family or the political intrigue that sprawls across Italy and the Vatican. Even though the book is fictional, I think the author, Phil Melanson, has anchored this novel in historical reality in a way that translates so well for a modern reader.

While the pile of names can be confusing at times, there's a helpful guide at the front of the book. The language ranges from very formal (and a bit Italian) to relaxed. I looked up a number of words as I went along, which is unusual for me, and also very exciting. Always one should be reading about and learning through new words!

Honestly, I didn't expect to read so much queer inflected literature this summer, but I've been loving it. A recap, nine books out of ten — getting close and I only have a couple weeks before my free time collapses:

• States of Emergency
• Things Become Other Things
• A Different Kind of Power
• The Emperor of Gladness
• The Alice Network
• Mothercare
• What My Bones Know
• The Lilac People
• Florenzer

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