I met Corey Alexander who also wrote as Xan West on Twitter. They had such a thoughtful interest in books, particularly romance books that were demonstrating protagonists find and falling in love that there might not be quite as many of. I said to someone when I first heard they had passed, that they had excellent taste in books, which of course I consider an incredible compliment. They also did a lot of work talking about things that romance and publishing could do to make all books better and safer places for readers. It was a joy for me to see a rec list from Corey because so often I would have read two of them but not the others, and the two I had read I adored, so I knew this list was meant for me.
It looks like it may have been complications of diabetes that led to their death, which is a sad reminder that our current healthcare system makes things tough for folks with chronic illnesses, and that the pandemic has only exacerbated that.
Here's their round up of their fave YA they read last year.
And here's their list of fave romance they read last year.
