Tag Archives: LGBTQIA

ARC — 10 Things That Never Happened — Alexis Hall — Material World #1

Genre: General Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Revolves around a fake amnesia. Describes a head injury and discusses grief, death of parents, and toxic relationships. Contains some sexual content.

Obviously, faking amnesia is never good, yet it made this book truly hilarious. “10 Things That Never Happened” follows Samwise (Sam) Becker, the manager of a bed-and-bath retailer branch, and Jonathan Forest, the owner of said bed-and-bath retailer stores. Sam’s branch is underperforming and that’s got to change—until, well, Sam has a tiny, little accident, bumps his head, and forgets any of their troubles existed? I mean, he didn’t, but he’ll say he did.

This audiobook had me giggling, alright? First off, the narrator, Will Watt, was absolutely amazing. His voice really held my attention and I couldn’t help but binge this audio. All the lying made me anxious, not gonna lie (no pun intended), but watching Sam and Jonathan get to know and accept each other was truly heartwarming.

This book is perfect if you’re looking for a queer romance book for the Holidays! Get it as a stocking stuffer or a full-blown gift (to others or to yourself), you won’t regret it.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

ARC — Time to Shine — Rach Reid

“It’s just hockey. (…) And we’re good at hockey. If they wanted us to go out there and do, like, opera, I’d be fucked. But hockey? Pfft. No problem.”

Genre: Sports Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on heavy subjects like death, drug use, and mental illness. Describes a car crash. Contains explicit sexual content.

Good ol’ queer and winter-y hockey romances are few and far between, so I was extremely excited when I saw this book come up in my feed. “Time To Shine” follows Landon Stackhouse, a hockey goalie that’s just been called in to a Calgary professional team, and Casey Hicks, the team’s superstar young winger. Landon is a bit shy and reserved, and everyone seems to catch up on that except Casey. He treats Landon like an old friend, and when Landon is looking for a place to stay and Casey has just bought a huge house with a bunch of extra room, it only made sense they’d be housemates, right?

This book was the literal representation of the “and they were roommates” meme about queer people in the 1800s.

Even if you’re not a fan of hockey or perhaps don’t even know how hockey works, you can still quite enjoy “Time to Shine”. Take it from me, as I’ve only seen hockey because of the vibes and know absolutely nothing about the rules that go into it, yet this book had me hooked.

If you’re looking for a queer hockey romance with some close proximity trope sprinkled in, then look no further—“Time to Shine” is just for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Carina Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

ARC — In Charm’s Way — Lana Harper — The Witches of Thistle Grove #4

“Asking for help isn’t a weakness, (…) but being too proud to accept it is. Believe me, I know.”

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Showcases panic attacks, violence, magical injuries, and toxic relationships. Contains explicit sexual content.

“In Charm’s Way” follows Delilah Harlow as she deals with the aftermath of being hit by a god-tier oblivion spell. Her whole identity revolves around her good memory, so when she sees traditional methods aren’t working on remediating said oblivion spell, she decides to go with some good, ol’ forbidden magic instead. And oh, does it work. It works so well, in fact, that now her power is bringing into town a bunch of supernatural creatures, including a half-fae that’s apparently here to help her. Not knowing who to trust, Delilah has got to weigh her options: either keep wrecking havoc on Thistle Grove or let go of the spell and go back to dealing with her oblivion-ed self.

How do these books keep getting better? The Witches of Thistle Grove series has captivated my heart for the past 3 years and my favorite book in the series is forever changing—as the last book published is usually the one I highly regard as my favorite, and “In Charm’s Way” is no exception to this rule.

In this fourth installment we go back into the Harlow family, this time through Delilah, and I really think this is one of the only Thistle Grove books that wouldn’t work as well as a standalone novel—we’ve seen Delilah through various of the previous installments and you just wouldn’t be able to empathize with her if you haven’t seen her through Emmy Harlow’s and Nina Blackmoore’s lens.

Now, I would highly encourage you to grab a hold of this series. The author, Lana Harper, refers to this book as “Delilah’s Book of Rage” and it gives just that. This book carried the heaviest character to live life through, with deep resentments and huge trust issues; nonetheless, it’s easy to see why Delilah reacts the way she does and it’s even easier to see where her rage comes from.

I wouldn’t change a single thing about this book or this series as a whole. I literally cannot recommend it enough. If I go down as anything, I hope I go down as someone who spread the good word on Thistle Grove and the beautiful, witchy stories Lana Harper has been sharing since 2021.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 22, 2023

ARC — The Dos and Donuts of Love — Adiba Jaigirdar

Author: Adiba Jaigirdar
Narrator: Priya Ayyar

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA, Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Displays toxic relationships, toxic friendships, and gaslighting.

“The Dos and Donuts of Love” follows Shireen Malik, a Bangladeshi-Irish girl, as she competes in the very first Junior Irish Baking Show and is paired up against no other than her recent ex girlfriend, Chris. Facing both racist and fatphobic criticism, Shireen will try to succeed and thrive against every single contestant and come out more confident of her skill than ever.

I got to listen to an audiobook of this novel, and I was completely mesmerized and caught from the very beginning. I was right at the start of a reading slump but Priya Ayyar and her narration immediately swep me off it.

I’m not gonna lie, this book is not as predictable as you might think. Starting off, I could’ve sworn I was going to know every single twist and turn, but I am happy to say that I was thoroughly surprised more than once by this story Adiba Jaigirdar has constructed. Her characters were so well thought out and her pace quick enough that you wouldn’t get bored but also slow enough that we were left with some sneaky cliffhangers for a bit.

I would highly recommend this read for someone who’s looking for a young adult book with queer and diverse characters and who doesn’t want it to be too spicy (or spicy at all). Obviously it’s a plus if you like cooking and baking shows, but I personally don’t most of the time and I still thoroughly enjoyed “The Dos and Donuts of Love.”

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

ARC — All the Right Notes — Dominic Lim

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Displays homophobia, transphobia, outing, and sexual assault. Describes cheating and death of a parent.

“All the Right Notes” follows Quito Cruz, a piano player and composer, as he follows his father’s wish to put on a magical performance for a charity event in his small hometown. In doing so Quito gets back in touch with his past—a past that goes by the name of Emmet Aoki, a past that really hurt Quito and might’ve even stole his inspiration. But the thing is that only with Emmet, a now famous star, will Quito be able to put on the performance this event deserves, and so he must overlook said past and present chemistry to work this through. Here’s hopin’ Quito will come out of this unscathed.

So, I ended up hearing about this book thanks to “Behind the Scenes” author Karelia Stetz-Waters and God was it a worthy recommendation. Told through two different timelines, the then and the now, Dominic Lim has brought to life a heartwarming queer story for all Broadway and musical lovers. How is this even a debut novel? This is insane.

I want to make clear that even if you don’t know much about music and choir and Broadway, you can still most definitely enjoy this book—but obviously if you’re a musical fan, don’t hesitate at grabbing this book. Additionally, I would highly recommend this read if you’re a fan of that double timeline writing and of some nostalgic, second-chance romance.

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ARC provided by Forever in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

ARC — Chef’s Choice — TJ Alexander

“‘Reste ici pour toujours,’ he murmured. Stay here forever.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Displays homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and deadnaming. Describes unhealthy power and family dynamics. Contains some sexual content and references.

“Chef’s Choice” follows Luna O’Shea, a recently fired trans woman, as she fake-dates a multimillionaire to appease his family—ish. Jean-Pierre is a french trans men in search of miracle, as he has been tasked to re-create his grandfather’s famous restaurant menu. He isn’t the most avid cooker, but he is set on trying, as his inheritance depends on it. And ultimately that’s where Luna comes in, as she will be helping him through this quest—after all, she’s part of the family, right? At least for the time being.

Okay, hear me out, I love the fake-dating troop as much as the next gal, but what I truly loved about this book was how amazingly well defined all characters were. I loved how Luna and JP were so stubborn to address the feelings that were starting to bubble between them. I loved how they incorporated the cooking aspect into this book—in book one of this series, “Chef’s Kiss”, we got to see two chefs get to know each other through shared experiences, and now, in “Chef’s Choice”, we get to see two people who knew nothing about cooking get to know each other through the craft.

This is absolutely the perfect series for cooking and culinary lovers. I would highly recommend this Amazon’s Editor’s Pick for Best Romance if you’re looking for a queer romance with that sweet, ol’ fake-dating pizzazz.

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ARC provided by Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

Chef’s Kiss — TJ Alexander — Chef’s Kiss #1

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Displays homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and deadnaming. Describes medical care after gender-affirming surgery. Contains some sexual content and references.

“Chef’s Kiss” follows Simone Larkspur, a pastry chef working on a culinary magazine, her literal dream job, when said magazine sets to branch out to video and other platforms. Really? After years building up recipes for this magazine, Simone is forced to step into the limelight with a new coworker, Ray Lyton. As they go viral and work closer together, so does their relationship change—but Simone can’t share her feelings with Ray. They’re coworkers, after all.

This is the first TJ Alexander book I’ve read, although they’ve been highly recommended to me by both friends and the endless stream of Instagram posts praising their writing—well, in my opinion this hype is totally justified. TJ Alexander has built an amazing world, full of diversity and speaking from a place too close to reality—where cooking and recipe platforms have displayed so much discrimination and, honestly, simple gaslighting. It was truly refreshing to read this new voice and I can’t wait to see where this series is going.

Are you looking for a book centered around cooking videos and shows, in the style of Tasty’s Make It Fancy or Epicurious’s 4 Levels series, and that has a beautifully queer love story? Then “Chef’s Kiss” is for you.

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Behind the Scenes — Karelia Stetz-Waters

“Yes, I’m passionate about you.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses parental death, a car accident, scars, toxic relationships, panic disorders, and mental illness. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Behind the Scenes” follows Rose Josten, a business consultant, and Ash Stewart, a movie director, as they try to pitch a movie and not act on their instant attraction for each other. But the more time they spend together, the more said attraction becomes less of a concept and more of a reality. With a bunch of whimsical characters, this novel will capture your heart before the director can say “Cut!”

This was a wild read, to say the least. It describes ASMR videos to a point that made me uncomfortable and Ash and her aversion to human touch was a bit off-putting to me, but in the end I learned to love every single character and pup in this novel. Rose’s sisters were one of the absolute highlights of this story. I loved how every character was complex yet flawed, making it as realistic as this could get.

I would highly recommend this read if you like sapphic romances. This could actually be a really good introductory romance for new sapphic romance readers. This book left you with so much lessons beyond just who you love and get intimate with. It was a fun and unique read with a ton of character growth and I can’t wait to read more from Karelia Stetz-Waters.

I read this book for the Chick Lit Is The Shit (CLITS) Book Club (@clitsbookclub on instagram) February Buddy Read event!

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ARC — Never Ever Getting Back Together — Sophie Gonzales

“I love you, too, by the way.”
“I thought you didn’t do love.”
“There’s a lot of things I thought I didn’t do.”

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Gaslighting, toxic relationships, and cheating are a big thing here. Also, definitely some biphobia and all-round douchebag-ery.

“Never Ever Getting Back Together” follows Maya and Skye as they participate in a new reality TV show called Second Chance Romance, where they’re both competing for their ex-boyfriend’s, Jordy’s, heart. But here’s the thing, back in the day, Jordy cheated on Maya with Skye—and then spread fake rumors about Maya, and how he had actually broken up with her but she turned into a low-key stalker. That’s why Maya’s on the TV show, not for Jordy’s heart, but for revenge, while Skye does seem to have some noble intentions… Until sparks start flying between two characters, and none of those is the dumbass Jordy.

First off, if you’ve been here for a while, you know I’m a big Taylor Swift fan (aka a swiftie)—so it should be no surprise if I tell you that the main reason I was called to click on this book was because of its title, and its title alone. Now, on to the actual review.

This is the first book by Sophia Gonzalez that I have ever read but she has been a long-standing member of my TBR list—and I’ll definitely be grabbing those other books real soon.

I don’t even know how to begin to explain “Never Ever Getting Back Together”. I really like books that are set in a reality TV setting, even though I’m not a big reality TV watcher myself, and this story was honestly all I’ve been wishing to read in one of those for a long time. But if there is one thing I would’ve changed about this book was making it more PG18, rather than PG13. Just for the sake of the plot, which has the characters being in their late teens and early twenties, it just felt weird that this was a YA book.

Disregarding that, I really enjoyed the story and, above all, Sophie Gonzales’s writing. Her writing style is descriptive without being overwhelming, and it has a lot of organic, long conversations. I love when I can really see when the characters fell in love, not just some insta-love trope. (Also, it helped that I absolutely loved Maya).

Maybe its because I’m impartial to the enemies-to-lovers trope, but I just a really enjoyed this read. I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for some sapphic, reality-TV-inspired novel.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

“Me and Maya, we’re a good example of how first impressions don’t always set the tone for the rest of it.”

Any Way the Wind Blows — Rainbow Rowell — Simon Snow #3

“This thing between us didn’t start with us dating. It didn’t even start when you kissed me. You’re in me so deep, I wouldn’t know how to dig you out. I may get fed up with you… But, Simon, I’ll never get tired of you.”

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Magical violence, death of parent, animal death, murder and murder attempts. Discusses mental illness. Also, has more sexual content than the other books, 10/10.

“Any Way the Wind Blows” follows our already loved wizards (and not)—Simon, Baz, Penelope, Shep, Agatha, Niamh—as they fall apart and then come to terms with their changing realities, as they visit Watford again. It’s a sweet ending to an action-packed series.

Originally I did not start reading Rainbow Rowell in search of fantasy and magical stories, I started reading her YA romance novels and that’s when I ran into “Fangirl” and fell in love with Cath and her world, yes, but I also fell for Simon Snow and the other characters Cath wrote about. So, when I heard Rainbow had published Simon’s book it was insane. Then make that a trilogy. It’s been precious.

Simon is such a teenager, I love it. This has truly been a coming-of-age triology. The second book, “Wayward Son”, was not my favorite, but the series redeemed itself with its third installment. There are a few things that were left up in the air and that kills me, given it’s the last book, but I still appreciated this closure.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan but don’t want to give J.K. Rowling royalties anymore, definitely grab the Simon Snow trilogy. It’ll have all the magical goodness you crave (with a lot more spice and queerness).

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