#Contemporary f/f Romance

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller

Today on the site we’re welcoming Jenna Miller back to reveal yet another great cover, this one for her sophomore contemporary f/f YA Romance, We Got the Beat, which releases February 20, 2024 from Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins! Here’s the story: Jordan Elliot is a fat, nerdy lesbian, and the first junior to be named editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t…

[gaybookpromotions]

The Firefly by Laury A. Egan

BLOG TOUR Book Title:  The Firefly Author:  Laury A. Egan Publisher:  Spectrum Books Cover Artist: Design by Laury A. Egan with assistance by Andrew May and Vicki DeVico Release Date: August 12, 2023 Genres: F/F Romance and portrait of a teenager, age 14, through adulthood, age 40. Tropes:  teenage lovers separated Themes: Solitariness of a creative girl/woman, sexual orientation…

[up-in-flames-writing]

In lieu of Stuff Your Kindle day, can we talk about the issue of how the m/m genre of books, romance or not, is almost entirely dominated by women? Can we talk about how the most recognisable gay couples in media are written by women? Can we talk about how queer men can't even write about ourselves, how we are only allowed to exist when it's from the point of view of a straight woman sexualising us?

Can we talk about that? Or am I going to get called misogynistic for pointing out the disparity between who gets the writing deals, & who gets their books turned into movies, & whose shit gets popular versus whose doesn't? Can we talk about how m/m fiction is only allowed when it appeals to a cishet gaze, or is that too much for tumblr to take?

Can we also talk about how trans queer men are even more hated by publishing? Can we talk about how we get shit from both sides? Can we talk about how books about the experiences of being a queer man, written by queer men, never get the same recognition as books written by women on this subject (barring academia which has its own problems)?

Can we talk about that? Can we?

[queerromancerecs]

Role Playing

Title Role Playing

Author Cathy Yardley

Summary:

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal–he’ll be more social if she does the same–she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face–after a rocky, shocking start–the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

Genre: romance

Ship type: m/f (male character is bi and demisexual)

Why you like it: It’s nice to read a romance featuring older characters.  Finding love in late 40s/early 50s is different than romance for 20 somethings and it is nice to see that reflected.  I also love the demisexual rep.   

Content tags homophobic/biphobic family members, family drama, aging parents needing care, minor injury                                                         

Link to buy 

(image description: a woman and a man casually embracing on a big couch. she is in socks and holding a mug. he’s in flannel. on the table in front of them are bowls of food and DnD miniatures)

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

'The No-Girlfriend Rule'- Randall, Christen

Disability Rep: Anxiety (MC), ADHD (SC)

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Comedy

Age: Young Adult

Setting: USA

Additional Rep: Queer Fat Female MC x Lesbian POC Female LI, F/F, Transgender SC, POC SCs

For more information on summaries, content warnings and additional tropes, see here:

[sarcasmiclife]

When your door is unlocked while you were out but you really really want to take that nice shower

[balletbookworm]

Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Summary from Edelweiss: **A New York Times Best Romance Book of the Year** A swoony, heart-melting YA romance from beloved author Rebekah Weatherspoon about two awkward teens who decide to practice dating in order to be good at the real thing. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene, though confident and self-assured, is what they call a late-bloomer.…

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review: A Tall Dark Trouble (🇨🇺 Cuba)

[image 1: book cover - identical twin teen girls stand back to back, face reflecting their outgoing vs introvert natures. Pink and purple hair rises up from their heads like curling smoke; image 2: map showing Cuba, a long island just south of Florida; image 3: various SanterÍa items, including Our Lady of Regla statue, tureen, candles, cups]

A Tall Dark Trouble

Author: Vanessa Montalban

Lela and Delfi are Cuban twins living in Miami. They're also living under a family curse to never be able to fall in love. They also have powers, like tasting emotions or seeing visions, but also a mama who wants to make sure they have nothing to do with magic.

Stuff you get:

magical twins

bruja magic

puppy-boy love interest

a respectful depiction of SanterÍa

The twins voices are distinct, with Delfi's reckless nature, and Lela's sarcastic introvert voice, so I was never that confused when the POV switched from one twin to the other. The narrative changes between the twins in modern Miami and a girl in 1980 Cuba.

I loved the look at SanterÍa (a syncretic mix of Catholicism and West African traditions) we get in this book, and the link to it gives a unique dimension to the magic. I like that it is a darker and more cultural magic than the generic new-age stuff usually seen. The author makes it clear that the "bad cult" side of her story is a corruption and does not represent real-life SanterÍa, which is too often misrepresented.

The only thing was that once the mysteries had mostly been solved, I felt that the final villain was a little underwhelming and one-dimensional.

Overall, this was an enjoyable YA magical mystery with a strong Cuban flavor.

Other reps: #other faiths (santerÍa) #m/f #immigrants

Genres: #mystery #magic #contemporary fantasy #romance #family

★  ★  ★  ★   4 stars

[emmasaska]

Buy March & Feather

Online bookstore links are now available!

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop.org

Indiebound

Amazon

Books-a-Million

iBooks

Other ebook retailers

Make sure to keep your receipt if you preorder, as I’m going to have preorder goodies soon!

The preorder phase has passed, but if you want a signed bookplate and a postcard, please feel free to DM me on Instagram (@awkwordly_emma) and request one! (US/Canada/UK only.)

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: For Never and Always by Helena Greer

Today on the site, we’re revealing the cover for For Never & Always by Helena Greer, a pan and demi second-chance m/f romance releasing November 28th from Forever! Here’s the story: One surprise inheritance, two best friends (now bitter exes), and three months to prove he loves her, forever and always, in this swoony second-chance romance for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur and Ashley Herring…

[500tabsopenatonce-500tabso-pen]

I mean, I don’t think we can judge the quality of a book without an actual excerpt and, though it is not the highest form of forbidden romance so to speak, having sex with your patient is just actually illegal. “Forbidden Romance” is an established sub genre of Romance, it’s being used for advertising and SEO.

i’m lmfao at this shit

[queerromancerecs]

One Last Stop

One Last Stop

Casey McQuiston

Summary: (from Goodreads): For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train. Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

Genre: Romance, a little fantasy

Ship type: f/f

Why you like it: It is funny, with a very lovable cast, who feel very real and relatable. While the romance is sweet, the combination of that plus the found family plot makes this one of my favorite comfort reads. Everyone loves McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue, but I think One LastStop is far superior.                                                                       

https://read.macmillan.com/lp/one-last-stop/

(img description: book cover shows a subway platform in soft pinks and purples, with one woman in the train at the open doors wearing jeans and a leather jacket and another woman walking past, perhaps gazing longingly at the woman on the train)

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

'Top Ten'- Cotugno, Katie

Disability Rep: Anxiety (MC)

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Age: Young Adult

Setting: USA

Additional Rep: Bisexual Female (MC), F/M

For more information on summaries, content warnings and additional tropes, see here:

[the-novel-approach-reviews]

Review: Double Exposure by Rien Gray

Title: Double Exposure Author: Rien Gray Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 174 Pages Category: Contemporary Romantic Suspense, F/NB Romance Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: Double Exposure would have benefitted from more character backstory. Overall, a good if not perfect diversion. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Love always shows your true face.Jillian Rhodes lies to everyone she meets.…

[kaetrinsmusings]

Review at AudioGals

Review at AudioGals: Even if the Sky is Falling anthology.

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Even if the Sky is Falling by Taj McCoy, Farah Heron, Lane Clarke, Charish Reid, Sarah Smith & Denise Williams, narrated by Adenrele Ojo, Soneela Nankani, Karen Murray, Marissa Hampton, Donnabella Mortel, Joy Beharie & Teddy Hamilton. Loved the premise and there were some real gems in the anthology.

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review: Entwined by Cheryl S. Ntumy ( 🇧🇼 Botswana)

[image 1: book cover: closeup on a Black teen girl who looks to the side as two shadowed figures stand in the woods behind her; image 2: map showing Botswana, a land-locked country just north of South Africa; image 3: the inside of a modern shopping mall in Gaborone, Botswana, source unknown]

Entwined 

Author: Cheryl S. Ntumy

YA World Challenge read for 🇧🇼  Botswana

Review

I quite enjoyed this paranormal mystery with a side of cute romance (or was it a cute romance with a side of paranormal?) High-schooler Connie wakes up with sudden mind-reading powers, and finds she has more than just that to deal with when the local tween girl gang at the mall starts acting strange.

While slow to get to a start, the story was altogether entertaining. Surprisingly, I liked Rakwena, the mysterious tattooed boy, and how he was completely different from his ‘reputation’. The modern African city setting is rare for the genre. I loved Connie’s big-sister caring for the younger girls. It really showed her personality and is a relationship type that often gets overlooked in YA.

On the paranormal side, I was a little disappointed that there was little history or background to the ‘powers’ that everyone was using. (Not saying everything needs to be a stereotyped ‘ancient gods magic’, on the other hand.) Though with her wise grandfather and mysterious boyfriend perhaps that potential is waiting for the next book.

If you want some fairly low-stakes paranormal mystery with a stubborn protagonist and a cute romance, along with a non-Anglo-centric setting, do check this series out! I plan to pick up the next one when I can.

Other reps: #m/f #biracial

Genre: #paranormal #mystery #romance