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I leave it up to you : a novel
by Jinwoo Chong
Jack Jr. awakens from a coma to an unfamiliar world, so he returns to Korean American enclave Fort Lee, New Jersey, to work at his parents' restaurant Ioja, spar with alcoholic brother James, connect with the male nurse who cared for him, and become underqualified sage to his teenage nephew.
Please see here for more information about the April 13th discussion.
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Anderson in Bloom
by Jennifer Dugan
From the author of Love at First Set, a hilariously sexy enemies-to-lovers, second-chance rom-com about a reclusive former child star turned florist whose quiet life is turned upside down when her annoyingly hot ex (and former costar) shows up in town, with plans to write a tell-all memoir.Former child star Anderson Andy Ducharme is hiding--has been for a long time, if she's honest with herself, which she isn't.When she suddenly cut off all ties and left LA six years earlier to work in a flower shop in coastal New England, she wasn't just running away from toxic relationships, embezzling agents, and all the rest of her Hollywood life; she was running to something... sort of, if you squinted, and if you accepted that what she was running toward was little more than a vacation daydream she had made up with her (in)famous ex, and former costar, Nicole Nikki Price. Then Nikki announces her plan to write a tell-all book about growing up in Hollywood and their tumultuous time on the Nik and Andy show, and Andy's feelings of hurt and betrayal come rushing back. Emboldened by anger (and maybe one too many drinks), Andy does something very stupid: she texts her ex for the first time in years. No one's more shocked than Andy when Nikki actually shows up to her small florist shop, looking for answers.Andy is fully prepared to send Nikki away, but it seems Nikki has some unfinished business as well. Now that she finally knows where Andy's been hiding, she's not letting her go so easy. And with each passing encounter, Andy can't deny the simmering physical attraction that threatens to boil over every time they get close.But can the two of them really reunite without wrecking Andy's carefully rebuilt life? Or is she setting herself up for a fresh heartbreak?
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Hell's Heart
by Alexis Hall
They are monsters, legends, gods.They are our prey. Earth is dead. Which leaves us stuck living in atmospheric domes on planets that will kill us if we blink wrong, or run out of fuel. And by fuel I mean the cerebrospinal fluid of gargantuan, quasi-psychic space monsters. I joined the hunt hoping to get paid and maybe laid, but mostly paid. Instead, I followed a captain chasing abominations in the skies of Jupiter. We battled the Mobius Beast itself, there in the red eye of the world. Spoiler: we lost.
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A Lady for All Seasons
by Tj Alexander
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip. When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend tienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal--for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And--unexpectedly--be charmed by her. Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her own: he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don't allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fianc , Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society's constraints to find true happiness.
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Nobody's Baby
by Olivia Waite
Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in the second entry of this cozy sci-fi mystery series, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective. Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger. A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship's detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew's doorstep. Fertility is supposed to be on pause during the Fairweather's journey across the stars--but humans have a way of breaking any rule you set them. Who produced this child, and why did they then abandon him? And as her nephew and his partner get more and more attached, how can Dorothy prevent her colleague and rival detective, Leloup, a stickler for law and order, from classifying the baby as a stowaway or a piece of luggage? Told from Dorothy's delightfully shrewd POV, this novella series is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take--perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie.
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The Red Winter
by Cameron Sullivan
In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of G vaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel - who takes payment in living hearts - it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down. Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d'Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse. But G vaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian's unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian's arcane activities - not to mention his demonic counterpart - have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war. Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of G vaudan.
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Robbie McNeil's Hit List: A Mystery
by Brianna Heath
Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works... Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank. When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it's sketchy as hell he won't tell her anything but the target's name. But hey, she didn't build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash. Except something about this new target doesn't add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear.
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Star Shipped
by Cat Sebastian
Cat Sebastian's long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can't stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They've spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon's contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.Simon's only problem is that people might assume he's been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn't get along with people--unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show's first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit--and he finds he's actually not having a terrible time.The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he's underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever's starting between him and Charlie can't really amount to anything... right?
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Whidbey
by T. Kira Madden
Birdie Chang didn't know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She's a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend's eyes--and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who's now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution and plan for revenge.But Birdie isn't the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There's also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book's spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin's loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.Calvin's death sets into motion a series of events that sends each woman on a desperate search for answers. A complex whodunit told from alternating points of view, Whidbey is searingly perceptive and astonishingly original. Exploring the long reach of violence and our flawed systems of incarceration and rehabilitation, this is a tense and provocative debut that's sure to incite crucial questions about the pursuit of justice and who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it?
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Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History
by Caroline Tracey
An acclaimed nature writer's dazzling love letter to a strange ecosystem and a moving odyssey into her own identity.
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According to Plan
by Christen Randall
Being editor of the schools literary magazine was part of high school senior Mals plan to escape their small town, where as a fat, queer person with ADHD, they've never fit in, but when budget cuts shut down the magazine, Mal discovers working on a zine and spending time with Emerson could be somewhere they belong.
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As Long as You Loathe Me
by Swati Hegde
When a teen tries to get back at her ex-best friend for stealing her crush, she ends up unexpectedly rekindling their complicated friendship and discovers that it's not just her pride on the line, it's her heart too. Bring down the cheerleader. Just don't fall in love with her. Meera Rao-George is done being the dorky high school senior crushing on her neighbor Sushant, who only has eyes for cheerleader Lucy Hughson--Meera's ex-best friend. After countless attempts to get his attention, Meera decides it's time for a bold move: the Date Sushant & Dethrone Lucy Plan. Lucy Hughson appears to have it all: a loving boyfriend, top grades, and a designer wardrobe. But beneath the surface, she battles anxiety, struggles with her identity, and questions her feelings for Sushant compared to what she felt for someone from her past. As Meera cozies up to Lucy to execute her plan, she realizes her heart's at risk. Their friendship ended for a reason--a secret Lucy won't confront. Now, she must reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself, and what a real shot at love ultimately looks like.
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The Celestial Seas
by T. a. Chan
A tale of identity, love, and the hunt for vengeance in the darkest corners of space--perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Aurora Rising! Ishara Ming is the sole survivor of a spacefaring whaler destroyed by the Ballena, a legendary sentient spacecraft that haunts the darkness between stars. The fatal encounter left her with a metal-plated arm, a faulty memory chip, and a burning need for revenge. To take on the Ballena, Ishara assembles a crew of capable misfits. Among them is Quinn--her trusted first mate, the girl with wildfire eyes, and the only person who always stands by her side, even when everyone else thinks Ishara is a delusional captain who hallucinated the Ballena. That is, until Augustus, a ship mech armed with his own mysterious reasons for vengeance, convinces Ishara to let him join the crew. He brings the one thing Ishara's never had before: a tracking method tailored for finding the Ballena. Pulled between Quinn's and Augustus's gravitational forces, the pressure to issue increasingly risky orders, and the feeling that her past is rapidly catching up with her future, Ishara has to decide what--or who--she is fighting for before she loses another ship.
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Charmed and Dangerous
by Shelly Page
A teen mystic will do anything to solve a series of love-related magical mishaps plaguing her high school, including fake dating her boss's daughter, in this charming sapphic romance. Magic lingers in the cozy town of Fair Glen, Illinois, and it's up to the agents at the Bureau of Mystical Affairs to keep it in check. Monroe Bennett, a junior recruit at the Bureau, is ready to ace her first assignment: tracking down the source of a rogue love charm. Protecting her charmed classmates, including the Bureau Director's daughter Iris James, is top priority. But when Iris asks Monroe to fake date her to make her ex jealous, things get complicated. Monroe believes in duty, not romance. Yet the more time she spends with Iris, the harder it is to ignore the very real sparks flying between them. Can Monroe protect herself from love long enough to solve this case, or will her growing feelings get in the way?
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The Darkness Greeted Her
by Christina Ferko
Yellowjackets meets Smile in this atmospheric sapphic horror debut, in which a group of troubled girls are stalked through the Appalachian wilderness by a frightening monster that feeds on their deepest fears. Penny's abusive father is dead...but she still hears his voice in her head, encouraging her to hurt those around her. She can't go to school or be around her friends or even draw with a sharp pencil without her intrusive thoughts urging her toward violence. Desperate to get a handle on her OCD, she agrees to spend the summer at Camp Whitewood--an exclusive therapy retreat in the woods. She feels optimistic when she arrives. The other girls all have their reasons for being there, which makes Penny feel a little less alone. But then she starts seeing things that can't possibly be there: the gold watch her father was buried with, his favorite whiskey spilled on her cabin floor...a terrifying figure she calls the Shadow Man looming at the foot of her bed. Penny thinks she is losing her mind, but when a girl goes missing, and is later found dead, it's clear that whatever is happening at Camp Whitewood isn't all in her head.As the hallucinations become increasingly intense and more girls wind up dead, Penny must work with whoever is left standing to figure out what is real before the Shadow Man uses their traumas against them and claims their lives.
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One Word, Six Letters
by Adib Khorram
Two teen boys grapple with identity and accountability and set off a ripple effect within their community after a school assembly is disrupted by a shouted slur. A] searing, deeply felt dual-POV novel, --Publishers Weekly, starred review Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldn't be more different--or so it seems. When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves they'd rather ignore. Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm he's caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelings--about himself and about the quiet struggle of coming to terms with his queerness in a world steeped in heteronormativity. As their lives unexpectedly intersect, Dayton and Farshid must reckon with what kind of men they want to become and whether they have the courage to defy toxic masculinity and societal expectations. Timely, raw, and deeply thought-provoking.
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Ramin Abbas Has Major Questions
by Ahmad Saber
While grappling with his identity as a gay Muslim, senior Ramin joins the soccer team in his final semester to meet his graduation requirements.
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The Unruly Heart of Miss Darcy
by Erin Edwards
Mr. Darcy got his happily ever after in Pride and Prejudice, and now it's his sister's turn in this swoony queer romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton. Georgiana Darcy has only ever kissed one girl before, and the resulting blackmail almost ruined her reputation. Since then, she's carefully calibrated her life to be as quiet as possible, focusing on books and music. She certainly isn't planning on falling in love with another girl. But then she meets Kitty Bennet, and everything is thrown off kilter. After a moonlit kiss shifts their newfound friendship into something more, Georgiana follows Kitty to the Bennets' home. The visit proves ill-timed when she encounters the one man who knows her secret and threatened her with it before. Terrified of testing the limits of her family's love and of putting Kitty in danger, Georgiana doesn't know if there's any chance of a happy ending. Every etiquette guide she's ever read makes it clear that if she wants to protect her family name, Georgiana must pretend her heart follows society's accepted rhythm. Unless, with a little help from those who understand how it feels, she can compose the future she and Kitty both deserve.
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Within These County Lines
by Brian Zepka
Eighteen-year-old Stetson Delancey never thought breaking up with his boyfriend would turn him invisible. In Penango County, Pennsylvania, high school couples carve their names into the legendary Ardor Tree, a rite of passage said to grant love that lasts. Stetson and his boyfriend were no exception. But a bitter breakup just before college splinters their future, and in a moment of anger, Stetson does the unthinkable: he hacks their names from the tree.That's when everything in his rural hometown goes from boring to bizarre. Shadows flicker where they shouldn't. Strangers pass by like he's not even there. And some people stop seeing him altogether. With just two months left in Penango and his college dream slipping away, Stetson races to uncover the tree's secrets before he vanishes for good. But when he meets a boy only he can see-a boy who may have secrets of his own-Stetson begins to wonder if breaking free from his hometown means letting go of everything or learning to hold on to what matters.Within These County Lines is a queer coming-of-age novel about the unraveling of first love, hometown magic, and how sometimes we can't uncover the truth about others without confronting the truth about ourselves.
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Limelight
by Andrew Keenan-Bolger
Fame meets Rent in this powerful YA debut about a boy who must reconcile with his identity and insecurity as he steps into the spotlight, from Broadway star Andrew Keenan-Bolger. The only thing standing between Danny and his dreams is...everything. For fifteen years, Danny Victorio has kept his head down, kept his mouth shut, and kept everyone out. But an audition for Manhattan's most prestigious arts school offers him a chance to escape Staten Island--and his crumbling family--for good. If he doesn't screw everything up. At LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, Danny is thrust into a world of fierce talent and even fiercer ambition. As he navigates overwhelming expectations, the ghosts of his past, and, for the first time, real friendship, Danny can't shake the question: Where do I belong...if I belong at all? Set against the gritty, vibrant backdrop of 1996 New York City--where peep-show palaces were giving way to Disney stores, Club Kids ruled the nightlife scene, and a new musical called Rent was driving teens to sleep on the seediest sidewalks of Times Square in hopes of a ticket--Limelight is a story about discovering your voice, finding your family, and figuring out who, and where, you're really meant to be.
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Punk Like Me
by Jd Glass
A queer coming-of-age story, about best friends, first love, family conflicts, and following your heartIt's the 1980s and punk rock is blowing up in New York City. Young people from all five boroughs flock to CBGBs in Greenwich Village to see the latest band and be a part of the scene. On Staten Island, just a ferry ride away, sixteen-year-old Nina Boyd is into punk rock and comic books. She plays guitar, is a straight-A student, a champion swimmer, and is in love with her best friend.But her best friend Kerri is a girl, and Nina knows her family would never approve. They've sent her to a conservative Catholic high school and they're already suspicious of any of her friends who aren't straight enough. As Nina's crush grows stronger, she must choose between her family's dreams for her and her own.A powerful, emotional queer graphic novel about navigating rejection from family while figuring out your dreams.
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Sidequested: Book 1
by K. B. Spangler
Magic makes the world go round, but no one in Charlie Goldskin's world knows precisely where magic comes from. This isn't Charlie's problem. She's the adopted daughter of a woodcarver and is training to be a librarian. It'll be a quiet life, but that's fine with Charlie, as magic is summoned through conflict and she would like to avoid that, thank you very much Then her birth father shows up to take her from her village and bring her to the king's court. Prince Leopold is gifted in the noble arts of diplomacy and combat, but he's never met anyone like Charlie. Falling in love with her wouldn't be an issue, except he's already engaged, and his fiance is the daughter of a very powerful evil witch. Charlie, panicking, decides to break the news to Princess Robin...but then she finds love at first sight, too. To resolve this love triangle, the teens are sent on a quest to discover the source of magic So much for Charlie's plans for a quiet life...
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