Top Ten Tuesday/ 2024 LGBT+ Releases I Want To Read

In February, my main reading goal was to read from my Kindle since that is automatically likely to be an ancient TBR. However, I don’t have many LGBT books I haven’t read on there, and since I’m doing a male/male readathon in March, I need to find some books to read. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl, which has a new weekly topic.

February 4: 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To (will you be prioritizing these this year?)

Goodreads Blurb:

When Ethan saves the life of a firestarter, it’s nothing unusual. He’s the only healer on call at the hospital – and that gunshot wound isn’t going to regenerate itself. But his patient turns out to be Corinna Arden, heiress to a pharmaceutical empire controlling Britain’s water supply. Her twin, Javier, is a man who (a) starts sending Ethan flowers at work, (b) seems terrified of a secret, and (c) has the cheekbones and earnestness to make up for both.

Ethan indulges in (what he thinks will be) a brief, harmless romance – but is swept up in a deadly collusion over Project Earthflown: the largest reconstruction tender since London clawed its way out of the rising sea.

Determined to follow the money, Ollie is a journalist who finds a corpse at the end of a too-convenient tip. The fate of water – and who profits – might depend on the perennial question: has Ethan lost his mind, or is he just an idiot?

Goodreads Blurb:

After a disastrous live-streamed proposal, singer Aspen Lake limps to her beachfront Malibu cottage to take a much needed time-out and reevaluate her life. Unfortunately, even the calming ocean isn’t enough to bring back the music that once played in her mind.

Zoey Estrada comes from a musically gifted family, but it’s always something she’s had to work hard at. When she is forced to leave college and come home, she struggles with where the next chapter in her life should take her. Luckily her mom provides some direction when she drags her to work in her landscaping business.

An unexpected encounter leads to something neither woman is ready for. As Aspen and Zoey get closer, they must try and figure out what comes next. Can they continue to grow together, or are they destined to be an unfinished song?

Goodreads Blurb:

When Avery showed up for his temp job on Monday morning, he’d had certain expectations in mind. He was not expecting to end up bent over his new boss’s desk. It was an innocent mistake, and he’s determined to move on, but the experience left him breathless and more than a little curious. So when his new boss is left without a feeder, he volunteers to help. After all, that’s what any good assistant would do. Right?

Ozen made foolish decisions when he was hungry. He is grateful that his new assistant is so forgiving. But when he finds himself starving after his new feeder throws a temper tantrum and refuses to show up, he has no choice but to ask his assistant for help. After all, he had yet to meet an assistant who was so professional. Surely they could get through a feeder contract without any issues. Right?

Goodreads Blurb:

This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his conservative father discovered he was gay. When Rex was outed the summer after he graduated high school, his father gave him a choice: he could stay at home, find a girlfriend, and attend church twice a week, or he could be gay―and leave. Rex left, driving toward the only other gay man he knew and a toxic relationship that would ultimately leave him homeless and desperate on the streets of New Orleans. Here, Rex tells the story of his coming out and his father’s rejection of his identity, navigating abuse and survival on the streets. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger―for food, for love, and for a place to call home―completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch .

Goodreads Blurb:

Abby Akerman believes in the Universe. After all, her Midwest high school marching band is about to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City—if that’s not proof that magical things can happen, what is? New York also happens to be the setting of her favorite romance novel, making it the perfect place for Abby to finally tell her best friend Kat that she’s in love with her (and, um, gay). She’s carefully annotated a copy of the book as a gift for Kat, and she’s counting on the Universe to provide an Epic Scene worthy of her own rom-com.

Leo Brewer, on the other hand, just wants to get through this trip without falling apart. He doesn’t believe the Universe is magical at all, mostly because he’s about to be outed to his very Southern extended family on national TV as the trans boy he really is. He’s not excited for the parade, and he’s even less excited for an entire day of sightseeing with his band.

But the Universe has other ideas. When fate throws Abby and Leo together on the wrong subway train, they soon find themselves lost in the middle of Manhattan. Even worse, Leo accidentally causes Abby to lose her Epic Gift for Kat. So to salvage the day, they come up with a new mission: find a souvenir from every location mentioned in the book for Abby to give Kat instead. But as Leo and Abby traverse the city, from the streets of Chinatown to the halls of Grand Central Station and the top of the Empire State Building, their initial expectations for the trip—and of each other—begin to shift. Maybe, if they let it, this could be the day that changes everything, for both of them.

Goodreads Blurb:

Starting over is hard. Falling for her gorgeous butch roommate might make it impossible.

When a tall, stunning butch protects Mira from her ex-boyfriend at the club—and offers her a safe place to stay—Mira should be relieved. Not flustered. She’s not into women.

Yet this tough electrician with curves for days makes Mira’s heart race like never before.

But Isabel, wounded by grief, forces Mira to keep her distance. Until Mira’s desperate to win a union election at work—and only Isabel has the experience to teach her how.

Soon they’re lingering over dinner, teasing each other as the apartment heats up. And Isabel is making her coffee every morning, hanging her shelves, giving her smoldering looks before bed…

But Mira can’t afford temptation. Not after living with her nightmare ex.

No matter how well Isabel takes care of her…or how much Isabel needs healing, too.

She can’t risk her freedom—or her heart.

Goodreads Blurb:

Brooke Kent hasn’t spoken to a single member of her family in thirteen years. That’s all changed when her younger brother calls her to invite her to his wedding. He tells her to bring her girlfriend, partner, spouse, or the woman she hooks up with on Tuesdays, he doesn’t care who, just wants her there. Brooke would be tempted to take him up on that only she’s painfully single.
When she tells her two best friends about her dilemma, they suggest Brooke invite Anna Fourchette, the woman Brooke has been pining over for almost a year. To Brooke’s surprise, Anna agrees. Can Brooke really handle a week in London dealing with her estranged family? And more importantly, can she pretend to date the woman of her dreams without falling in love for real along the way?

Goodreads Blurb:

Danica Wendell seems to have it all figured out. She’s a respected neonatologist at one of the finest hospitals in the nation, engaged to the man of her dreams, and living a life that most only dream about. Well, one of those things is true. The other? Well, that’s her secret to keep for now.

Petra “Pete” Pancott isn’t settling for an average life. She’s globe-trotted, embraced every thrill, and carved out a career that’s on her own terms. Sure, sometimes she daydreams of a future with a family and a home, but who needs roots when you’re flying through life?

When their college friends throw a reunion ski trip in Telluride, Colorado, both women jump at the chance to hit the slopes and reconnect after fifteen years. But as they share a luxurious condo and spend the week together, it becomes clear that everyone has secrets they aren’t revealing. More than that, Pete and Danica are finding they can’t avoid the avalanche of unresolved feelings that loom between them after their not-so-casual-after-all fling back in college.

They say opposites attract, but no one ever warned them that navigating the steep terrain of their past would be anything but a slippery slope. Will they finally find common ground, or will this resurgence of emotion leave them lost in a snowstorm of chaos?

Goodreads Blutb:

When roguish Prince Jadon of Îles de la Rêverie is left in America to clean up his image after a horribly public break-up gone viral, romance is not on the table. Carefully planned photo ops with puppies? Yes. Scheduled appearances with the Santa Monica elite Absolutely. Rendezvous with a pink-haired, film-obsessed hottie from the private school where he’s currently enrolled? Uhhhh . . .

Together with his entourage—a bitingly witty royal guard, Rêverie’s future queen (and Jadon’s brilliant older sister), and a quirky royal liaison—Jadon’s on a mission to turn things around and show his parents, and his country, that he’s more than just a royal screw-up. If he doesn’t prove that he’s the prince Rêverie deserves? Well, he may not be allowed home . . .

But falling for a not-so-royal American boy has Jadon redefining what it means to be a leader. If he can be someone’s Prince Charming just by being himself, maybe that’s all it takes to win over a nation. Or at least a prince can dream . . .

Goodreads Blurb:

Jamie Johnson has never been the centre of attention, and he’s perfectly okay with that. His entire world unravels as a hidden truth emerges: he’s the heir to the throne of Mitanor, a sun-drenched southern European country, and the press is ready to expose this secret to the world. An invitation to spend the summer in his father’s palace arrives, giving Jamie a chance to get to know the man he never thought he’d meet.

Meanwhile, in a northern European kingdom known for its cold climate and stoic royals, Erik Von Rosenborg, the spare prince, grapples with the upcoming marriage of his golden-boy elder brother. With the country’s spotlight trained on his family more than ever, Erik feels sidelined and tightly controlled. So when he receives an offer to tutor the newly found American prince in the ways of royalty, he accepts without hesitation.

At a magnificent summer palace, Erik guides Jamie through the intricacies of royal etiquette, politics, and history. What neither prince anticipates is the connection that sparks between them—one that challenges both of their futures. Now each must make a choice: follow their hearts, or the time-honored royal path where crown and country reigns supreme, no matter the personal cost.

Goodreads Blurb:

Rivalry never tasted so good.

O’ little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—it may be charming, but Julien Boire can’t wait to get out of there. Soon he’ll be leaving to take an advanced wine course that will put him on track to become a master sommelier. Meantime, his OCD demands he keep clear of distractions, especially the hot new hire at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, Martin’s Place.

Which should be easy, because Greg Harlow is as ill-suited to Julien as a bold cabernet is to a delicate salmon entrée. As charismatic and confident as Julien is tightly wound, Greg is a TikTok mixologist who could charm a paper bag. One thing they do have in common: neither wants a relationship.

Greg’s history with dating is…complicated. Yet working together isn’t. First, they’re teaming up to launch a series of happy hour events at Martin’s Place. Then they’re agreeing to a no-strings sex pact that involves new worlds of experimentation. Nothing is off-limits. Except a future.

It’s exactly how Julien wants it. Except for the little part of him that wonders if maybe he’s about to lose the kind of happy that could last much longer than an hour…

Alex