Top Ten Tuesday/ LGBTI+ I Need To Check Out

I might sound selfish, but I’m not a fan of people buying me books because if I read them and rate them low, I feel guilty, as they now sit, wasting shelf space, because I’m unable to bring myself to give them away. Speaking of book buying, if you see ‘Something to be Proud Of’ by Anna Zoe Quirke, I have the physical copy, but it’s way easier to read on Kindle. However, it’s $13.49, which is more than what I paid for the physical book. Another book I’ve been wanting to read is ‘It’s All or Nothing, Vale’ by Andrea Beatriz Arango, which is $10.99 on Kindle. To me, that’s too expensive, so if you see it anywhere for a cheaper price, please let me know. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, who has a new weekly topic.  

June 10: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)

Goodreads Blurb:

Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs.

Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed.

Attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, talented pianist Danni expects to be an outcast amongst the wealthy children of the elite, but she is pleasantly surprised to be taken in by the ex-best friend of the princess. The more Danni gets to know her new classmates, the more intrigued she becomes by Rose.

When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever.

Goodreads Blurb:

Elsie Hoffman has been engaged to her college boyfriend for a year and a half. Ginny Holtz has been in love with Elsie for almost a decade and a half.

When Elsie discovers her fiancé already planned their wedding and honeymoon as a surprise and she’s expected to be in a white dress in seven days, she swiftly realizes she’s let herself become too comfortable with a future she never wanted. She breaks things off, and a week later is on a plane to the Caribbean for her non-refundable honeymoon with her best friend Ginny instead.

Ginny thinks it’s high time Elsie learned how to speak up for herself. So, they make a deal with her. For the next week, Elsie can have whatever she wants, wherever, however, and whenever she wants it, as long as she asks. They never expected Elsie to want them.

What starts as choosing activities and taking selfies soon turns to toe-curling kisses and much, much more. But what happens when the honeymoon is over?

Goodreads Blutb:

Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father’s car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town’s café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There’s only one problem—Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood’s favorite wild child—is the star.

Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she’s not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she’s just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town—she even works at the town’s café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.

But Dylan soon realizes it’s not just some small-town waitress she’s getting to know—Ramona Riley is someone she’s met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.

Goodreads Blurb:

A small-town waitress and a big-city Broadway press agent swap homes to escape the messiness of their personal lives, only to find new purpose—and new love.

Tatum Ward and Eleanor Chapman lead totally opposite lives. Tatum’s never left her Midwestern hometown. She resides in a quaint guest cottage on her parents’ property while working part-time as a waitress, where she spends most shifts ignoring her feelings for a beautiful regular named June. Eleanor dedicates every waking hour to her high-profile press career, sacrificing personal relationships for professional success, save for the occasional hookup to fight off her loneliness. When both women’s lives unexpectedly blow up at the exact same time, they each need an escape, and fast.

In Tatum’s hometown, Eleanor expects a quiet hideaway where she can recharge. Instead she gets wrapped up in the family drama that Tatum left town to avoid, pulled in by Tatum’s charismatic older sibling, Carson, who charms Eleanor at every turn. Tatum ends up in Eleanor’s New York high-rise apartment with June. One week together in the big city might make it impossible for Tatum to avoid not just her true feelings for June, but her real dreams for her life.

Amid a friendship with a reclusive Hollywood actress and a complicated family reunion, Tatum and Eleanor each discover much more than they bargained for away from home. Their house swap won’t last forever, but it might be just long enough for both women to surrender their defenses and finally fight for the life—and love—they deserve.

Goodreads Blurb:

Zoe Brennan may be the loneliest lesbian in Blue Ridge, but at least she has her family vineyard, a deep, abiding vendetta against her ex-best-friend-now-enemy, and the occasional meaningless hook-up to keep her busy.

When a prestigious wine festival announces it’s coming to Blue Ridge, it kicks off a battle royale among local vineyards vying for the opportunity to host it. Zoe’s in it to win it—getting chosen would put Brennan Vineyards on the map while also sticking it to the rival vineyard next door. But disaster strikes when Zoe’s father is called home to Italy to care for his sick mother, leaving Brennan Vineyards without a vintner.

Dejected, Zoe impulsively agrees to a blindfolded threesome with a friend and, excitingly, a stranger. After having the best sex of her life, Zoe’s horrified to discover the butch beneath the blindfold is none other than Laine Woods, Napa-trained vintner, Zoe’s first crush, and her enemy’s big sister.The Napa-trained vintner, Zoe discovers, her father’s just hired as his replacement.

Laine assures Zoe they can put their sizzling one-night stand behind them, but Laine’s snobbery and Zoe’s pride collide at every step, creating a potent pour of sexual and professional tension. Zoe and Laine must learn to work together to win the wine festival, but when working together means late nights under the stars, letting go of the past, and learning each other all over again, Zoe has to be careful or Laine Woods might crush her heart for good.

Goodreads Blurb:

Ella has officially hit rock bottom.

After getting dumped by her girlfriend and soon-to-be ex-boss, Ella’s thirties have her feeling lost. In an attempt to cheer her up, her best friend colludes with her mother to send her to Sandy Springs, a wellness retreat on a remote Portuguese island. Ella can’t deny that sun, sand, and sea sound like the perfect combination to drown her sorrows.
But Sandy Springs is not a holiday.
It’s an alcohol-free, signal-less hellhole with an interfering cockerel called Bernardo. Forced to confront her life without any distractions, Ella’s urge to give up and float out to sea is stronger than ever. That is, until she meets Riley, the attractive yoga instructor, and things on the island start to shift.
Riley’s career is her solace, but even now she can’t escape the memories that haunt her. When she comes across the fiery Ella, she realises just how much she’s been holding herself back.
As their feelings for each other grow, the two of them must make a decision: continue down a path of self-destruction or face some difficult truths. Can they resist temptation or will they risk everything for love in paradise?

After all, what harm could a holiday romance really do?

Goodreads Blurb:

Alison Hartmann is a woman with secrets no one wants her to keep. Gold Hill, with its idyllic setting is the perfect place to hide.

Light-hearted Hope Sullivan doesn’t see it that way. What else is a small town for if it isn’t about strong bonds and close community?

On a gloomy day by the lake, their lives collide, leading both women to wonder: is Gold Hill a haven or a bolthole? Can you ever really be safe?

Goodreads Blurb:

Sparks fly between Nicola Albright KC and Geeta Sachdeva, but not the good kind. They’re the sort that leave small fires, devastation, and everyone peeping between their fingers at arrogant lawyer, Nicola, on one side, and everyone’s favourite mum, Geeta, on the other.
Yet when both are divorced and at a new stage in life, they find themselves living within glowering distance of each other, in beautiful Iffley Village, Oxford. Reluctantly they call a truce and try to make friends. It’s tricky though, when there’s more than one reason they’ve circled and snapped for years.
For a start, Geeta’s lawyer daughter, Olivia, idolises the eminent King’s Counsel barrister, to eye rolls from Geeta. And to Nicola’s annoyance, her own daughter, Charlotte, has always turned to perfect mama Geeta for comfort and understanding. Animosity between the two is a given.
Until they force themselves to be nice to each other, that is, and then they’re compelled to question everything…

Goodreads Blurb:

One football goddess. One future Queen. One love that could change the game.

Princess Victoria has perfected the royal playbook: calculated smile, convenient boyfriend, impeccable press. But behind the tiara ticks a heart that’s tired of playing by the rules.

Enter Ashleigh Woods: England’s football captain, media darling, and living proof that authenticity scores every time. When Victoria pins an MBE on Ash’s lapel, the instant chemistry jolts both their worlds.

Stolen glances become secret meetings. Private texts become tabloid gold. And suddenly, Victoria’s tearing up her royal rulebook for a woman who makes her feel like more than her title. Ash has faced down penalty shootouts in European Cup finals, but winning Victoria’s heart? That’s the match of her life.

When their romance hits the headlines, it’s game on: bow to tradition, or fight for a love that could change history. Victoria’s got a crown to inherit. Ash has a legacy to defend. Neither planned to start a revolution, but when destiny meets desire, sometimes you have to risk it all to win.

Get ready for Clare Lydon’s latest game-changer: a royal romance that proves some matches are worth breaking every rule for.

Goodreads Blurb:

Erin Corcoran doesn’t believe anyone in her life will actually stick around. Her dad was the first person to leave her. Then, many years later, it was her wife. A year after her divorce, Erin is still struggling as a single mom. When she decides to hire a babysitter to watch her son, Nolan, over the summer, the last thing she expects is to fall for the woman ten years her junior.

Blair Breckenridge is fresh out of college and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Luckily, that doesn’t matter since there is a large sum of money set aside in a trust fund for her. The only problem? Her parents refuse to continue giving her money if she doesn’t have a job. Blair decides to become a babysitter for the summer while she figures out what she actually wants to do with her life. Because, really, how hard could it be?

The rambunctious three-and-a-half year old Blair is stuck watching for the summer is anything but easy. What makes the situation even harder is how hot his mom is. On top of that, she’s funny and sweet and has Blair daydreaming about a life she never knew she wanted.

As Erin and Blair’s feelings for each other grow, it gets harder and harder to ignore them, but there are so many obstacles in their way. Blair is young and immature, and Erin worries with how impulsive she is, she will be another person who leaves. Blair has to find a way to prove to Erin she’s not like everyone else, because Erin isn’t the only one she’s becoming attached to. She wants Erin and Nolan, but at twenty-two, is she ready to take on everything that comes along with dating a single mom?

Will things fall apart before they even start or can these two find a way to fall together instead?

Goodreads Blurb:

Being married to your best friend isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Grace Hart wants a baby. She’s hitting her late 30s with no children, no husband, and no prospects for the happily ever after of her dreams. But she’s decided the perfect partner to help her change all that and build a future is right in front of her in the form of her best friend of twenty years. And she won’t let a minor detail like being very straight and her bestie being a lesbian stand in the way

Caz Madden has no right to be attracted to her best friend. Yes, Grace is beautiful, and the two of them share a level of emotional intimacy and trust that only deepens as they begin a cosy domestic partnership, then marriage, that even their closest loved ones are convinced is a true romance, but that doesn’t make it real. Does it?
Against all odds, an irrefutable spark kindles between Caz and Grace as they share space and their lives, but giving into it could end up shattering their friendship and both of their hearts.
Blurred boundaries and growing feelings sweep them to the brink of a love more passionate and tender than they could have ever imagined. Will they let themselves fall, or will fear drive them apart?

Alex