Words have the power to hurt, but they also have the power to heal. The word queer was created to hurt, but it has been reclaimed to give power to one by one of us. We know the pain, but also the joy when one of us succeeds. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, who has a new weekly topic.
June 2: Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read
Goodreads Blurb:
Love shouldn’t be a crime, but for twenty-three-year-old Teniade Adeowo, it is. After fleeing Nigeria to escape both the law and his trauma, he arrives in England determined to leave everything behind. But when his path collides with Stefan Wickström’s at Heathrow, Ade learns that sometimes the things you run from have a way of chasing you down.
Stefan is no stranger to running. Leaving Sweden, he’s convinced constant motion is the only way to stay ahead of his past. But Ade’s quiet intensity stops him in his tracks—and suddenly, Stefan’s ghosts feel closer than ever.
In a world where love feels like a risk they can’t afford, Ade and Stefan must decide if their fragile bond will be the force that heals them or the weight that finally breaks them.
Goodreads Blurb:
Eli Francis is stuck. Stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer. Stuck with a boss who dangles a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Stuck working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving up at work…or moving on.
When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park. Tall, handsome, and unbelievably awkward. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it.
But Eli has other ideas…Eli plays along, pretending to write the article, while secretly interviewing Peter about growing up queer in the South and coming-of-age dating wise in adulthood. Eli hopes writing this sort of piece will finally get him the promotion he deserves. And in exchange, he will teach Peter how to be a better boyfriend.
But the more time Eli spends with Peter, the closer they become, and the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur. Before long Eli is forced to face his greatest fears to become the writer he wants to be and secure the love he’s always needed.
Goodreads Blurb:
In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.
In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.
Goodreads Blurb:
What if the side quest is really the main quest?
Divine, a healer of the Goddess of Souls, has chased the thief who stole her talisman across half of Trelvania. The talisman is the key to accessing her magic well, and without it, she is powerless. While chasing her betrayer, former girlfriend, and servant of the Goddess of Condemnation, Divine meets Saph, a flirty tavern owner with an eyepatch and a proposition. Saph will help Divine locate her talisman if Divine helps her complete a mysterious quest in a chest.
Inspired by RPGs and set in scenic autumn, prepare for an adventure with gods and goddesses, deceitful exes, axe throwing, and fantastical creatures. Can Divine learn to trust again and find romance in the middle of finding her magic?
Goodreads Blurb:
With warmth and humour, Elizabeth Lovatt reimagines the women who both called and volunteered for the Lesbian Line in the 1990s, whilst also tracing her own journey from accidentally coming out to disastrous dates to finding her chosen family.
With callers and agents alike dealing with first crushes and break-ups, sex and marriage, loneliness and illness (or simply the need to know the name of a gay bar on a night out), this is a celebration of the ordinary lives of queer women.
Goodreads Blurb:
Penelope’s done it. They’ve come out to friends and family as nonbinary, survived online dating, and now have an amazing partner to show for it. Their partner is everything they’ve ever wanted—sweet, funny, caring, and willing to dive into new fashion and new pronouns with Penelope. They’re more than ready to explore this new phase of their relationship, there’s just one thing, though. It’s been months and they still haven’t had a sleepover, let alone tackled intimacy between two genderqueer people.
Everything’s fine. There’s nothing to stress about. They’ll figure it out on their own time, and in the meantime, Penelope’s enjoying every day of their new relationship. That is, until Penelope gets a letter from their landlord saying they have three months to find a new place to live. Now, on top of working two jobs and attending couple’s sessions on genderqueer intimacy, Penelope has to figure out if there’s any way they’ll be ready to move in with their partner.
Follow the conclusion to Penelope’s story as they visit a wacky pop-up museum, attend a stressful engagement party, somehow end up in a friend’s delivery room, and, of course, spend time at the Rainbow Bean cafe.
Goodreads Blurb:
The sun will rise, and we will try again.
Will Grześkiewicz believes his life is over. Magnolia Castillo knows her sister’s is. Feeling that the world is crashing down around them, individually unsure of what else to do, Will and Maggie both retreat to watch the sunset in a place they’ve previously found solace, a park settled on the river a few minutes’ drive from campus.
What starts as an attempt to get away from it all becomes an evening routine to watch the sunset with a new friend, and Will and Maggie realize that simply showing up—for themselves and for each other—might have the power to change everything.
Goodreads Blurb:
Curvaceous, clever, and an avid reader, seventeen-year-old Bobby Ashton never misses a main character moment. So when it comes to asking out his crush, he plans a romantic gesture grand enough to go down in local history. Unfortunately, though, his extensive knowledge of every rom-com trope ever doesn’t prepare him for how tragically he misreads the situation. Suddenly Bobby’s very public romantic gesture turns into an ordeal so embarrassing it could be a villain origin story.
Having masterfully shattered every plan for his perfect summer before college, Bobby’s last resort is working at his uncle’s sleepy bookstore. Soon, Bobby is expertly recommending books for customers to perfectly cure what ails them. Attempting to rebound after a breakup? There’s a book for that. Trying to tame your crochety coworker? There’s a book for that too. Then a plot twist Bobby never saw coming walks through the door in the form of Luke, an unfairly attractive and staunchly anti-romantic lifeguard.
Bobby’s blossoming connection with Luke reminds him of some of his favorite tropes: grumpy-sunshine, quippy banter, and even forced proximity. But after his last romantic disaster, should Bobby use all the tricks in his arsenal to turn Luke’s head? Or is he misreading all the signs again? Do grand gestures really need to be so…grand?
Goodreads Blurb:
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:
Two strangers meet in Manhattan and spend a perfect night together. In Tokyo, they have seven days to see if that one night might mean something more.
Landon’s living alone in Tokyo as a British ‘expat’, Louie’s visiting while he anxiously waits for approval on his US visa. Against the backdrop of a misty Tokyo Spring, their precious time together is spent wandering into side streets and coffee shops, sharing unmade beds and plates of food. But as the days tick by, Louie’s expectations start to overtake reality and he falls too deeply for a life that’s not yet his.
Alex