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Book 983: Unexpecting – Jen Bailey

When someone in the marketing department reached out about this back in December, I wasn’t I was going to read it as I’d had a very stressful fall with a new puppy and school and work, but the blurb stayed in my mind, and after a couple of days deliberation I finally said yes.* I mean I had months to read it so may as well say yes and then plan around my schedule.

Unexpecting was unexpectedly (hardy har har) charming. Was it perfect? No, but that’s okay. It was a fun easy-to-read debut with unique and memorable characters (main and supporting). The book brought a lot of emotions out of me from hating and then understanding Maxie’s parents to my wanting to shake some sense into Ben but also wanting to give him a big hug for trying so hard and finally seeing reality. It was definitely a whirlwind.

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Book 960: With Love from Wish & Co. – Minnie Darke

The recommendation for this book arrived from the publisher way back in April and me being me assumed I’d have PLENTY of time to read it before it was published.* But then I didn’t read it early, we got a puppy and I started school, so yeah needless to say it took me a lot longer to read than expected.

Thankfully it wasn’t the writing or the story that forced the long delay! For the most part, the story kept me engaged and moving forward with only a few slower spots or wait what moments.

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Book 959: The Dove in the Belly – Jim Grimsley

When I finished re-reading Dream Boy back in May, I did a quick search to see what Jim Grimsley was up to these days and stumbled across this upcoming release. I reached out to the publisher for a copy and crossed my fingers it wasn’t going to be as traumatic or emotionally draining as the others I’ve read.*

The Dove in the Belly is the story of Ronny and Ben. It takes place on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in the 1970s and that’s the main reason I wanted to read this, Grimsley went to UNC and having it set on the UNC campus intrigued me as I also went to UNC and remember some of the history around the early LGBT organizations and experiences on campus.

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Book 948: Patricia Wants to Cuddle – Samantha Allen

What a wonderfully weird novel. When this landed in my inbox from the publisher I first thought WTF is that because the cover art screams pulp fiction and as much as I find those hilarious I’m not usually drawn to them. However, I’d decided I wanted to expand my LGBT novel repertoire, and knowing this featured lesbian/bisexual female protagonists I said sure why not.*

Billed as a satire of The BachelorPatricia Wants to Cuddle takes place in the final two weeks of The Catch‘s season with four female finalists and the catch going to the San Juan islands off the coast of Washington state. While it is that, it’s also a final girl thriller novel with murder and mystery and urban legends aplenty to keep the reader engaged.

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Book 935: Dream Boy – Jim Grimsley

Bare with me for a moment as I go on a tangent. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with re-watching the Netflix adaptation of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series and I  couldn’t realize why other than it’s a fantastic series and adaptation, but then I read this book and it all clicked into place: queer joy.

Growing up in the 1990s/early-2000s I’d say 85%+ of all depictions of LGBT characters were tragic or left to interpretation and this is a prime example of that. Having the opportunity to watch Charlie and Nick in Heartstopper as they discover happiness and joy, even with setbacks, mental health issues, and added TV drama, is just such a wonderful feeling of relief and joy that I float along every time I watch it or listen to the soundtrack or think about it. And this is in stark contrast to Roy and Nathan, the protagonists of Grimsley’s second foray into the novel.

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