Hey y’all…happy FRIDAY FAVES!😍

 

FRIDAY FAVES is a little meme where I can post about some of my favorite book related topics, including various tropes and bookish stuff. I try to have a new theme every month and June’s theme is:

 

🌈 PRIDE MONTH 🌈

 

ICYMI: People everywhere during the month of June celebrate the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more) community. So, in honor of my son, Thing 2, who’s openly gay, I’m proudly celebrating with FRIDAY FAVES!

I’ve scoured the internet, blogs, friend’s recommendations, Goodreads, Amazon and my own shelves to find some super awesome romance novels in the LGBTQ genre. Now, I’ll be honest, I haven’t read all of the books that I’m going to recommend this month only because I read so much from the contemporary romance genre. So if YOU have any book recs for me, PLEASE leave me a comment as I’m always looking for good books across all ROMANTIC genres & tropes (except historical, I just CAN NOT get into that genre!)😕

 

🌈LGBTQ YOUNG ADULT/NEW ADULT ROMANCE TO READ THIS MONTH:🌈

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

A landmark in LGBT fiction, this captivating story of two teenage girls who fall in love is a “classic of the genre” (Publishers Weekly). 

When Liza Winthrop first lays eyes on Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there’s something special between them. Soon, their close friendship develops into a deep and intimate romance. Neither imagined that falling in love could be so wonderful, but as Liza and Annie’s newfound sexuality sparks conflict in both their families and at their schools, they discover it will take more than love for their relationship to succeed.

One of the first books to positively portray a lesbian relationship, Annie on My Mind is a groundbreaking classic of the genre. The subject of a First Amendment lawsuit over banned books and one of School Library Journal’s “One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century,” Nancy Garden’s iconic novel is an important story for anyone discovering who they’re meant to be.

 

Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan

The coming out story that will completely change the way you look at love, now available for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it?
Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian.

Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested.

“It feels real without being tedious, and heart-warming without being sappy. It’s not all roses, and it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s great.” – Jon 

“Just Juliet is the story I wish I could have given to my parents to read when I was 16 so that they knew what I was going through.” – Caro M.

 

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex… and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She’s a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she’s madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she’s decided that she’s ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin’s first time isn’t the perfect moment she’s planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy “parts.”

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin’s entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

 

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.

 

 

Let There Be Light (Twin Hearts Series) by A.M. Johnson

His world was water and rhythm. Hard work and drive kept Royal O’Connell one step ahead of his competition. His spot on the swim team, keeping his scholarship, was the only plan that mattered. His world was ebony and ivory. Natural talent and ambition set Camden Morgan apart from the other music majors. His dedication scoring him a full ride. Normally, their paths would have never crossed…. But when Royal meets his best friend’s new roommate, his big plan and Camden’s controlled environment faces a variable that could destroy it all. Attraction. The world they live in had no room for error. That undeniable pull between them was dangerous and neither one of them could’ve prepared for the choice they’d have to make. Love isn’t always an easy road and, when everything they’ve worked for is on the line, they’ll have to decide if being together is worth the risk.

 

 

So there’s a bit of everything in here! Some of these are pretty old (I think there’s one from the 80’s 😏) & some are newer but I think maybe they’re all still relevant today…have a fabulous day y’all!💜