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lgbtqreads · 1 year

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Happy Jewish American Heritage Month 2023!

Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros The little beachside town of San Pancras is not known for anything exciting, but when Zach Darlington buys a mysterious ring at the local flea market, his quiet little hometown is turned topsy-turvy by monsters straight from Jewish folklore and a nefarious secret society focused on upholding an apocalyptic prophecy. Zach discovers that the ring grants him strange…

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wlwbookshelf · 1 year

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SIZZLE REEL - CARLYN GREENWALD Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐ Sizzle Reel is a non-traditional romance featuring twenty four year old Luna and explores the struggles of coming out as bisexual and navigating the film industry. Before I talk about the contents of the book, let me just say if I was judging it by the cover it would be five stars. There are so many bi flags on this cover and the sunset aesthetic is top tier. As far as the contents of the book, I have mixed feelings about it. I really liked the setting and the filmography career aspect of the book.I didn't like the MC Luna and her obesession with losing her 'virginity'. I would have enjoyed it better as a multi POV book with Romy and Valeria, as I liked those characters better. Definitely read the full plot synopsis to decide if would be worth a read, or just get it anyway to have that cover on your shelf for a bit. Sizzle Reel comes out April 18th. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#books #sizzle reel #carlyn greenwald #book review #sapphic lit #booklr #wlw books #wlw lit #wlw literature #sapphic books

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wahlpaper · 6 months

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Sizzle Reel Review

Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

CW: Drinking, Heavy Drinking, Swearing, Described Sexual Content, Forced Closet-ing, Forced Outing, Toxic Work Environment, Queerphobia, Anxiety, Described Panic Attack, Money Problems, Unemployment and Firing, Queerphobic Microaggressions, Ethnic Microaggressions, Vomit, Dubious Consent, Dysfunctional Family Dynamics, Antisemitism, Deadnaming, Gaslighting

4.5/5

I'd like to start off this review by talking about the cover on Carlyn Greenwald's Sizzle Reel. It's the reason I decided to read it. I knew it was queer and potentially forgot that it was Jewish, but that cover was in my mind for months as I waited for the audiobook on Libby. Created by Madeline Partner and Maria Nguyen, the cover features a gorgeous red-head standing in the front with two attractive love interests off to the side. One love interest is giving off Kristen Stewart vibes. It's all bathed in pastel pink and orange, adding the beauty of a sunset to it. The typography is having a little bit of fun without taking away from the rest of the cover. It's a queer paradise and I'd love to see more covers like this.

Here's a blurb about Sizzle Reel, assuming that you need more than a cover to judge a book. For two years, Luna Roth has been suffering through an abusive Hollywood job that isn't even in her field of cinematography. When she meets Valeria, rising star and potential member of the queer community, everything starts to change. Luna has only just come out as bi at 24 and feels she needs to "catch up" on experiences. Her friends work to hook them up, whether it is professionally or intimately. While Luna is facing her job changes, newly-public identity, anxiety, and family problems, her best friend Romy has been acting strange. Will Luna be able to keep her life from falling apart while everything around her changes?

One thing that stood out to me in Sizzle Reel was how the choice of first person POV affected the tone of the book. Although Luna never directly says she has an audience, she knows how to interact with one. She's quite expressive and is honest enough with us that we can see past what she's hiding from herself. Most of the time with first person, that character either breaks the fourth wall or is only going along with I/me pronouns because the author made them do it. Luna being between these options makes for a great narrative and is absolutely in character. She's a cinematographer who's written by a member of the film industry. Essentially, this book has a complete aesthetic you're likely to get hooked on. Greenwald originally wrote Sizzle Reel to be a script, and while it was translated to a novel beautifully, that intention still shows.

Sizzle Reel is about things not being what we expect them to be. This goes for both the audience and the characters. I technically guessed the ending, but I kept changing my mind about it. I worried for nothing that things would pan out unrealistically or that I'd hate the outcome. Luna is trying to figure how to live in the queer community now that she's out. She's only getting advice from one biased queer person and it isn't helping her anxiety. She's receiving a lot of overwhelming input about what she should be doing. This goes beyond just being about her bisexuality. I have a feeling Greenwald was writing to an audience that already knows what anxiety is like. I could relate to Luna's thoughts without them needing to be explained to me. She just wanted to do the right or perfect things, hopefully the easy things. It all made her more confused, doing things the harder way, and unable to easily explain herself to others. My empathy for Luna made some parts of the book hard to get through, but witnessing how everything comes together made it worth it.

I mentioned earlier that I potentially forgot this was a piece of Jewish literature. I don't remember how I discovered this book, if I knew it was Jewish at the time I decided to eventually read it. Either way, it came as a pleasant surprise for me when I began reading. Luna and her best friend, Wyatt, are both Jewish. Luna and I both focus more on the cultural aspects of being Jewish, but she still had a different perspective than I've had. I love reading a variety of Jewish literature because it lets me see my community from different eyes. If you're looking for a Jewish queer 20-something as a main character, definitely try out Sizzle Reel.

This story touches on several timely queer topics and misses out on one I wish it would have addressed. Luna's arc is mostly about the queer panic I've mentioned previously, figuring out how to engage in the community and learning to prioritize herself. Valeria's arc is about being forced back into the closet by Hollywood, a place that the average right-winger assumes is leftist. Luna faces some of this toxicity herself. Romy's arc is about being out to her extended family as non-binary when she's still figuring out her relationship with gender. Unfortunately, despite Luna being extremely demi-coded (likely unconsciously), the asexual spectrum isn't directly brought up in Sizzle Reel. I believe if someone had suggested demisexuality to Luna, she would have had some of her anxieties lifted. Overall, I loved the amount of queer rep and topics Greenwald covered. It was all appropriately wrapped up with the last words in the book, "queer bliss".

Carlyn Greenwald's Sizzle Reel is a great book to read if you're looking for a slightly unpredictable Jewish queer romcom that uses Hollywood/Pasadena/LA as its background. Considering that's too niche to be likely, hopefully I've painted a tempting picture of the novel for you. Love triangles, urban exploration, and info dumps about the film industry await you. So, ready, set, action!

#sizzle reel #carlyn greenwald #book blog #bookblogger #queer books #queer characters #jewish books #wlw #jewish authors #romcom book #love triangle #hollywood romance #demisexual #madeline partner #maria nguyen #contemporary #new adult books #trans love interest #nonbinary rep

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girlwholikestoread · 9 months

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For those who don't know I will typically search for a book on Tumblr first before I make any post about it and honestly I am greatly disappointed that I have not seen any post talking about Time out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carolyn Greenwald.

#justice for Barclay Elliott #Time out #sean hayes #todd milliner #carlyn Greenwald

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inawickedlittletown · 9 months

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I really wanted to like Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald. And I think I did like it up until there was about 25% of the book left...

Spoilers below:

I don’t want to spend too much time discussing this book because I want to get back tor reading something else...but I just want to say that spending the whole book on one couple Luna/Valeria and the build up of them as friends and the sexual tension just for the book to end with Luna hooking up with Valeria and realizing she’s been in love with her best friend the whole time left me with a big question mark.

Like don’t spend the whole book on one pairing...and then have the side character who only shows up to advice the main character (at times badly due to her jealousy) end up as the love interest.

It’s like movies that don’t want you to guess the twist...so then the twist doesn’t make sense because the clues don’t add up.

#books #sizzle reel #carlyn greenwald

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justme-victoria · 10 months

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⭐️⭐️⭐️

A coming-of-age Sapphic romance set against the backdrop of Hollywood. 🎥

🎥 Hollywood PA & A-list actress

🎥 love triangle

🎥 life in Hollywood

🎥 coming-out & first queer experiences

🎥 sapphic romance

This was a fun little sapphic romance with plenty of sweet moments and visits to many interesting LA locations.

I was super excited for this one and felt it had a lot of potential, but it very quickly fell flat - the overall romance itself was enjoyable, if not as developed as I would have liked, but the writing and lack of character development really missed the mark.

🔗FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/Review-SizzleReel

#SizzleReel #CarlynGreenwald #sapphicromance #romancebooks #romancereader #romancereads #bookreview #queerbooks #queerpride

#sizzle reel #carlyn greenwald #sapphic #sapphic books #sapphic romance #love triangle #queer books #romance books #book review #book blogger

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judeinthestars · 1 year

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New review! Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

#book #books #LGBTBooks #lgbt #sapphic #BookLover #BookAddict #BookRecommendations #wlw #SapphicReads #BookReview #lesfic #Carlyn Greenwald

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kkecreads · 1 year

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Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

Published: April 18, 2023 Vintage Genre: Romance Pages: 327 KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily. Carlyn Greenwald is a YA and Adult romance and thriller author and screenwriter hailing from Manhattan Beach, California. She graduated from USC in 2018 with a degree in English and Film as well as minors in Screenwriting and…

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neowitcher · 1 year

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SIZZLE REEL | ARC REVIEW

Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald ★★

Expected release date: 18 April 2023

Genre: LGBTQ+, Contemporary, Romance

Summary:

When aspiring cinematographer Luna Roth comes out as bisexual, things are more difficult than she’d anticipated. Her best friend Romy is thrilled for her, but Luna doesn’t even know how to flirt with a girl, doesn’t want to come out to her family, and is trying to escape her low-key abusive talent manager.

Then she meets A-list actress and debuting director Valeria Sullivan, who seems her solution to a PA job and if she is as gay as Luna assumes, her ticket to losing her bisexual virginity. But when her romantic interest begins to be reciprocated, her job prospects and relationship with Romy starts to strain. Now Luna has to figure out if she can she fulfil her dreams as a film-maker, keep her best friend, and get the girl. . . or if she’s destined to end up on the cutting room floor.

[Storygraph] [Goodreads] [Amazon]

My review (spoilers - indicated):

A sapphic bisexual romance in a film industry setting is all my heart desires but sadly, Sizzle Reel fell a bit flat. The very detailed plot description (that I seriously had to cut for this review) should have been an indication of it being messy as it tries to bring everything it can but ends up delivering very little. But not all is bad. Here is my review.

Character-wise, Luna isn’t the most appealing main character, however, I won’t hold that against her because that’s how I feel with plenty of romance leads. Her coming out as bisexual is a big part of her personality throughout the story, I get it. At times it is funny, as if she has opened the doors to bisexual superpowers or something. Other times, it just felt annoying and as if she was a totally new person who doesn’t even want to be bisexual.

[SPOILERS] Then there’s the matter of the love triangle. On the one hand, there’s Luna’s celebrity crush with whom she shares very little chemistry. Their interactions are fun, and I enjoy them together, but the romantic part feels forced, which is a shame seeing as it takes up most of the story. It does that, to then amount to nothing. The second love interest is a friends-to-lovers moment which I am a total sucker for but never really pays off. I love Romy’s presence throughout the novel and oftentimes really identify with her, but to make her a love interest, it really needed more than a sudden realisation as it had very little room for them to explore that further. Especially, after focusing most of the book on someone else. The love triangle itself wasn’t a big surprise but Luna’s eventual feelings were a bit anticlimactic. [!!!]

Maybe I should have read the synopsis better because the frustrating focus on sex and virginity is already clear there—my bad. The most important thing in the world for Luna as a baby bisexual isn’t really to feel truly accepted and take her time to figure things out, it’s to get laid. And the steamy scenes that were there were very uncomfortable. They get intimate in an Uber, out of all places, and Luna spends the entire book wanting to have “gay sex” in a heteronormative way, despite everyone telling her that “sex” isn’t a straightforward concept. Luna is a flawed character, and that’s fine, but she was far too annoying in moments like these.

When it comes to the overall story, I appreciate the film industry setting and getting to learn more about Luna working her way towards becoming a cinematographer. I honestly wish there had been more focus on that. There’s diversity aplenty, with a Jewish bisexual lead as well as cis and non-binary lesbian love interests and a whole bunch of hilarious queer humour and references. It feels over the top sometimes but to me, that might have been the slightly better part of the book.

Either the story should have been aimed at a younger audience or it should have been paced a lot better. I wouldn’t say no to another book by this author as there were a lot of relatable moments and queer media in general is always welcome. But this particular story was a miss for me and probably better suited for someone who doesn’t mind the quirks mentioned above.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for a chance to read an ARC of this book for free, in exchange for an honest review.

content warnings (slight spoilers): biphobia, outing, slight acephobia

#book #bookblr #book review #arc #arc review #netgalley #sizzle reel #carlyn greenwald #sapphic #lgbtq+#bisexual #romance #reviewblr

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 7 months

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💜 Steamy Bisexual Romance Books

Let's heat things up a bit! Check out these steamy bisexual romances and get your TBR sizzling! Have you read any of these bisexual romance novels yet?

💖 Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly @anitakellywrites 💜 Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald @carlyn_gee 💙 The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett @rubybarrettwrite 💖 In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae @court_kae 💜 Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake 💙 With Love From Cold World by Alicia Thompson @ashleyhblake 💖 Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner @merylwilsner 💜 That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey @bridgetjmorrissey 💙 Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni @taleenauthor

#bi books #bisexuality #bisexual books #bisexual visibility #queer books #queer book recs #queer fiction #queer community #queer #book recs #book recommendation #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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read-and-write- · 4 months

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24 reads in 24

Thanks to @alexlikesbooksandtea for tagging me!

Look, i don't even know if I'll read 24 book this year but let's pretend i will, this is a combination of my actual TBR wishes for the year, the books I tried to start last year and some that are already in my currently reading

Gwen and Art are not in Love - Lex Croucher

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me - Mariko Tamaki

D'Vaughn and Chris Plan a Wedding - Chencia C. Higgins

Cementery Boys - Aiden Thomas

Maurice - E.M Foster

Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson

Little Women- Louisa May Alcott

La Rebelión de los Ángeles- Anatole France

Hell Followed with Us - Andrew Joseph White

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea - Rebecca Thorne

Bajo las Sombras: El misterio de la escritora - Stef Leon

The Fragile Threads of Power - V.E Schwab

Captive Prince - C.S Pacat

Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo

Pedro & Daniel - Federico Erebia

Babel - R.F Kuang

Vista desde una acera - Fernando Molano Vargas

Eminent Maricones: Arenas, Lorca, Puig, and Me - Jaime Manrique

In the Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune

Sizzle Reel - Carlyn Greenwald

Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki

Tags under the cut!

Alright time to tag a bunch of people because this hasn't made rounds in rwrb fandom so, no pressure because I know most of y'all are only reading fic skdjhd @littlemisskittentoes @affectionatelyrs @inexplicablymine @happiness-of-the-pursuit @gayrootvegetable @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @rockyroadkylers @matherines @anincompletelist @heartitinthesilence @bidoofenergy @14carrotghoul @ssmtskw @sherryvalli @everwitch-magiks @raysletters @heybuddy-drabbles @suseagull04 and that's a lot of people so the rest is an open tag hehe

#tag game #i actually read books #sometimes #i had a storygraph 2024 tbr to make librarians pick #but mood reading moods #so i'll do the librarian challenge as i go

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lgbtqreads · 7 months

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Happy National Coming Out Day 2023!

For even more Coming Out reads, check out this post from way back when! (And for a post on coming out, check out “Never Too Late” by Kelly Farmer.) Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only…

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#Becky Albertalli #Brianna R. Shrum #Carlyn Greenwald #Cool for the Summer #Imogen Obviously #Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl #Sara Waxelbaum #Sizzle Reel #Time Out #Unwritten Rules

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bookaddict24-7 · 1 year

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New Young Adult Releases! (May 2nd, 2023)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber

We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado

The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom by Allison L. Bitz

Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown

Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum

Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley by Melissa Marr

Lion’s Legacy by Lev A.C. Rosen

The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman

Solitaire by Alice Oseman (This is a new cover reprint)

Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams

The Weight of Everything by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner & Carlyn Greenwald

When Death is Coming by Jen Woodrum

Stranger Danger by Maren Stoffels

New Sequels:

Path of Vengeance (Star Wars: The High Republic) by Cavan Scott

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Happy reading!

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rockislandadultreads · 11 months

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LGBTQIA+ Pride Month: Romance Recommendations

Solomon’s Crown by Natasha Siegel

“A pair of thrones between us, and my heart clutched like a rosary within his hands ...”

Twelfth-century Europe. Newly-crowned King Philip of France is determined to restore his nation to its former empire and bring glory to his name. But when his greatest enemy, King Henry of England, threatens to end his reign before it can even begin, Philip is forced to make a precarious alliance with Henry’s volatile son—risking both his throne, and his heart.

Richard, Duke of Aquitaine, never thought he would be King. But when an unexpected tragedy makes him heir to England, he finally has an opportunity to overthrow the father he despises. At first, Philip is a useful tool in his quest for vengeance... until passion and politics collide, and Richard begins to question whether the crown is worth the cost.

When Philip and Richard find themselves staring down an impending war, they must choose between their desire for one another and their grand ambitions. Will their love prevail, if it calls to them from across the battlefield? Teeming with royal intrigue and betrayal, this epic romance reimagines two real-life kings ensnared by an impossible choice: Follow their hearts, or earn their place in history.

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she's focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.

After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.

As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.

I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson

It's been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a café. Maybe Hudson wants to profusely apologize for the breakup. Or confess his undying love... But no, Hudson has a favor to ask--he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees.

The dinner doesn't go exactly as planned, and suddenly Kian is Hudson's plus one to Georgia's wedding of the season. Hudson comes from a wealthy family where reputation is everything, and he really can't afford another mistake. If Kian goes, he'll help Hudson preserve appearances and get the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in media. This could be the big career break Kian needs.

But their fake relationship is starting to feel like it might be more than a means to an end, and it's time for both men to fact-check their feelings.

Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

For aspiring cinematographer Luna Roth, coming out as bisexual at twenty-four is proving more difficult than she anticipated. Sure, her best friend and fellow queer Romy is thrilled for her--but she has no interest in coming out to her backwards parents, she wouldn't know how to flirt with a girl if one fell at her feet, and she has no sexual history to build off. Not to mention she really needs to focus her energy on escaping her emotionally-abusive-but-that's-Hollywood talent manager boss and actually get working under a real director of photography anyway.

When she meets twenty-eight-year-old A-list actress Valeria Sullivan around the office, Luna thinks she's found her solution. She'll use Valeria's interest in her cinematography to get a PA job on the set of Valeria's directorial debut--and if Valeria is as gay as Luna suspects, and she happens to be Luna's route to losing her virginity, too . . . well, that's just an added bonus. Enlisting Romy's help, Luna starts the juggling act of her life--impress Valeria's DP to get another job after this one, get as close to Valeria as possible, and help Romy with her own career moves.

But when Valeria begins to reciprocate romantic interest in Luna, the act begins to crumble--straining her relationship with Romy and leaving her job prospects precarious. Now Luna has to figure out if she can she fulfill her dreams as a filmmaker, keep her best friend, and get the girl. . . or if she's destined to end up on the cutting room floor.

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the-bi-library · 1 year

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Bi books out in April!

We have 25 books this time 💖💜💙

Here is the goodreads list of these books 💕

Make sure to check the TWs and ratings for all the books if necessary ��

Books listed

💕 The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur 💕 Cake Craft by Hannah-Freya Blake 💕The Way of the Cicadas by Audrey Henley 💕 That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams 💕 Caught off Guard by Catherine Cloud 💕 Stuck With You by 'Nathan Burgoine 💕 Harley Quinn: Ravenous (DC Icons Series) by Rachael Allen 💕 Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders 💕 If Only You by Chloe Liese 💕 The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter 💕 Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald 💕The Warden by Daniel M. Ford 💕 Against The Stars by Christopher Hartland 💕Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley 💕 No Boy Summer by Amy Spalding 💕 This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham 💕Can I Steal You for a Second? by Jodi McAlister 💕 What Walks These Halls by Amy Clarkin 💕 Diamond Ring by K.D. Casey 💕 Alondra by Gina Femia 💕 The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro 💕 The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst 💕 Drew Leclair Crushes the Case by Katryn Bury 💕 Tragic Volume 2 by Dana Mele, Valentina Pinti and Chiara Di Francia 💕 Legend of Korra - Ruins of The Empire Omnibus by Michael Dante DiMartino and Irene Koh

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piratekane · 5 hours

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april reading wrap-up

another month, another reading wrap-up. i said in my last one that april would be stronger and for once, i was right. i'm basically a genius now. anyway, i read books. i'm going to tell you about them.

some facts: - i read 13 books this month - i've branched out in the reading world and got to read a couple of ARCs for upcoming books - i went to four independent bookstores this month - i bought 2485309 books in 30 days - i did 3 buddy reads

anyway, here's the top books:

a) Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang - if you haven't read this book, you need to read this book. it's my favorite of the month. a magic system based on computation that sounds hella cool, a morally gray main character with the kind of growth you love to see, complex comments on the morality of right versus wrong and what those things really mean--this book was so well-written, the characters were fantastic, and i had to slow myself down reading it so i didn't get too far ahead of my reading buddy 5/5

b) The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon - full disclosure, i started this book in December and just finished it a few days ago. idk why i was stuck--maybe because i read The Bone Season in a day and dove right into TMO and just burnt out? either way, i decided April is when i would finish it and daaaamn, am i glad i did. someone told me that Shannon really blows things up at the end of book 2 and, well, she did. i put the book down. i stared at the wall. i asked, out loud, did that really just happen? totally worth the wait. 4.5/5

c) The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood - i went into this book blind and came out the other side with a tab open on my computer saying "thank you for your purchase" [of the sequel]. this book could have probably been two, because there were two distinct arcs, but also they wove together so well, i didn't mind. sacrifice-turned-sword-hand meets girl-destined-to-be-sacrifice and they decide to just fuck things up. we love to see it. 4/5

ARCs i read: - The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozzo, a YA sapphic contemporary story about a girl who wakes up as a ghost and has to figure out why she's reliving what she believes to be the worst weekend of her life--but what the angel assigned to her is positive is her best. i thought this was cute and def had YA vibes, but a good story overall. out May 14, 2024 - Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald, an adult sapphic contemporary romance about a woman who is looking to get out of Hollywood and into teaching and maybe into her co-teacher's, uh, bed (felt weird just typing that), while figuring out what she really wants from life. this suffered a few tropes that i am not a huge fan of and wasn't the book for me, but could be the book for you! out June 11, 2024

queer rating: 10 out of 13 books this month. thank you, lesbian visibility week!

#a pirate reads #i needed a new hobby and i found one #just got an email that my book order shipped so now i have a reason to live (until monday at least)#now i am going to read tpotot again while working bc that's what we do sometimes

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