{"title":"Patrick's Picks","description":"\u003cdiv\u003ePatrick (he\/him) reads primarily fantasy\/sci-fi and romance with a decent mix of more literary fiction as well. His favorite novels include \u003cem\u003eHere We Go Again\u003c\/em\u003e by Alison Cochrun, \u003cem\u003eThe Fake Dating Game\u003c\/em\u003e by Timothy Janovsky, \u003cem\u003eSomeone You Can Build a Nest In\u003c\/em\u003e by John Wiswell, E\u003cem\u003even Though I Knew The End\u003c\/em\u003e by CL Polk, \u003cem\u003eVenCo\u003c\/em\u003e by Cherie Dimaline, \u003cem\u003eLie with Me \u003c\/em\u003eby Phillip Besson, and \u003cem\u003eYoung Mungo\u003c\/em\u003e by Douglas Stuart\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBookish Likes: deeply emotional stories, queer yearning, and witches. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBookish Dislikes: straight love stories, unrealistic miscommunication, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eplot threads that go nowhere. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"young-mungo","title":"Young Mungo","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Douglas Stuart\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDouglas Stuart’s first novel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eShuggie Bain\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, is one of the most successful literary debuts of the century so far. Published or forthcoming in forty territories, it has sold more than one million copies worldwide. Now Stuart returns with\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eYoung Mungo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, his extraordinary second novel. Both a page-turner and literary tour de force, it is a vivid portrayal of working-class life and a deeply moving and highly suspenseful story of the dangerous first love of two young men.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGrowing up in a housing estate in Glasgow, Mungo and James are born under different stars—Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic—and they should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all. Yet against all odds, they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they fall in love, they dream of finding somewhere they belong, while Mungo works hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his big brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. And when several months later Mungo’s mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to try to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eImbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism and giving full voice to people rarely acknowledged in the literary world,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eY\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eoung Mungo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis a gripping and revealing story about the bounds of masculinity, the divisions of sectarianism, the violence faced by many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Publishers Group West","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":42155089985687,"sku":"","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43001566462103,"sku":"","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/YoungMungo.jpg?v=1654143137"},{"product_id":"a-lady-for-a-duke","title":"A Lady for a Duke","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Alexis Hall \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnly when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hachette","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42158196621463,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/ALadyforaDuke.jpg?v=1654224135"},{"product_id":"she-who-became-the-sun","title":"She Who Became the Sun","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eShelley Parker-Chan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShe Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I refuse to be nothing…”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA lush, fresh literary voice merges with commercial appeal in this accomplished debut. Powerful and poetic, beautiful and brutal, \u003ci\u003eShe Who Became the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e is a bold reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":42262394470551,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42262394503319,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9781250621801_f4761.jpg?v=1655583094"},{"product_id":"delilah-green-doesnt-care","title":"Delilah Green Doesn't Care","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Ashley Herring Blake\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDelilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHaving raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eknow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42328003575959,"sku":null,"price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9780593336403_8595a.jpg?v=1655569500"},{"product_id":"the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue","title":"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: V. E. Schwab\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e bestselling author V. E. Schwab delivers a brilliant standalone novel, blending iconic periods in history with magic and romantic intrigue, spanning countries and centuries.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrance, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":42379113595031,"sku":"","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43015339376791,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9780765387561_3478f.jpg?v=1655585845"},{"product_id":"lie-with-me-1","title":"Lie With Me","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Philippe Besson, translated by Molly Ringwald\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this \"sexy, pure, and radiant story\" (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eOut\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e), Philippe chances upon a young man outside a hotel in Bordeaux who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship he's never forgotten, a hidden affair with a boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Thomas is the son of a farmer; Philippe the son of a school principal. At school, they don't acknowledge each other. But they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDespite the intensity of their attraction, from the beginning Thomas knows how it will end: \"Because you will leave and we will stay,\" he says. Philippe becomes a writer and travels the world, though as this \"tender, sensuous novel\" ( \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) shows, he never lets go of the relationship that shaped him, and every story he's ever told.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Beautifully translated by Ringwald\" (NPR), this is \"Philippe Besson's book of a lifetime...an elegiac tale of first, hidden love\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42518254321815,"sku":"","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44476076851351,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/30687493687.jpg?v=1663090725"},{"product_id":"of-feathers-and-thorns","title":"Of Feathers and Thorns","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Kit Vincent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter manifesting thorned magic and nearly destroying his hometown, Kieren Belltower is summoned to join the Magic Service-an institution in charge of magical affairs-and start an apprenticeship with a high-ranking magician. But instead of the mage assigned to teach him, Kieren is greeted by his haughty and annoyingly handsome senior apprentice Esten, who clearly has more important things to do than chaperone some newbie. Their teacher has disappeared on a secret assignment, leaving Esten no instructions other than a warning not to trust a soul. But as Kieren's unruly magic proves too dangerous to leave unattended, Esten has no choice but to involve him in the matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTogether they retrace their teacher's last known mission-an investigation into the illegal use of magic and its connection to the devastating phenomenon called the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003esludge\u003c\/em\u003e, which has plagued the country for weeks. But as Kieren and Esten grow closer, they uncover a plot that thrusts their lives into danger and threatens to shatter everything they know about magic and the world they were born into.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in alternative 1900s America,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOf Feathers and Thorns\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an LGBTQ+ historical fantasy perfect for fans of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCarry On\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Marvelous Light\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42597361254551,"sku":"","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/lf_1.webp?v=1665513831"},{"product_id":"kiss-her-once-for-me","title":"Kiss Her Once for Me","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAlison Cochrun\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOne year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePerfect for fans of \u003ci\u003eWritten in the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eOne Day in December\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eKiss Her Once for Me\u003c\/i\u003e is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42621519626391,"sku":null,"price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/51LzvR6Xj5L._AC_SY780_12f22050-9b70-4dd1-a2f7-15fc8d0b5880.jpg?v=1666296938"},{"product_id":"even-though-i-knew-the-end","title":"Even Though I Knew the End","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eC. L. Polk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eC. L. Polk turns their considerable powers to a fantastical noir. A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago's divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist — the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44066622963863,"sku":"","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/cover.jpg?v=1666733518"},{"product_id":"the-foghorn-echoes","title":"The Foghorn Echoes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eBy: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eDanny Ramadan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA devastating novel about broken relationships, the promises we're unable to keep and living with the ghosts of your past\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHussam and Wassim are teenage boys living in Syria during America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. When a surprise discovery results in tragedy, their lives, and those of their families, are shattered. Wassim promises Hussam his protection, but ten years into the future, he has failed to keep his promise. Wassim is on the streets, seeking shelter from both the city and the civil war storming his country. Meanwhile Hussam, now on the other side of the world, remains haunted by his own ghosts, doing his utmost to drown them out with every vice imaginable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSplit between war-torn Damascus and Vancouver,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Foghorn Echoes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a tragic love story about coping with shared traumatic experience and devastating separation. As Hussam and Wassim come to terms with the past, they begin to realise the secret that haunts them is not the only secret that formed them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ingram Publisher Services","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":42636606111895,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43950837727383,"sku":"","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781838854690_d68a4.jpg?v=1726679421"},{"product_id":"a-fractured-infinity","title":"A Fractured Infinity","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eBy: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNathan Tavares\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA thrilling race across the multiverse to save the infinite Earths – and the love of your life – from total destruction for fans of \u003ci\u003eThe First Fifteen Lives of Harry August\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Time Traveler's Wife\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRick and Morty.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFilm-maker Hayes Figueiredo is struggling to finish the documentary of his heart when handsome physicist Yusuf Hassan shows up, claiming Hayes is the key to understanding the Envisioner – a mysterious device that can predict the future.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eHayes is taken to a top-secret research facility where he discovers his alternate self from an alternate universe created the Envisioner and sent it to his reality. Hayes studies footage of the other him, he discovers a self he doesn’t recognize, angry and obsessive, and footage of Yusuf… as his husband.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs Hayes finds himself falling for Yusuf, he studies the parallel universe and imagines the perfect life they will live together. But their lives are inextricably linked to the other reality, and when that couple's story ends in tragedy Hayes realises he must do anything he can to save Yusuf's life. Because there are infinite realities, but only one Yusuf.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWith the fate of countless realities and his heart in his hands, Hayes leads Yusuf on the run, tumbling through a kaleidoscope of universes trying to save it all. But even escaping into infinity, Hayes is running out of space - soon he will have to decide how much he’s willing to pay to save the love of his life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42669976125591,"sku":"9781803360386","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/cover_c92cb79a-d800-4b17-9ab2-b698123dd307.jpg?v=1666890920"},{"product_id":"swimming-in-the-dark-1","title":"Swimming in the Dark","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTomasz Jedrowski\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in early 1980s Poland against the violent decline of Communism, a tender and passionate story of first love between two young men who eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide—a stunningly poetic and heartrending literary debut for fans of André Aciman, Garth Greenwell, and Alan Hollinghurst.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen university student Ludwik meets Janusz at a summer agricultural camp, he is fascinated yet wary of this hand­some, carefree stranger. But a chance meeting by the river soon becomes an intense, exhilarating, and all-consuming affair. After their camp duties are ful­filled, the pair spend a dreamlike few weeks in the countryside, bonding over an illicit copy of James Baldwin’s \u003cem\u003eGiovanni’s Room\u003c\/em\u003e. Inhabiting a beautiful, natural world removed from society and its con­straints, Ludwik and Janusz fall deeply in love. But in their repressive Communist and Catholic society, the passion they share is utterly unthinkable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce they return to Warsaw, the charismatic Janusz quickly rises in the political ranks of the party and is rewarded with a highly coveted government position. Ludwik is drawn toward impulsive acts of protest, unable to ignore rising food prices and the stark economic disparity around them. Their secret love and personal and political differences slowly begin to tear them apart as both men struggle to survive in a regime on the brink of collapse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShifting from the intoxication of first love to the quiet melancholy of growing up and growing apart, \u003cem\u003eSwimming in the Dark\u003c\/em\u003e is a potent blend of romance, postwar politics, intrigue, and history. Lyrical and sensual, immersive and intense, Tomasz Jedrowski’s indelible and thought-provoking literary debut explores freedom and love in all its incarnations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42680248402071,"sku":"","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/cover_0fdc68d0-a2c9-4b69-8ecb-c72c8ea93cc4.jpg?v=1667331993"},{"product_id":"the-sluts","title":"The Sluts","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Dennis Cooper\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSet largely on the pages of a website where gay male escorts are reviewed by their clients, and told through the postings, emails, and conversations of several dozen unreliable narrators, \"The Sluts\" chronicles the evolution of one young escort's date with a satisfied client into a metafiction of pornography, lies, half-truths, and myth. Explicit, shocking, comical, and displaying the author's signature flair for blending structural complexity with direct, stylish, accessible language, \"The Sluts\" is Cooper's most transgressive novel since Frisk, and one of his most innovative works of fiction to date.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hachette","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42848576798871,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/cover_fd4feb6d-b303-4705-b564-8cf2997b2cd9.gif?v=1673123719"},{"product_id":"the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida","title":"The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Shehan Karunatilaka\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColombo, 1990. Maali Almeida—war photographer, gambler, and closet queen—has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. In a country where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers, and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to the photos that will rock Sri Lanka.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen years after his prize-winning novel\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eChinaman\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eestablished him as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors, Shehan Karunatilaka is back with a “thrilling satire” (\u003cem\u003eEconomist\u003c\/em\u003e) and rip-roaring state-of-the-nation epic that offers equal parts mordant wit and disturbing, profound truths.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42856604205207,"sku":"","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9781324064824_93bb2.jpg?v=1673453688"},{"product_id":"spell-bound","title":"Spell Bound","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy F.T. Lukens\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this lively young adult romantic adventure from the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebestselling author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Deeper Waters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSo This Is Ever After\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAntonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, Rook minds less and less.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":42956583698583,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44476123873431,"sku":"","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9781665916226_febce.jpg?v=1677609394"},{"product_id":"venco","title":"VenCo","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Cherie Dimaline\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn incredibly inventive, highly anticipated second adult novel—with witches, magic, and a road trip through America—from Cherie Dimaline, the critically acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eEmpire of Wild\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMétis millennial Lucky St. James and her cantankerous grandmother Stella live frugally in a tiny Toronto apartment. But then one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. She burrows through a wall to find a tarnished silver spoon, humming with otherworldly energy, etched with the word SALEM.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon connects her to a teeming network of witches who have anxiously awaited her discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnter Ven.Co, a front company fueled by dark money. Ven.Co’s witches hide in plain sight where women gather: Tupperware parties, Mommy \u0026amp; Me classes, suburban book clubs. Since colonial times, they have awaited the moment the seven spoons will come together and ignite a new era, returning women to their rightful power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where a final showdown will determine whether Ven.Co will usher in a new beginning...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA wildly imaginative and compulsively readable fantasia of adventure, history, Americana, feminism, and magic, \u003cem\u003eVen.Co \u003c\/em\u003eis a novel only the supremely gifted Cherie Dimaline could write.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43001556467863,"sku":"","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44535010820247,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/products\/9780063054899_775d4.jpg?v=1679415883"},{"product_id":"us-et-cetera","title":"Us, Et Cetera","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy Kit Vincent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA captivating LGBTQ fantasy that blends the enchantment of Cinderella with the futuristic world of The Matrix, delving into questions about the nature of life, the pursuit of freedom, and the price one must pay for love.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEke lives in a nice house, in a wealthy neighborhood, with an upstanding family: Mr. and Mrs. Kensworth and their three children. But Eke is not family; Eke is property. He's an AI whose job is to keep the house clean and organized, and no matter how much Eke secretly wishes to be allowed outside to see the stars or to make a real friend, he's either ignored or bullied by the family that owns him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo make things worse, the Kensworths purchase a shiny new AI named Kyp, who quickly becomes everyone's favorite, leaving Eke feeling more isolated than ever. That is until a terrifying party incident brings the two AIs together, sparking a chain of events that forces them to commit the unthinkable: defy human orders and run away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith AI hunters hot on their trail, Eke and Kyp set out on a perilous journey across the country, fighting for their lives, searching for the true meaning of freedom, and even daring to fall in love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sky House Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43197501735063,"sku":"","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/ibg.common.titledetail_51.gif?v=1690048547"},{"product_id":"second-chances-in-new-port-stephen-a-novel","title":"Second Chances in New Port Stephen","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBy: TJ Alexander\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA trans man returns to his Florida hometown for Christmas after his career goes up in flames, only to cross paths with his high school ex in this charming rom-com about family and second chances from the author of the “delectable” \u003cem\u003eChef's Kiss\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEli Ward hasn’t been back to his suffocating hometown of New Port Stephen, Florida, in ages. Post-transition and sober, he’s a completely different person from the one who left years ago. But when a scandal threatens his career as a TV writer and comedian, he has no choice but to return home for the holidays. He can only hope he’ll survive his boisterous, loving, but often misguided family and hide the fact that his dream of comedy success has become a nightmare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust when he thinks this trip couldn’t get any worse, Eli bumps into his high school ex, Nick Wu, who’s somehow hotter than ever. Divorced and in his forties, Nick’s world revolves around his father, his daughter, and his job. But even a busy life can’t keep him from being intrigued by the reappearance of Eli.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgainst the backdrop of one weird Floridian Christmas, the two must decide whether to leave the past in the past…or move on together.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43300682170519,"sku":null,"price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781668021965_3e420.jpg?v=1695139078"},{"product_id":"the-fake-dating-game","title":"The (Fake) Dating Game","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBy: Timothy Janovsky\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReady. Set. Faux.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHolden James picked the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eworst\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etime to have a meltdown. His chance to audition for his favorite game show,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMadcap Market\u003c\/em\u003e, should have been a moment of triumph—a glorious, loving homage to his adored mom, who died six years ago. Instead, he’s destroying the mini bar in a grim Los Angeles hotel room…recently dumped, partner-less and sliding into a crushing black hole of anguish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut the hotel service in abject misery is sublime. It even comes with an unfairly fit and sexy (smartass) concierge who arrives at your door with pizza, Monopoly and deliciously distracting forearms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Holden knows about Leo Min is that he’s beautiful, unexpectedly sympathetic, and the chemistry between them is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ebeyond\u003c\/em\u003e. Maybe it’s even enough to convince everyone, including the show’s casting directors, that they’re a real couple. All they’d have to do is crush the competition, win the huge cash prize, and all of Holden’s problems—his broken heart, his buried grief, his complete lack of money and direction—will be fixed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course, reality doesn’t quite work out that way. But love is an entirely\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003edifferent\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003egame…\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43378652151959,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781335041555_1b6e5.jpg?v=1698173461"},{"product_id":"here-we-go-again","title":"Here We Go Again","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBy: Alison Cochrun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe author of the “sexy, insightful, and utterly charming” (\u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e) \u003ci\u003eKiss Her Once for Me\u003c\/i\u003e returns with a new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across the country.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA long time ago, Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale used to be friends. They spent their childhood summers running through the woods, rebelling against their conservative small town, and dreaming of escaping. But then an incident the summer before high school turned them into bitter rivals. After graduation, they went ten years without speaking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow in their thirties, Logan and Rosemary find they aren’t quite living the lives of adventure they imagined for themselves. Still in their small town and working as teachers at their alma mater, they’re both stuck in old patterns. Uptight Rosemary chooses security and stability over all else, working constantly, and her most stable relationship is with her label maker. Chaotic and impulsive Logan has a long list of misguided ex-lovers and an apathetic shrug she uses to protect herself from anything real. And as hard as they try to avoid each other—and their complicated past—they keep crashing into each other. Including with their cars.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut when their beloved former English teacher and lifelong mentor tells them he has only a few months to live, they’re forced together once and for all to fulfill his last wish: a cross-country road trip. Stuffed into the gayest van west of the Mississippi, the three embark on a life-changing summer trip—from Washington state to the Grand Canyon, from the Gulf Coast to coastal Maine—that will chart a new future and perhaps lead them back to one another.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43419096187031,"sku":null,"price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781668021194_f25e2.jpg?v=1699386381"},{"product_id":"the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi","title":"The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Shannon Chakraborty\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43888453714071,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9780062963512_8011e.jpg?v=1712072827"},{"product_id":"someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in","title":"Someone You Can Build a Nest In","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: John Wiswell\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGIDEON THE NINTH meets CIRCE in this creepy, charming monster-slaying sapphic romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut author John Wiswell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love. Shesheshen is a shapeshifter who happily resides as an amorphous lump in the swamp of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by impolite monster hunters, she constructs a body fit for devouring by reabsorbing the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap for an extra mouth.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter one incident goes badly, Shesheshen’s nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way. Shesheshen is about to confess her identity when Homily reveals that she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster who supposedly cursed her family. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she must discover why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Astra Publishing House","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43961345147031,"sku":"","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45588822360215,"sku":"","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9780756418854_9c081.jpg?v=1712763505"},{"product_id":"voyage-of-the-damned","title":"Voyage of the Damned","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Frances White\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe UK fantasy debut sensation everyone is talking about. Magical. Gay. Mystery. Cruise. A mind-blowing murder mystery on a ship full of magical passengers. If Agatha Christie wrote fantasy, this would be it!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAboard are the twelve heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll except one: Ganymedes Piscero – class clown, slacker, and all-round disappointment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes's odds of survival are slim.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr will the empire as he knows it fall forever?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44153200902295,"sku":"","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46251019632791,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9780778387428_aaa99.jpg?v=1714515739"},{"product_id":"bury-our-bones-in-the-midnight-soil","title":"Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: V.E. Schwab\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSanto Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLondon, 1827.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoston, 2019.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThree young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnd all of them grow teeth.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":45100944031895,"sku":"9781250320520","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48135688323223,"sku":"9781250320544","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781250320520_b749f.jpg?v=1738426393"},{"product_id":"the-shots-you-take","title":"The Shots You Take","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Rachel Reid\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo former teammates and ex-best friends with benefits reunite twelve years later in this steamy small town hockey romance by Rachel Reid. Perfect for #BookTok readers looking for their next five-star romance!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter moving back to his hometown ten years ago, Riley Tuck thought he had left his major league hockey career—and his broken heart—far behind. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, it brings ex-teammate and former best friend with benefits Adam Sheppard back into his life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eComing to the small town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, might have been a mistake. Adam’s not sure he’ll ever win back Riley’s trust after the way they left things—and the attention he’s getting as a huge hockey star isn’t exactly helping. Yet the chemistry that crackles between them is undeniable, even now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Adam helps Riley navigate his grief, long-buried feelings start to resurface. But they’ll have to square off with their complicated past if they’re going to have a real shot at a new beginning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45263992979607,"sku":"9781335015327","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781335015327_78714.jpg?v=1741109282"},{"product_id":"once-upon-you-and-me","title":"Once Upon You and Me","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Timothy Janovsky\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCharming fairy tale meets spicy bedtime story in this deliciously enchanting age-gap LGBTQIA+ romance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Taylor Frost's boss, Amy, flies him across the country to prep for her daughter's sweet sixteen at the Storybook Endings Resort in the Catskills, the solo mission is well within his wheelhouse. Taylor is excellent at his job--except, he's probably not supposed to flirt with the resort's mountain man of a manager, Ethan Golding. Because the rugged older man is also the birthday girl's father, aka Amy's ex-husband. Oops.\u003cbr\u003eFor Ethan, his divorce seemed like the bad ending to his romantic story. And now, making his daughter's sweet sixteen dreams come true is the closest he'll get to the kind of magic happiness in fairy tales. Until adorable Taylor has him wondering if maybe this is just the beginning of a more erotic kind of bedtime story...\u003cbr\u003eThe only problem is Amy. And how very not okay she'd be with the chemistry between her assistant and her ex.\u003cbr\u003eIf only forbidden flings ever led to happily-ever-afters...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Afterglow Books by Harlequin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45372768321687,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781335574961_214dd.jpg?v=1744215501"},{"product_id":"atmosphere","title":"Atmosphere","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Taylor Jenkins Reid\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDaisy Jones \u0026amp; The Six\u003c\/i\u003e comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJoan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSelected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, \u003ci\u003eAtmosphere\u003c\/i\u003e is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":45571192193175,"sku":"","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47858079269015,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9780593158715_6cdac.jpg?v=1748963545"},{"product_id":"every-step-she-takes","title":"Every Step She Takes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-b7ee0f52-7fff-b4b5-1f5d-28342259154d\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eBy: Alison Cochrun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eA swoon-worthy sapphic romance following two women who are thrown together on a European adventure, from the Lambda Literary Award–winning author of the “sexy, insightful, and utterly charming” (\u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e) \u003ci\u003eKiss Her Once for Me\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThirty-five-year-old Seattleite Sadie Wells needs an escape. She’s desperate to escape her monotonous routines, the family business that has consumed her entire life, and the unexpected gay panic that has her questioning everything she thought she knew about herself. So when her injured sister offers Sadie her place on a tour along Portugal’s Camino de Santiago, she decides this is the perfect chance to get away from it all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter three glasses of wine on the plane and some turbulence convince Sadie she won’t even survive the flight, she confesses all her secrets to her seatmate, Mal. The problem: the plane doesn’t crash, and it turns out Mal is on her Camino tour. Worst of all, Sadie learns that she is on a tour specifically for queer women, and that her two-hundred-mile trek will be a journey of self-discovery, whether she wants it to be or not.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFascinated by the woman who drunkenly came out to her on the plane, Mal offers to help Sadie relive the queer adolescence she missed out on as they walk the Camino. As Sadie develops her newfound confidence, Mal grapples with a complicated loss and unexpected inheritance. But as their relationship blurs the lines between reality and practice, they both must decide if they will forever part at the end of the tour or chart a new course together.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45871529558167,"sku":null,"price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/image_8c064a0c-515d-472d-aeff-c7564ab8b917.jpg?v=1754069111"},{"product_id":"the-scald-crow","title":"The Scald-Crow","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Grace Daly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShot through with gallows humor and speaking in the voice of a trusted best friend, this self-deprecating horror novel explores medical trauma through Irish folklore, asking “Can a sick woman ever be trusted?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrigid—that’s the Irish Breej, not “Bridge-id,” though it’s not like she’d correct you—has had a rough go of it. Her mother abused her when she was little, her best friend (and secret crush) is too busy chasing some blonde to answer Brigid’s calls, and she lost her job thanks to chronic pelvic pain with no identifiable cause. As a self-doubting, disabled adult, she’s certain that everything that has happened to her is her fault.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow her mother has gone missing and Brigid’s only option is to move back into her childhood home in the idyllic Midwestern town of St. Charles, Illinois. Soon the uncanny begins: A particular crow that once harassed her reappears, following her everywhere. A painting of Jesus keeps coming back, no matter how many times she throws it away. Frozen body parts show up in places rubber band balls and door stoppers ought to be. Every night the same nightmare repeats: her real mother is dead and decaying in the closet, and the identical mother who raised her is not her mother. But it’s all in Brigid’s head. It’s all her fault. It must be. What other explanation could there be?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter all, since when can a sick woman be trusted?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Creature Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46178445885591,"sku":"9781951971311","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781951971311.jpg?v=1760288012"},{"product_id":"exquisite-things","title":"Exquisite Things","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Abdi Nazemian\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShahriar believes he was born in the wrong time. All he’s ever wanted is to love and be loved, but 1895 London doesn’t offer him the freedom to be his true self, and Oscar Wilde’s trial for gross indecency has only reaffirmed that. But one night—and one writer—will grant Shahriar what he’s always wished for: the opportunity to live in a time and place where he can love freely. Rechristened as Shams and then as Bram, he finds what feels like eternal happiness. But can anything truly be eternal?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOliver doesn’t feel that 1920s Boston gives him a lot of options to be his full self. He knows he could only ever love another boy, but that would break his beloved mother’s heart. Oliver finds freedom and acceptance in the secret queer community at Harvard that his cousin introduces him to. When he meets a mysterious boy with eyes as warm as a flame, his life is irrevocably changed forever.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpanning 130 years of love and longing, this tale of immortal beloveds searching for their perfect place and time from Stonewall award-winning author Abdi Nazemian is a vibrant hymn to the beauty of being alive, a celebration of queer love and community, and a reminder that behind every tragic thing that ever existed, there is something exquisite.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46251015536791,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/image_a8061f25-12e9-45ba-a0fd-938e84fb511c.jpg?v=1762361003"},{"product_id":"hells-heart","title":"Hell's Heart","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Alexis Hall\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey are monsters, legends, gods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey are our prey.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEarth is dead. Which leaves us stuck living in atmospheric domes on planets that will kill us if we blink wrong, or run out of fuel. And by “fuel” I mean “the cerebrospinal fluid of gargantuan, quasi-psychic space monsters”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI joined the hunt hoping to get paid and maybe laid, but mostly paid. Instead, I followed a captain chasing abominations in the skies of Jupiter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe battled the Möbius Beast itself, there in the red eye of the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSpoiler: we lost.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46976608764055,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/image_a86a3c12-46cf-48a0-a77f-206408dc5308.jpg?v=1772559712"},{"product_id":"bloom-2","title":"Bloom","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Robbie Couch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eIf I See You Again Tomorrow \u003c\/i\u003ecomes a delightful and heartwarming novel about family, love, grief, and one precocious houseplant, that reminds us of the beauty of living a life in full \u003ci\u003eBloom\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMorris Warner is withering away. After the sudden death of his husband, Fred, he has shut himself off from the world. No more going to movies with friends, or swims in Lake Michigan, instead preferring the quiet loneliness of his history books and Jeopardy episodes with only the cat to hear his answers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMorris’s stepdaughter, Sloan, feels like she has nowhere to grow. She’s about to get married to the man of her dreams, if only her mother will let her actually plan her own wedding and trust her to build her own life after her father’s death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJade is drying out. Literally. As a plant in Morris’s home, she and her plant housemates have been slowly wasting away, leaf by falling leaf, since Fred’s death and Morris’s lack of care. She needs to come up with a plan to make her new owner come back to life, no matter what it takes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Robbie Couch’s \u003ci\u003eBloom\u003c\/i\u003e is a wondrous novel where family, love, kindness, and yes, Mother Nature, triumph.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46977147994263,"sku":null,"price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/image_45dd383b-42e6-43ce-bdd8-88bf02553633.jpg?v=1772566608"},{"product_id":"thirty-love","title":"Thirty Love","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Tom Vellner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThings heat up on \u003ci\u003eand \u003c\/i\u003eoff the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports rom-com, perfect for fans of TJ Alexander and Rachel Reid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmerican tennis star Leo Chambers is determined to win the US Open by thirty, the age when many players feel retirement looming. He’s just a year away from that dreaded birthday, but he can’t find his focus—considering he hasn’t told anyone he’s gay, he’s clashing with his strict coach (who also happens to be his dad), and he still can’t figure out how to beat his longtime nemesis on tour, Gabe Montoya, who, well, hits different. Gabe is playing better than ever, and Leo can’t seem to escape him—and maybe he doesn’t \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003ewant\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eto escape him. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeo’s other obstacle is Sascha Volkov, a Russian legend who has such a powerful influence on the tennis world, he would destroy Leo’s career if he found out that he’s gay.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNo distractions,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeo reminds himself. But when Gabe makes a shocking announcement, Leo is thrown off his game—in more ways than one. Ready? Play.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThirty Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a must-read for fans of queer sports romances like \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeated Rivalry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Crooked Lane Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46998393389207,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9798892424783_fb8fb.jpg?v=1772656716"},{"product_id":"the-last-best-quest-ever","title":"The Last Best Quest Ever","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eBy: F.T. Lukens\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eA fraudulent teen quester must team up with a brooding, royal rival on a perilous adventure to save her brother’s life in this cozy young adult romantasy full of mythical creatures by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSpell Bound \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eSo This is Ever After.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeventeen-year-old Ellinore has the best questing record in the kingdom. Not even Aven—the infuriatingly charming royal who’s become her fiercest rival—can compete. But every one of Ellinore’s triumphs is a lie. The monsters she’s slain? Staged. The treasures she’s claimed? Planted. Tired of the charade, she shocks the realm by retiring during a royal feast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer hopes for a quiet life vanish when her reckless twin brother, Zig, bets his life on her ability to retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast—a creature no one believes is real. To save him, Ellinore must return to the spotlight for one final quest. She’s joined by Zig, eager to prove himself; Aven, determined to finally outshine her; and a ragtag crew of unlikely questers with big dreams, questionable skills, and a knack for trouble. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the stakes rise, Ellinore must decide who she really wants to be: the fraud the kingdom celebrates, the hero it needs, or someone entirely new.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47665520574615,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/image_95b21ffe-7fe2-4f42-86a8-0249dc6fd875.jpg?v=1776210550"},{"product_id":"the-open-era","title":"The Open Era","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Edward Schmit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLove evens the score between two tennis players in this stunning debut romance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecently-turned-pro tennis player Austin Hardy has been out since high school and it’s never been a big deal. That is, until he becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam tournament. Suddenly, being gay is a huge deal, with headlines to prove it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnprepared for this new spotlight, Austin’s anxiety disorder hits a breaking point, and he trips and falls at practice. Right next to the very attractive, very talented, and probably straight Diego Cruz, ranked second in the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe two professional rivals start a friendship off the court. But between their flirty banter, mixed signals, and looming showdown, Austin is thrown further off his game by Diego.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith the eyes of the world on Austin, the weight of history on his shoulders, and Diego across the net, he must decide whether love means nothing or if it means everything as he battles for the trophy during an electric two weeks at the US Open.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStory Locale:\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNew York, NY\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berkley","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47855427780759,"sku":null,"price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9780593956779_f4999.jpg?v=1780088951"},{"product_id":"a-room-above-a-shop","title":"A Room Above a Shop","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Anthony Shapland\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen two quiet men form a tentative connection neither knows where it might lead. M has inherited his family's ironmongery business and B is younger by eleven years and can see no future in the place where he has grown up, but when M offers him a job and lodgings, he accepts. As the two men work side by side in the shop, they also begin a life together in their one shared room above - the kind of life they never imagined possible and that risks everything if their public performance were to slip.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnfolding in South Wales against the backdrop of Section 28, the age of consent debate and the HIV and AIDS crisis, this is a tender and resonant love story, and a powerful debut.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Granta Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47949269631127,"sku":"9781803511627","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0560\/0349\/4039\/files\/9781803511627.jpg?v=1782428282"}],"url":"https:\/\/littledistrictbooks.com\/collections\/patrick.oembed?page=2","provider":"Little District Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}