Pride Month 2020 Reading Recap

*Please note: Each book has a link to Amazon, which is an affiliate link - all earnings go into the upkeep of this blog, and I truly appreciate your support - but if you have a local indie bookshop you can support, please be sure to do so!

At the beginning of June, I shared a post featuring 12 LGBTQ+ books that were on my TBR for Pride Month. Throughout June, I managed to read seven LGBTQ+ books, but only four of them were actually from that list. For the list, I chose 12 books at random from my general TBR, but about a week into the month, I realized my list of 12 could easily have been doubled, especially as I added to my TBR almost daily.

I've always done my best to read diversely, but this month I realized I can - and should - be doing better. I love LGBTQ+ books and have read many over the years, but most of them have been by white authors and tend to feature gay, lesbian, and bi characters. It wasn't a conscious thing - I often choose books at random - but now I'm going to make sure I seek out more LGBTQ+ books by BIPOC authors that also feature a wider range of the queer spectrum.

I read some truly fantastic books in June. I broadened my usual reading horizons and aimed to include as much intersectional diversity as possible on my reading list. These are the seven LGBTQ+ books I read in June, in the order I read them:

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My rating: 2 stars
Representation: Lesbian Chinese-American heroine, Jewish bisexual heroine 
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Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
My rating: 5 stars
Representation: Black queer trans demiboy hero, biracial bisexual love interest
Read my review
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Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Dystopian/Retelling
My rating: 4.5 stars
Representation: Black lesbian heroine, lesbian love interest
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The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Comedy
My rating: 4.5 stars
Representation: Lesbian heroine, lesbian love interest
Read my review
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Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
My rating: DNF at 50%
Representation: Black biromantic asexual heroine, Japanese love interest
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Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Genre: Romantic Comedy
My rating: 5 stars
Representation: Black bisexual curvy heroine, Pakistani Muslim hero with anxiety
Read my review
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Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Genre: Romantic Comedy
My rating: 5 stars
Representation: Gay hero, gay love interest
Read my review
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Did you read any LGBTQ+ books in June? Have you read any of these seven books?

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Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: British RomCom Perfection

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Published: July 7th, 2020
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romantic Comedy/LGBTQ+
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, opposites attract, fake dating
Heat level: 🔥🔥
My rating: 5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration
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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O'Donnell is tangentially--and reluctantly--famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship...and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.

Boyfriend Material is one of those books I’m finding difficult to review because I basically just want to gush and squee and scream, ‘I loved everything about this book!’ It was hilarious (I had actual tears of mirth running down my face at times), romantic, and full of unexpected feels. It had the perfect balance of hilarity and ridiculousness and also depth and real emotion. Add in a fantastic cast of memorable characters, and Boyfriend Material is easily one of the best books I’ve read in 2020.

Luc was a screwup and he knew it, but he wanted to do better. He’d been trying to fill an emotional void with all the wrong things - casual sex, booze, complete avoidance of his problems. He and Oliver were both so wonderfully, realistically flawed. They didn’t like each other at first, but they needed one another, and they ended up being so good for each other and integral to each other’s growth. Their banter was hilarious and they had such great chemistry (just for the record, all sex scenes are fade-to-black). I rooted for them throughout the book and I swooned hard on several occasions. I also really felt their pain, their insecurities, the self-destructive tendencies that stemmed largely from a lack of self-worth on both their parts. They were so different and yet so similar, and I adored them.

Luc and Oliver weren’t the only fantastic characters in Boyfriend Material. I loved Luc’s zany friend group, his ridiculous co-workers, and his eccentric mother. I’m actually sitting here giggling as I think of all the antics this group of characters got up to. I feel like I’d fit right in with Luc’s quirky group of friends, and I desperately wish they were real so I could be part of it.

Charming, hilarious, heartfelt, and full of British wit, Boyfriend Material is the perfect escape from the hellscape that is 2020. It was an instant new favourite, and one I know I’ll recommend constantly. Also, this would make such a fun, funny movie...who do we have to talk to to make that happen??

Have you read Boyfriend Material? What's the last book you read that you'd love to see turned into a movie?

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*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth: The Sapphic Teen RomCom of My Dreams

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
Published: June 9th, 2020
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Contemporary YA Romantic Comedy/LGBTQ+
# of pages: 368
My rating: 4.5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo 

Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not in a care home with early onset dementia. A condition that Saoirse may one day turn out to have inherited. So she’s not looking for a relationship. She doesn’t see the point in igniting any romantic sparks if she’s bound to burn out.

But after a chance encounter at an end-of-term house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters actually fall in love…for real.

As a lifelong romcom lover, the premise of The Falling in Love Montage appealed to me immediately. The fact it’s a sapphic teen romcom set in Ireland...well, even just typing that makes me squee because I’ve been waiting for a book like this for so long and it was everything I hoped it would be and then some. I don’t seem to have the best luck with YA f/f books, but this one is without a doubt an instant new favourite.

I loved Saoirse from the first page - she was smart, sassy, stubborn, irreverent, and hilarious. I related to her on many levels, and she made me laugh out loud and frustrated me in equal measure. She had one of the most distinct voices I’ve read in a long time, which made it easy to really sink into this book and into her world. She was realistically flawed (she even referred to herself as a 'stroppy teenager' at one point, which made me laugh so hard because she was indeed that), and even when she frustrated me, I understood and sympathized with her.

This book did such a great job of balancing humour and deep emotion. Saoirse tried so hard to keep things light, but she had a lot to deal with, and it affected all the relationships in her life. While I laughed myself silly throughout most of the book, there were several scenes that made my heart hurt and had me tearing up.

The romance between Saoirse and Ruby was so sweet and fun. I loved their banter and their (mis)adventures. There were so many things I appreciated about their romance: 1) They were both out and proud - it was simply a fact of life and not something that was explained or dwelled on or hidden. 2) The fact Ruby was curvy and described in ways that, as a fat girl, made me smile (her ‘soft belly’ really stood out to me for some reason, maybe because I’m used to reading about ‘taut, flat bellies’). 3) The fact we got more than longing looks, innocent touches, and maybe a kiss or two, which is what we usually get from sapphic fiction, especially YA. In YA books with straight characters, we see teens making out and maybe even having sex, so why shouldn’t that be the case for f/f YA too?

Fresh, fun, funny, and full of feels (and great side characters - I’d totally read a book about Oliver, just saying!), The Falling in Love Montage is a new favourite. I can’t wait to see what Ciara Smyth writes next.

Have you read The Falling in Love Montage? Are you a romcom fan? What are some of your favourites - either books or movies?

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*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert: Hot, Hilarious, and Heartfelt

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sisters #2)
Published: June 23rd, 2020
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins Canada
Tropes: Friends-to-lovers, fake dating
Heat level: 🔥🔥🔥
My rating: 5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his...um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?

Get a Life, Chloe Brown was one of my top favourite books of 2019, making Take a Hant, Dani Brown one of my most anticipated books of 2020. I honestly didn’t even care what it was about, I just knew I was completely enamoured with Talia Hibbert’s writing and I wanted more of the Brown sisters ASAP. I’m obsessed with Hibbert’s bold, sassy, sexy - and honest - writing, and I may just have to devour her backlist while I want for the third Brown Sisters book to come out.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown had me captivated from the first page. It also had me giggling from the first page, which is always a good sign. This book was hilarious, and it had a perfect balance of humour, heart, and hotter-than-hell sexytimes. Talia’s bio says she “writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation” and she truly delivers on that. Dani was Black, bisexual, and a witch (I loved that part and wish we saw more witchy women in contemporary books). Our sexy, sweet hero, Zafir, was Pakistani, Muslim, and dealt with mental health issues (namely anxiety, plus he had clinical depression for three years after a tragic event sent him spiraling). As someone who has struggled with mental illness for more years than I can count, I’m always appreciative of sympathetic and compassionate rep in books. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bookish hero with anxiety, and I absolutely loved that aspect of the story and how it played a part in so many of the things Zaf did (as did his grief, which I also appreciated, because it’s something else I’m, unfortunately, well acquainted with). The fact Zaf was also a romantic who read romance novels made me fall head over heels in love with him right alongside Dani.

I loved how intelligent and driven Dani was, and I also loved her confidence and how she owned who she was - her sexuality, her witchiness, her workaholic tendencies. I enjoyed her growth through the course of the novel and watching her open up and allowing herself to be loved and cared for. I loved her depth and how she was so confident and snarky and seemingly self-assured, but because of things that had happened to her in the past, she was lacking self-worth. And I loved watching Zaf slowly, patiently, and gently knocking down her walls and showing her how love could and should be. Plus did I mention the scorching hot sexy times? There were a few times I thought my Kindle was going to catch fire! 🔥

Take a Hint, Dani Brown has cemented Talia Hibbert as a new favourite author. Full of great characters who will alternately make you laugh, tug at your heartstrings, frustrate you, and make you swoon, this book is a must-read for romance fans. I read an eARC thanks to the publisher, and then I preordered it because I knew I had to have it on my Favourites shelf.

Read my review of Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Have you read Take a Hint, Dani Brown? What did you think? Who was the last author that made it to 'favourite author' status for you?

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*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender: A Beautiful Journey of Self-Exploration, Love, and Identity

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: May 5th, 2020
Genre: Contemporary YA LGBTQ+
Tropes: Enemies/rivals to lovers, friends to lovers, love triangle
# of pages: 368
Acquired this book: From the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. 

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle....

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

I finished Felix Ever After a few days ago, and I’ve been sitting with my thoughts and feelings, trying to cobble together something coherent to describe how much I loved this book, how beautiful it was, how important it was, and how much I wish there had been books like this when I was a teen.

This book features so many of the things I love about YA, and it felt like a true, realistic portrayal of the teenage experience. The friendships, the family issues, questioning the future, experiencing jealousy and uncertainty over a wide range of issues. Then there were the things that made this book stand out: the fact Felix was Black, trans, and queer. The fact that even though he was mostly certain he was a boy, he still questioned his identity and struggled with looking for a label that felt accurate.

I loved Felix. My heart alternately broke for him and soared for him. I wanted to be his friend and hold him tight and tell him I loved him and that he was worthy of all the love in the world. His struggles with self-worth will likely ring true for many people - that desire to be loved and accepted, to be seen for who you really are. While Felix was the star of this book and he shone so brightly, there was also a fantastic cast of supporting characters. Ezra was an incredible friend to Felix, the kind who loved and accepted him unconditionally. He was Felix’s champion, quick to stand up for and defend him. I also ended up really loving Declan, and Leah was a great character too.

This book didn’t shy away from discussions about gender, identity, and sexuality, which I loved. Not only does Felix talk about being trans and uncertain about whether he truly feels like a boy, his whole friend group is queer too. We get to see the spectrum and fluidity of sexuality and gender, and how they can change, how it can be difficult to find the right fit, and how sometimes you just wish there were no labels so you could just BE. I also appreciated the exploration of prejudice - particularly transphobia - within the LGBTQ+ community. I think a lot of people likely think we’re this big, happy, inclusive rainbow family, but that’s not always the case, and there’s still work to do to make sure everyone feels welcome, valid, and included.

Early on in the book, Felix mentions reading a book called I am J by Cris Beam when he was twelve and how it helped him realize all the confusing things he'd been feeling were legitimate and he wasn't alone. It was what helped him realize the reasons he'd never felt quite right as a girl and that he didn't have to be a girl. I loved seeing this because everyone deserves to see themselves within the pages of books (and reflected in media, TV, movies, etc). I know so many people who discovered parts of themselves they didn't previously have words for because of books, so it was wonderful to see that in Felix Ever After, and I hope people will pick up this book and feel relief, joy, validation, and so many other emotions to see themselves reflected in Felix.

I mostly read contemporary romance these days, but once or twice a year, almost always in the summer, I go on a YA kick. Felix Ever After started 2020’s Summer of YA, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect book to start with. Books like this remind me why I love YA so much, even though I’m far from its intended audience these days. I hope this book finds its way into the hands of all those who need it most, for whatever reason.

Have you read Felix Ever After? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for books featuring trans characters?

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*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon: STEM, Friendship, and Self-Discovery

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
Published: June 9th, 2020
Publisher: Forever
# of pages: 386
Tropes: Office romance, friends to lovers
Heat level: 🔥🔥 - 🔥🔥🔥
My rating: 3.5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for honest consideration
Add to Goodreads
Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she's been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other "girlfriends," London and Taylor-have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status...

For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she's always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there's no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?

The Boyfriend Project has been on my radar for most of 2020, and I was so excited to finally read it. What I liked best about this book was the heroine, Samiah. She’s the type of woman I’d love to be friends with - smart, funny, driven, independent. I’m so glad to see more and more books featuring women in STEM, and I especially loved seeing a Black woman in the technology field, which is still a male-dominated field. I appreciated learning about the challenges and roadblocks women - especially women of colour - face in that field. Samiah continually had to prove herself, stay on top of everything, and excel in her field to get the attention and respect that was given to other people, especially men, so freely.

My other favourite part of the book was the friendship between Samiah, London, and Taylor. I swear I wanted to applaud when the women all came together after realizing they’d been catfished by the same guy. The typical reaction you see in most books, TV shows, and movies is for the women to turn on and blame each other. Not here. It was so refreshing, and I loved the instant camaraderie and connection between the ladies, despite the strange circumstances of their meeting. I also really appreciated how they made a pact to work on themselves before getting back into the dating world. Of course, Samiah met Daniel a hot minute later, but it worked in this case. So often you see a woman saying she wants to work on herself without a man in her life and then in the next minute she meets a guy and her life becomes about him. That wasn’t the case here. Samiah kept her weekly dates with her friends, she continued to work toward her goals, and, with Daniel, she got to do some of the things she loved doing but didn’t have anyone to do them with. I loved this quote: “He made her feel bold and playful and so many other delicious things. When was the last time she'd felt so carefree, so content? Samiah was falling in love with the person she was when she was with him."

What stopped me from loving this book was how drawn out it felt. There was a LOT of detail, especially about the tech stuff - yay for Samiah being a total boss, but all of that stuff is mostly over my head and had my mind wandering. There was also a lot of inner dialogue and a lot of repetition about why they shouldn’t be together, work stuff, and how Daniel was lying to Samiah. I also kind of wish there’d been more to the relationships. I felt this weird mix of wanting the book to be shorter because there were parts that didn’t hold my interest, while wanting MORE - more of the female friendships, more of the relationship between Samiah and Daniel, and more to the ending.

Overall I enjoyed The Boyfriend Project and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to romance fans. The tease at the end hinted there’s another book to come and which of the friend group it would be about, and I’m looking forward to returning to Austin with these characters.

Have you read The Boyfriend Project? Have you read any books recently featuring women in STEM? How about any great friendship books?

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*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!