A late bloomer romance where 1) they meet at a sex club, 2) the plot critiques the use of genAi in entertainment & news, 3) the friendships get plenty of attention outside of the romance plot. I ate this debut adult romance right up.
Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593953839, December 2025)
Reviewed by Alex Reinhart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Cinderella and I had an odd relationship when I was a child. The fairy tale is stuffed full of iconic imagery–those glass slippers! That magical dress! The looming, thrilling deadline of Midnight!
And yet I found Cinderella, the character, left me a little cold. Perhaps because I was not a naturally helpful and easy-going child. I was obstinate and voracious. When plunged into an unfair and isolating situation, Cinderella…stays home. She doesn’t run away. She doesn’t even go out and make friends. (Talking mice, I considered sternly, did not count.)
“Aren’t you bored?” I wanted to yell. “Aren’t you angry? Don’t you ever, as the old internet saying goes, want to go apeshit?” ― Freya Marske, Letter to Readers
What booksellers are saying about Cinder House
Cinderella is one of my favorite fairytales of all, due to how much I connect with Ella, but, it gets harder every year for people to find new ways to retell or reimagine the story. Freya Marske was able to give this story a new polish, and in novella format, which is a feat in and of itself. I was delighted by every turn, and when the end came, it had me swooning! Who would have thought- Cinderella, a ghost story.
― Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY
queer, gothic, fairytale retelling >>> obsessed
― Ash Spaulding, Writers Block Bookstore, Winter Park, Florida | BUY
About Freya Marske
Freya Marske is a USA Today bestselling author and has been nominated for two Hugo Awards. Her books include Swordcrossed and A Marvellous Light, which was an international bestseller and won the Romantic Novel Award for Fantasy. She lives in Australia.
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Lucky Day is a ROLLER COASTER. An existential CRISIS. A foray through the blood and guts of reality itself to the abyss at the heart of it all, where you just have to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well? Do ya? •••••• I loved this scifi-heavy romp of a story where the true horror is existence itself. Or is it? Chuck Tingle weaves an intricate web of sharp nihilism, absurdity, and genuinely creepy moments, building a structure upon which rests the ultimate truth: life is chaos, and existence is precious. I laughed, I shuddered, I cried. I finished this book at 2:00 a.m. this morning and am still processing all its truths. In fact, I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time. 5/5 stars, 10/10 recommend.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle, (List Price: $27.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250398659, August 2025)
Reviewed by Rachel Derise, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
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I think Love, Leda is a delightful and emotional read that is perfect for anyone interested in 20th-century gay literature, a la John Rechy or David Wojnarowicz. You can tell that Hyatt was a poet, and some parts of this book are beautifully lyrical and etch their way into your brain. Absolutely gorgeous and heartfelt.
Love, Leda by Mark Hyatt, (List Price: $16.95, Nightboat Books, 9781643622453, October 2024)
Reviewed by Tyler de Bose, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina
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I wrote The Pairing to be a bit of every decadent thing. I wanted it to overflow with flavors and pleasures and lush details, to make the reader feel like the two characters at its center, Theo and Kit. They’ve found each other again, four years after their breakup, accidentally booked on the same sumptuous, sensual three-week European food-and-wine tour. Hopefully, if I’ve done my job right, you’ll find yourself just as lost in it as they are.
This is a love story about things that taste better together. Food and drink, art and sex, gender and transformation, laughing and crying, pleasure and need, European travel and bisexuals, falling apart and coming back together. It’s about maximalism, about soul mates who needed time apart to grow into the perfect partners for each other. It’s quite a bit about being slutty abroad. And I had the time of my life drowning myself in cookbooks, art history lessons, and French poetry so I could write it.
–Casey McQuiston, Letter to Readers
What booksellers are saying about The Pairing
About Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, including One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and Red, White & Royal Blue, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City with a poodle mix named Pepper.
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I wanted to tell the story of a woman who sometimes wasn’t even the main character of her own life. I think it’s an idea that might resonate with other women of color: We live in a society that values men over women, children over mothers, and white people over people of color. Through fiction, I wanted to explore how that sort of hierarchy devalues women of color and how that shapes a life.
― Ursula Villarreal-Moura, Interview
What booksellers are saying about Like Happiness
About Ursula Villarreal-Moura
Ursula Villarreal-Moura was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She is the author of Math for the Self-Crippling, a flash fiction collection. Like Happiness is her first novel.
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A searing debut that deftly explores the effects of an unhealthy relationship between a predatory male writer and a young woman on the cusp of adulthood – I couldn’t stop reading it! The characters in this story are all too real, and post #MeToo we see Tatum grappling to understand her story and the abuse she suffered from the toxic man she viewed as her superior for far too long.
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura, (List Price: $28, Celadon Books, 9781250882837, March 2024)
Reviewed by Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Like Happiness is an incisive and blistering coming of age novel that emanates a quiet and methodical rage. Through Tatum, Ursula Villarreal-Moura explores power imbalance, hero worship, and emotional exploitation in a way that keeps the pages turning, while also grappling deftly with sexuality and race. A searing portrait of a young woman trying to understand herself and the older man who irrefutably tangles her identity with his.
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura, (List Price: 28, Celadon Books, 9781250882837, March 2024)
Reviewed by Gaby Iori, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Everything about Sirens & Muses is unapologetically alluring, designed to catch your eye. Four different voices give us a glimpse into a prestigious New England art school. Along with many spiraling ideas about art, class, attraction, and desire, I found it had so much to say about what truly drives people forward, and about coming home. A moody, wonderful read.
Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress, (List Price: 18, Ballantine Books, 9780593496459, July 2023)
Reviewed by Emma Holland, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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An October 2022 Read This Next! Title
There is something that happens when you take an age old trope (age-gap or best friend’s dad) and make it queer that breathes new life into the story. So many chili peppers for this book. Sheesh.
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner, (List Price: $16.99, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250841001, October 2022)
Reviewed by Katie Garaby, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
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