Tag Archives: Helena Greer

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction: July-December 2024

Peregrine Seas by R.C. Ballad (July 1st)

Prince Peregrine couldn’t be happier to be kidnapped by pirates.

Peregrine wasn’t cut out for the restrictive life of a nobleman – he’s hungry for adventure, prone to duelling, and his family refuse to believe he’s any kind of man at all. Despite his royal origins, he has more in common with the outcasts and rebels aboard the Cygnus that anyone onshore.

He just needs to convince the captain of that before his ransom’s paid.

Captain Alastar Macdara knows better than to trust an English prince. He has his hands full keeping his ragged crew together, and the last thing he needs is to be burdened with some foppish dandy—however charming. This particular hostage is more trouble than Alastar planned for: used to getting his own way, as stubborn as Alastar and not afraid to tell him when he’s wrong. But Alastar knows a thing or two about being an outcast, and his honourable streak refuses to let him send Peregrine back to a life of misery.

The ransom might be off, but that doesn’t mean Peregrine is part of the crew. Now he must prove he’s courageous and quick-witted enough to earn his place on the Cygnus before Alastar dumps him at the next safe harbour.

It won’t be easy for Peregrine to prove himself amidst the many dangers of life at sea: navy patrols, sea serpents—and the grim, handsome Alastar. The more time they spend together the more he fears he’s falling for his captain, and honourable or not … a pirate is a pirate.

Can they chart a course to being together, or will Alastar’s secrets and Peregrine’s reckless drive to prove himself steer the Cygnus into perilous waters?

Buy it: Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction: July-December 2024

Happy Lesbian Visibility Day 2024!

Happy Lesbian Visibility Day 2024! We’re celebrating with these lesbian protagonists, and you can too! For more recs, check out past years’ posts! 

Young Adult

We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller

Jordan Elliott is a fat, nerdy lesbian, and the first junior to be named editor in chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s positive thinking that has gotten Jordan this far. Ever since Mackenzie West, her friend-turned-enemy, humiliated her at the start of freshman year, Jordan has thrown herself into journalism and kept her eyes trained on the future.

So it’s a total blow when Jordan discovers that she not only didn’t get the editor in chief spot, but she’s been assigned the volleyball beat instead. And who is the star and newly crowned captain of the volleyball team? Mackenzie West. But words are Jordan’s weapon, and she has some ideas about how to exact a long-awaited revenge on her nemesis. Then things get murky when forced time together has Mack and Jordan falling back into their friendship, and into something more. And when Mack confesses the real reason she turned on Jordan freshman year, it has Jordan questioning everything—past, present, and future.

If Jordan lets her guard down and Mack in, will she get everything she wants, or will she be humiliated all over again?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Happy Lesbian Visibility Day 2024!

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romances of 2024

Young Adult

Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver (January 2nd)

Okay, Cupid by [Mason Deaver]As a cupid, Jude thinks they understand love a little bit more than the average human. It makes sense — Jude’s been studying love their whole teen life. And, yes, there have been some bumps in the road, and they’re currently on probation for doing something that they absolutely, definitely shouldn’t have done… but they’re ready to prove they can make matches without ever getting involved.

Only… Jude’s next assignment isn’t about setting up two adults. No, this time Jude has to go to high school, with kids their own age. And the assignment is a tough one: two best friends who are meant to be more than just best friends… but who aren’t currently speaking to each other after a huge falling out.

Jude thinks they’ve got this one all under control, and that they won’t get involved whatsoever.

Which proves that maybe Jude hasn’t learned the first lesson of humans and love … It’s complicated.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romances of 2024

New Releases: November 2023

This month’s post is sponsored by Dougie K Powell in honor of the release of My Best Rival, a new trans YA romance published by Spectrum Books! Click the graphic for more information and buy links!

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The Santa Pageant by Lillian Barry (1st)

For fans of Rachel Bowdler and Ashley Herring Blake, a second-chance holiday romance between a sunshiney lesbian and a chilly non-binary bisexual.

Ten years ago, best friends Effie and Tove kissed in the bushes at Winter Ball…and then stood there like lemons, as if they weren’t crushing on each other so hard it hurt. In the confusion, their friendship fizzled, and Tove walked into the sunset with some guy who had nice hair.

Now a cocksure twenty-five-year-old with secretly appalling self-esteem, Effie enters the Santa of the Year Pageant to prove to her unsupportive family that Santa could, in fact, be a lesbian. Enter Tove, the grumpiest Santa in the grotto, back on the island after a harrowing break-up with Nice Hair Guy and using the Pageant to reconnect with the world.

As the Pageant eliminates Santa after Santa, Effie and Tove clash over their past: the kiss that drove them apart, and the fears the last ten years have etched into their worldviews. Effie must let go of others’ opinions and learn to love herself, and Tove must move forward despite there being no guarantee they won’t be hurt again… Or they risk losing each other a second time.

Buy it: Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: November 2023

October 2023 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction

Sunday Times-bestselling author of A MARVELLOUS LIGHT Freya Marske‘s SWORDCROSSED, pitched as Ellen Kushner’s SWORDSPOINT meets LEGENDS & LATTES; a second novel pitched as Grey’s Anatomy meets A DEADLY EDUCATION; an untitled novel; and an untitled novella, to Ruoxi Chen at Tor, in a six-figure deal, in a four-book deal, for publication in fall 2024, by Diana Fox at Fox Literary (US).

Continue reading October 2023 Deal Announcements

Fave Five: Demisexual Romances

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun (m/m)

Better Hate Than Ever by Chloe Liese (m/demi f)

Far From Home by Lorelie Brown (f/f)

How to Be a Movie Star by TJ Klune (m/m)

That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (demi m/f)

Bonus: Coming next month, For Never & Always by Helena Greer (demi m/f)

Fave Five: Adult Queer Jewish Romance

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan (bi m/f)

Unwritten Rules by KD Casey (m/m)

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman (f/f)

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee (trans m/pan f)

Season of Love by Helena Greer (f/f)

Bonus: For an entire series dedicated to Sapphic romances set during Jewish holidays, check out Roz Alexander’s Hot for the Holidays series

Happy Pan Visibility Day 2023!

Today is Pan Visibility Day, and as usual, we’re celebrating with a bunch of books that have pansexual leads! Please note that this post only includes books that weren’t featured in full in previous posts; you can find more pansexual books in posts from past years!

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

58724791Santi has only had his heart broken one time, and it was all his fault. When he accidentally leaked his internet best friend Memo’s song, and it became an overnight hit, Memo disappeared—leaving their song’s cult fame, and Santi, behind.

Three years later, Santi arrives in Los Angeles with a mission: get over the ghost of Memo. Thankfully, his new school and its wildly-talented Sunshower marching band welcome him with open arms. All except for his section leader, the prickly, proud, musical prodigy Suwa. But when Santi realizes Suwa is trans, then Suwa realizes Santi takes his identity in stride, both boys begin to let their guards down. Santi learns Suwa’s surliness masks a painful, still raw history of his own, and as they open up to each other, their friendship quickly takes on the red-hot blush of a mutual crush.

Just as Santi is feeling settled in this new life, with a growing found family and a head-over-heels relationship with Suwa, he begins to put together the pieces of an impossible truth—that he knows both more and less of Suwa’s story than he’s been told. Their fragile fresh start threatens to rip apart at the seams again when Suwa is offered the chance to step into the spotlight he’s owed but has always denied himself. Now, Santi and Suwa must finally reckon with their dreams, their pasts—and their futures, together or apart.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound

Bad at Love by Gabriela Martins

57750153Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. Paparazzi follow him and girls swoon over him . . . except for Sasha, who hates bad boys. When a chance encounter brings them together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?

The truth is: Daniel is hiding something. When Sasha discovers his secret, will she follow her heart or deliver the hottest story of the summer?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound

Scoreless Game by Anna Zabo and L.A. Witt

Scoreless Game (On the Board Book 2) by [Anna Zabo, L.A. Witt]At nearly thirty-one years old, Pittsburgh Griffins captain Elias Karlsson’s hockey years are numbered. Everything is changing around him, including his eleven-year friendship with Nikolai Sidorov. Elias would give anything for Nisha to be a permanent part of his life, but their once bedrock-strong bond has broken into a million pieces, and Elias doesn’t know why. More than anything, Elias wants his friend back, but if that isn’t an option, maybe it’s time for him to look outside of hockey for someone to be there with him when hockey isn’t an option anymore.

Nisha’s world is splintering apart. He’s been in love with his two best friends for years, but now one of them has someone. The other, Elias, is searching for everything Nisha wishes he could give him… but he’s looking for it in anyone but Nisha. The farther his friends slip away, the deeper the loneliness sinks in and the bleaker his empty future looks. What can he do but numb the pain in the only ways he knows how?

On the eve of the season opener, Nisha’s unexplained absence threatens the cohesion of the team and puts him and Elias on a collision course of strong wills, broken hearts, and shattered trust. In the end, they may lose the very thing that matters most to them both: each other.

Buy it: Amazon

Chef’s Choice by TJ Alexander

(Luna is pansexual.)

When Luna O’Shea is unceremoniously fired from her frustrating office job, she tries to count her blessings: she’s a proud trans woman who has plenty of friends, a wonderful roommate, and a good life in New York City. But blessings don’t pay the bills.

Enter Jean-Pierre, a laissez-faire trans man and the heir to a huge culinary empire—which he’ll only inherit if he can jump through all the hoops his celebrity chef grandfather has placed in his path. First hoop: he needs a girlfriend, a role that Luna is happy to play…for the right price. She’s got rent to pay, after all! Second hoop: they both need to learn how to cook a series of elaborate, world-renowned family recipes to prove that Jean-Pierre is a worthy heir. Admittedly, Luna doesn’t even know how to crack an egg, but she’s not going to let that—or any pesky feelings for Jean-Pierre—stop her.

Buy it: The Ripped Bodice | Amazon | IndieBound

The Stradivarius by Rae Knowles

When a surprise inheritance and whirlwind romance offer Mae a chance to escape her repressive aunt, she’s all too eager to elope and start life anew in her childhood home. But when she and her new husband arrive, the towering Victorian sits in disrepair, and Mae learns that her father’s decade-old, unsolved murder is still a source of rumor and speculation in town.

Leading the charge to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’s death is Ollie, a vibrant genderqueer and an outsider in their hometown. Sure that solving the cold case will land them a coveted job in the police department, Ollie gains access to the Victorian by agreeing to do maintenance work on the property.

Inside, Mae is taunted by a feminine specter, soft voices from empty rooms, and distinct melodies of Lady Paola: the priceless, Stradivarius violin stolen the night of her father’s murder.

Forte, mezzo-forte, the measured, andante cadence.

Her hiss, her pull, her scream.

Mae fears the house is haunted by her father’s spirit, her husband believes she’s going the way of her mother–slipping into madness, but Ollie suspects something more sinister is at play. If Ollie and Mae can’t work together to uncover the Victorian’s secrets, Mae will join her mother in an institution or her father in the grave.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Books to Preorder

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok (September 19, 2023)

A year ago, beloved cheerleader Stella Blackthorn vanished without a trace. Devastated, her younger sister, Iris, launched her own investigation, but all she managed to do was scare off the police’s only lead and earn a stern warning: Once she turns eighteen, more meddling means prison-level consequences.

Then, a year later, the unthinkable happens. Iris’s ex-girlfriend, Heather, goes missing, too—just after dropping the polarizing last episode of her true crime podcast all about Iris’s sister. This time, nothing will stop Iris and her amateur sleuthing agency from solving these disappearances.

But with a suspicious detective watching her every move, an enemy-turned-friend-turned-maybe-more to contend with, and only thirty days until she turns eighteen, it’s a race against the clock for Iris to solve the most dangerous case of her life.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

For Never & Always by Helena Greer (November 28, 2023)

(Levi is pansexual.)

Hannah Rosenstein should be happy: after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi “Blue” Matthews: her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner.

When Levi left Carrigan’s, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn’s cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he’s ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he planned: his family’s angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again.

Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He’ll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Exclusive Cover Reveal: For Never & Always by Helena Greer

Today on the site, we’re revealing the cover for For Never & Always by Helena Greer, a pan and demi second-chance m/f romance releasing November 28th from Forever! Here’s the story:

One surprise inheritance, two best friends (now bitter exes), and three months to prove he loves her, forever and always, in this swoony second-chance romance for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur and Ashley Herring Blake.

Hannah Rosenstein should be happy: after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi “Blue” Matthews: her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner.

When Levi left Carrigan’s, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn’s cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he’s ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he planned: his family’s angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again.

Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He’ll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.

And here’s the gorgeous cover by the inimitable Leni Kauffman!

Purple cover with white woman in the left top cover with a long blonde braid wearing a black jacket and beige and purple dotted dress with strappy black shoes on doorstep outline. In the right bottom corner, a white man with brown hair and glasses looking up at the woman with a pink scarf tied around his neck, a blue and purple checked sweater vest over a white shirt rolled up on sleeves, blue jeans with his legs crossed. He leans against a street sign with a blue backpack and brown suitcase to his left.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | The Ripped Bodice

Helena Greer writes contemporary romance novels that answer the question, what if this beloved trope were gay? She was born in Tucson, and her heart still lives there although she no longer does. After earning a BA in writing and mythology, and a master’s in library science, she spent several years blogging about librarianship before returning to writing creatively. Helena loves cheesy pop culture, cats without tails, and ancient Greek murderesses. Follow her on Twitter + Instagram @blumagaincurios.

Fave Five: New Queer Holiday Romances

For some older titles, click here for m/m and here for f/f.

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

Season of Love by Helena Greer

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

Bonus: Check out Honeymoon for One by Rachel Bowdler and read her post all about queer holiday romance here.

These are all Adult novels, but for a novella, try Felix Navidad by ‘Nathan Burgoine, and in YA, check out How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia ArlowÂ