Books
I write to live again
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
When Love Gives
You Lemons
Bloomsbury YA
AIn this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.
Ever since he was a kid, Fielder Lemon’s large, opinionated Italian-American family has lived next to Ricky DeLuca and his large, opinionated Italian-American family. For almost as long, Fielder has known that he wants to marry Ricky one day. And he thought Ricky felt the same way—until Ricky breaks up with Fielder the day after his high school graduation, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.
One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there's a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister. Fielder hasn’t talked to or seen Ricky once during the last entire, terrible year, but he hasn’t given up on his first love quite yet—and isn't a wedding in an Italian lemon grove the perfect setting to rekindle their relationship? Except Ricky might have already moved on.
Now, Fielder has less than a week to do the impossible and win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding. But if there's one thing Fielder knows, it's that when life gives you lemons, take a bite!
And They Lived...
A sex-positive, fairytale-inspired YA novel that celebrates first love and self-acceptance, perfect for fans of What If It’s Us.
“My heart didn’t stand a chance. I loved it from once upon a time all the way to its joyfully complex ever after.” – New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli
Chase Arthur is a budding animator and hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he’s plagued with the belief that he’s not enough for anyone: he’s recovering from an eating disorder and suffers from body dysmorphia fueled by his father, and can’t quite figure out his gender identity. When Chase starts his freshman year of college, he has to navigate being away from home and missing his sister, finding his squad, and contending with his ex-best friend Leila who is gunning for the same exclusive mentorship. If only he can pull together a short for the freshman animation showcase at the end of the semester.
Then Chase meets Jack Reid, a pragmatic poet who worships words and longs to experience life outside of his sheltered world. But Chase throws everything into question for Jack, who is still discovering his sexual identity, having grown up in close-knit conservative family. Jack internalized a lot of homophobia from his parents and childhood best friend, who unexpectedly visit campus, which threatens to destroy their relationship. Chase will have to learn to love–and be enough for–himself, while discovering what it means to truly live.
Bloomsbury YA
Adult Romance
The Boyfriend Subscription
Equal parts sizzling, sweet and irresistibly fresh, Steven Salvatore’s The Boyfriend Subscription is the LGBTQIA+Pretty Woman rom-com fans have been waiting for.
What happens when a simple deal gets…complicated?
After losing his marriage and his beloved retail plant business, Teddy Hughes is ready to drown his sorrows—or would be, if he could afford another beer in his favorite dive bar. He has no choice but to uproot his dreams and leave New York for good. And then a gorgeous stranger walks in with cheekbones that could cut glass and a confidence that leaves Teddy panting.
Like the leather harness he wears under his designer suit, Cole Vivien is a mass of contradictions. He’s a successful entrepreneur whose app, VERSTL, allows consumers and sex workers to form real—if temporary—connections. But now Cole is in the unfamiliar position of needing something from someone else. A fake boyfriend can help Cole project a more traditional image for a potential investor. And Teddy—shy, smart and so much hotter than he knows—is perfect for the part. Maybe too perfect.
Cole just has two conditions: no kissing and no falling in love. In exchange for one week together, Teddy will get enough money to get back on his feet, and no messy feelings will be in the mix.
But some rules are made to be broken…
Harlequin: Afterglow Books
Young Adult Contemporary
No Perfect Places: A Novel
Bloomsbury YA
A moving YA novel about twins whose incarcerated father dies and leaves behind a life-changing secret, perfect for fans of I’ll Give You the Sun and Euphoria.
When their father went to prison last year for embezzlement, twins Alex and Olly Brucke lost everything: their house, their college funds, most of their friends, and even their mother, who’s so focused on making ends meet that she’s never around anymore. The only thing they can count on lately is each other.
But after their father dies unexpectedly in prison, the twins start to fracture. Alex is spiraling, skipping classes to spend all of her time drunk or high. And Olly is struggling with a secret his dad ordered him to keep: they have a secret half-brother named Tyler.
When Tyler shows up in their lakeside town for the summer, hoping to get to know his siblings, Olly hides the truth from Alex. But as Alex and Tyler start to form a friendship, the lies become harder to juggle. If they can’t confront their father’s past and fix their relationship, Olly and Alex each risk losing two siblings forever.
No Perfect Places is a thought-provoking novel about grief, family secrets, and figuring out how to belong against the odds.
Can't Take That Away
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.
Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey's tormentor and others in the school. It's up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rights—and they refuse to be silenced.
Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns, debut author Steven Salvatore's Can't Take That Away conducts a powerful, uplifting anthem, a swoony romance, and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us.
Bloomsbury YA