Pride Month Staff Picks (6/28/23)

We’re celebrating Pride Month with four amazing titles! Searching for your next read? Check out these staff picks and dive into some of MacLib’s favorites.

Amanda’s Pick: CLEAT CUTE by Meryl Wilsner | 9781250873309 | 9/19/23

The author of the LibraryReads pick MISTAKES WERE MADE is back with the best sports romance you’ll ever read.  Bold claim, but I absolutely loved it.  It’s a sapphic, rivals-to-lovers rom com where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup.

The perfect blend of funny and steamy, and chock full of beloved tropes like teammates to lovers, what is this feeling so sudden and new, and sexual tension via hair braiding, alongside ADHD rep, an amazing cast of side characters, and the actual Women’s World cup coming up later this summer, this is sure to be a winner.

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by August 1st.

Emily’s Pick: GWEN & ART ARE NOT IN LOVE by Lex Croucher | 9781250847218 | 11/28/23

Ever since Arthur, descendant of King Arthur and a future Lord, was born, he has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England. The only problem with this arrangement is that they despise each other. When they are forced to spend the summer together leading up to their impending wedding, they each very quickly discover that the other is gay. So, they decide to be allies rather than enemies and make a pact to cover for each other as they pursue their true loves. If you are looking for more joyful queer stories like Heartstopper and I KISSED SHARA WHEELER, this story of found family and happily-ever-afters is sure to hit the spot.  

Available for download on Edelweiss know more.

Samantha’s Pick: YOURS FOR THE TAKING by Gabrielle Korn | 9781250283368 | 12/5/23

In this thrilling queer debut, Gabrielle Korn provides a mirror into our own world–showing all its beauty but also all its horror. Set in 2050, Ava and her girlfriend are having difficulty finding happiness in a world hit by rapid climate change. Enter ‘The Inside Project’, the only place to guarantee survival, and only those whose applications are accepted will find themselves in this city-sized structure. As Ava and two other women learn more and more about The Inside Project, they begin to find some cracks in the system, leading them to dig deeper into the corporation. YOURS FOR THE TAKING is full of captivating world-building and a cast of complicated characters. Set in a feminist dystopia like that in The Handmaid’s Tale and with a similar speculative tone to STATION ELEVEN, this gripping page-turner brings an unimaginable, yet almost possible world.

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by November 1st.

Michelle’s Pick: THE HOUSE OF DOORS by Tan Twan Eng | 9781639731930 | 10/17/23

When two couples (Lesley & Robert and Willie & Gerald) are thrown together under one roof in early-1920s Penang, relationships are strained and confidences are betrayed. Each of these pairs have relationships that are more complicated than they seem, and when Lesley reaches her breaking point and decides to confide in Willie, fractures open wide. Willie is facing impossible challenges of his own–hiding his homosexuality, battling with failing health, and desperately searching for a topic for his new novel. When Lesley tells him secrets about her involvement with a Chinese revolutionary, an Englishwoman charged with murder in Kuala Lumpur, and more, Willie realizes he’s finally found the fodder he needs to begin working on his book. With rich characters and a lush setting, this novel is sure to draw you in, move you, and leave you deep in thought when it’s all done.

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by September 1st.