Reading Wrap Up: June 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from the tbr)

Out of the Blue
by Jason June
Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ | Published: May 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
breakups, shakeups, fun times
adorable couple
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder--or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They've pollluted the planet so much that there's a floating island of trash that's literally the size of a country.

In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest's pespective on humans begins to change, they'll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings...

A Little Bit Country
by Brian D. Kennedy
YA, Romance, Music, LGBTQ | Published: June 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
like a classic country love song with cute fuzzies
another adorable couple
Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Lovely Books and Things - 6.26.22

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Mailbox Monday (details)
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Sunday Salon (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Staying outside late on the summer solstice day
2. Found a new (to me) gelato place, Gelato Classico (here) - yummy spumoni
3. Spotted a gold frog at an art gallery window in San Francisco North Beach aka little Italy

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Bought:

The House in the Cerulean Sea
by T.J. Klune
Fantasy, LGBTQ | Published: 2020 | Goodreads
Library: audiobook

A Flicker in the Dark
by Stacy Willingham
Thriller, Mystery | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
Library:

Rainbow Rainbow
by Lydia Conklin
Short Stories, LGBTQ | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
For Review:

A Little Bit Country
by Brian D. Kennedy
YA, Romance, Music, LGBTQ | Published: June 2022 | Goodreads
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
~*~
Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passage
See archive of this (here)

The Catch
by Alison Fairbrother
Literary, Coming of Age | Published: 2022 | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Macmillan

Hester
by Laurie Lico Albanese
Historical, Retelling, Scotland | Published: October 2022 | Goodreads

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AND watched: San Francisco Opera

Dream of the Red Chamber (2022)
Sung in English with English and Chinese supertitles)
Director: Stan Lai
Conductor: Darrell Ang

Based on book:

Dream of the Red Chamber
by Cao Xueqin
Classic, Historical, Romance, China | Published: 1791 | Goodreads
~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Happy release: A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy

A Little Bit Country
by Brian D. Kennedy
YA, Romance, Music, LGBTQ | Published: June 2022 | Goodreads
Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

First sentence(s):
Here’s the thing about writing a good country song: It’s really fricking hard. For starters, you can’t swear. Not if you want radio play. But I don’t give a “ship” about that. For me, the bigger challenge is coming up with something original to say. Anyone can put words to music, but how do you make those words sound new? I mean, the world’s only big enough for so many songs about long dirt roads, cheating spouses, and drinking enough six-packs of cheap beer to crash your pontoon.