Welcome to Book Beat!
Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.
The Bennet Women
Author: Eden Appiah-Kubi
Released: September 1, 2021 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Literary Fiction, RomanceIn this delightfully modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, love is a goal, marriage is a distant option, and self-discovery is a sure thing.
Welcome to Bennet House, the only all-women’s dorm at prestigious Longbourn University, home to three close friends who are about to have an eventful year. EJ is an ambitious Black engineering student. Her best friend, Jamie, is a newly out trans woman studying French and theater. Tessa is a Filipina astronomy major with guy trouble. For them, Bennet House is more than a residence—it’s an oasis of feminism, femininity, and enlightenment. But as great as Longbourn is for academics, EJ knows it can be a wretched place to find love.
Yet the fall season is young and brimming with surprising possibilities. Jamie’s prospect is Lee Gregory, son of a Hollywood producer and a gentleman so charming he practically sparkles. That leaves EJ with Lee’s arrogant best friend, Will. For Jamie’s sake, EJ must put up with the disagreeable, distressingly handsome, not quite famous TV actor for as long as she can.
What of it? EJ has her eyes on a bigger prize, anyway: launching a spectacular engineering career in the “real world” she’s been hearing so much about. But what happens when all their lives become entwined in ways no one could have predicted—and EJ finds herself drawn to a man who’s not exactly a perfect fit for the future she has planned?
Source: Amazon First Reads announcement
For any of you Austenites out there!
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Murder Next Door
Author: Sarah Bell
Released: June 5, 2021
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Mystery/ThrillerJuly 1912
Leeds, EnglandA man is found dead on his study floor and his now-missing wife is the obvious suspect. To their neighbour, Louisa Knight, it’s a shocking piece of news but nothing more. However, when she tells her ‘companion’ over breakfast, Ada Chapman nearly breaks their teapot and looks ready to run out the door.
For Ada watched Mrs Pearce leave from the window of her painting studio. A moment’s glance of a fearful face brings back old memories and gives her doubts.
As far as the more pragmatic Louisa is concerned, Ada’s determination to investigate is bound to lead them into trouble. Again. Yet Louisa’s curiosity cannot be denied, and as the pair delve deeper into their neighbour’s life what they uncover only clouds the issue further. The question soon becomes not just ‘Who killed Mr Pearce?’ but also ‘Does that person deserve to hang for it?’
Even if the couple can find the guilty party, will they be able to agree what should become of them?
Source: @SarahBellWrites on Twitter
A queer historical mystery with an opposites attract romantic subplot!
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Queer Icons and Their Cats
Author: Alison Nastasi
Released: May 4, 2021 by Chronicle Books LLC
Genre: LGBTQIA, NonfictionThese cat lovers are out and purr-oud!
Freddie Mercury, Sylvia Rivera, Alison Bechdel, Dusty Springfield. This book is a celebration of queer icons of the past and present and their furry feline friends. From images of lost legends such as Josephine Baker and James Baldwin, to snapshots of contemporary trailblazers like comedian Tig Notaro and fashion designer Jason Wu—these charming and eccentric photographs capture what it truly means to be a cat purr-son.
• PURR-FECT FOR CAT LOVERS: This book celebrates the love between human and cat. What better gift could you get the feline fancier in your life?
• AMEWSING ANECDOTES AND IMPAWTENT MOMENTS: Learn about the lives of the queer heroes who came before us and those who are still fighting for equality and inclusion. We’re not kitten around—with watershed moments like the Stonewall riots and sweet stories of domestic bliss, this book will both entertain and inspire you.
• PHOTOS WITH CATITUDE: In these purr-ecious photographs, you’ll get to see your heroes in unguarded moments expressing love for their pets. This collection of images will bring joy to any cat lover’s heart.Perfect for:
• LGBTQIA+ cat lovers and the people who shop for them
• Anyone interested in learning more about influential queer figures—and their pets!Source: Bookstore stock!
Someone special ordered this and come on, how awesome is this.
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Author: Rachel Spangler
Released: June 13, 2021 by Brisk Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceFencing prodigy Jess Kidman has always been ahead of her peers. At the age of thirteen she made the varsity team, won a state championship, came out, and fell head over heels in love with her team captain, Lauren Standish. After being gently rebuffed by the high school senior, young Jess vowed she would return for her some day when their age difference became irrelevant and her own accomplishments made her not merely an equal, but an Olympian. Eleven years later, Jess makes good on her promise, but when she arrives back in Buffalo a few months before the big games, she’s intrigued to find that the woman she’s always dreamed of could also be exactly the coach she needs to win gold.
Lauren, however, isn’t the bubbly team captain she’d been at eighteen. After a stellar collegiate career of her own, circumstances forced her to her dreams on the shelf and return to Buffalo. She’d made peace with a quiet life spent running a rustbelt fencing club and coaching kids when Team USA’s hottest young fencer waltzes back into her life. As much as Lauren finds Jess’s confidence and athleticism alluring, she also sees the hot-headed superstar as a threat to the carefully controlled world rebuilt in the wake of the traumatic loss she is desperate to avoid reliving. Never one to turn her back on a friend in need, Lauren agrees to coach Jess on the condition that they focus only on the swordplay and not the sharp point of attraction threatening to sever the bonds of her professionalism.
The two women set to work preparing for the biggest event of their lives, but as tension mounts in the lead-up to the Olympic games, the pressure and the passion building between them also grows, leaving both to wonder if Jess is trying to win the gold, or win the girl.
Source: Tara
Fencing! Lesbians! High school crush returns!
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Skyla Dawn Cameron (who writes the Livi Talbot series that I love) Twitter recommended GUARDIAN OF CHAOS by Michelle Manus thusly: “It has all my catnip: great characters, found family, female friendship, angsty love, a griffin the size of a housecat. At its core is a deep compassion on the part of the heroine, which makes it a great soul-cleansing read while the world is on fire.”
https://twitter.com/skyladawn/status/1425108092048625670
The cover of Queer Icons and Their Cats is stunning.
Looking at the table of contents, I have now realized queer + cat person is my jam in an entertainer.
Queer Icons and Their Cats will be mine, also The Bennet Women. I did have a little giggle at the name of the lead for Thrust – Jess Kidman! I love it.
(Note, I had a giggle because Kidman = new kid in town/fencing prodigy) (I should have said that in my comment).
I live under a rock. I had no idea that Dusty Springfield was a lesbian. Or that wasn’t her birth name. Or that she’d been gone so long. RIP Dusty.
I love Skyla Dawn Cameron’s Livi Talbot series!! I read it based on commenter recs on a SBTB thread maybe a year ago. It would be awesome to see it reviewed on this site – do the SBs take requests?
The fencing story makes me think of Juri from Revolutionary Girl Utena.