Hsinju’s Lit Log

ARCs, Book Reviews, Fiction

The Unexpected Dream by Nicole Pyland | ARC Review

5th September 2020
The Unexpected Dream (Sports #3) by Nicole Pyland
- Publisher: Pyland Publishing LLC, September 3rd 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 236 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
Content warnings: divorce, biphobia

The Unexpected Dream is a softball romance, which should totally be a trope.

Mia Landis (30, bisexual) accidentally got pregnant and misses her chance of playing at Tokyo Olympics. Used to be a prodigy pitcher on the national team, her life now revolves around handling her divorce, caring for her two-year-old daughter Hazel, and coaching softball at her old high school. When a player mentions tryouts for a professional league, Mia decides to give it a try. Skylar Donahue (25, lesbian) also wanted to play at Tokyo but had injured her wrist weeks before the games. She ends up being the pitching coach when all she wants is to be a player. With her lingering injury, she cannot pitch but just might make the team in the new league as a catcher.
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Book Lists

2021 Sapphic Releases from LGBTQ+ Indies

4th September 2020

As a companion list to Sasha and Amber Read’s amazing “2021 – The Year of Sapphic Book Excellency,” here you will find scheduled sapphic releases in 2021 from LGBTQ+ indie publishers, including Bella Books, Bold Strokes Books, Bywater Books, Ylva Publishing, and several self-published authors. All information is provided by publishers and authors.

If you are looking for more new releases with strong women and feminist/queer themes, check out Women and Words’ monthly updated page.

The following list contains books featuring sapphic main character(s) and/or sapphic relationships. It will be updated accordingly as more information becomes available.

This is a passion project. I did not receive any compensation for this, nor are any of the links affiliated with any company.

last updated on March 9th 2021

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ARCs, Book Reviews, Fiction

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen | ARC Review

2nd September 2020
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen
- Publisher: Second Story Press, September 22nd 2020
- Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ+
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 314 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)
Alison Green was partly tricked into producing a Shakespeare school play. Desperate to be valedictorian, she wanted everything to be in her control. But alas, mistakes happen and soon she found herself in the midst of a failing play, ruined friendships, strained romance, and much more.

I am glad I have read A Midsummer Night’s Dream before reading this book. Otherwise, it would have been incredibly confusing.
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#5OnMyTBR

#5OnMyTBR — Disabled MC

31st August 2020

Hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook, #5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme where we talk about 5 books on our TBR on Mondays. You can learn more about it in E.’s original announcement or #5OnMyTBR page.

This week’s prompt: Disabled MC.

A lot of books with disabled main character(s) are written by non-disabled authors. But I want to amplify #ownvoices works only in this week’s #5OnMyTBR.

Below are 5 fictional works featuring disabled MCs by authors who share the same disabilities as their characters.

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Book Reviews, Fiction

A Shot at Gold by Nicole Pyland

30th August 2020
A Shot at Gold (Sports #2) by Nicole Pyland
- Publisher: Pyland Publishing LLC, 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook
- Page Count: 225 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Content warnings: loss of father figure, loss of loved one, alcoholism, anxiety

“You’re not a terrible coach. You were just not meant to be mine because you were meant to be so much more.”
Madison

A Shot at Gold was a very emotional read for me but I don’t know why. I have never lost anyone close, and yet I still felt every bit of the main characters’ lingering pain and understood all their insecurities stemming from their losses.
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