I’ve discovered a new weekly prompt from following @fantasticbooks_awtft which is #sixforsunday. It’s attributed to alittlebutalot.com It looks pretty great and I’ll see how I get on with it, it would be nice to make it a regular feature too if I get the time!

Now here’s the thing, this month’s prompts are all about LGBT reads and do you know what, I have read painfully few LGBT books. I’m not part of the community and it seems that a lot of LGBT is contemporary which I’m not a fan of, so I’m having to cheat a little with this one. I’m bending the rules (I know, I know It’s not the best way to start) and featuring a combination of my favourite LGBT reads and ones that I want to read!

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things by Martina McAtee

17 year old Ember realises that she’s no normal girl, her preferences for spending time with the dead make sense when she is thrust into a family she didn’t know she had. Enter her reaper cousin Kai and brooding werewolf Rhys. These characters and their will they/wont they partnership bring about some of the best moments in the story, their dialogue is fantastic and things do get pretty swoonworthy as the series goes on!

Red Sun Rises by Victoria Kinnaird

I was lucky enough to win a copy of the ebook box set of this series from the author and I devoured all 3 books and short stories in a week. It’s a YA series and the story of Eren Anderson, small town outcast with a big hidden history. Fledgling feelings towards his closest friend are quickly quashed by the arrival of charismatic vampire Corbijn and when Eren finds himself unexpectedly thrown into the vampire world, it’s not just his emerging sexuality that he has to embrace. Although a LGBT read it’s far from the focal point of the story which had me absolutely captivated and full of emotion.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

This is the first on my list of want to read! One of my best bookish friends adores this book and although a historical piece the characters and the story line make me feel that this is actually not really a focal point. I’m hoping to pick it up on audiobook so it can keep me company on the journey’s to work.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This was an unexpected LGBT read for me, much of advanced information about the story focused on the trigger warnings for the sexual violence, so I was surprised to be taken in by what is essentially a really quite beautiful love story underneath. I know that this is a fairly new release still so I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil it.

Simon vs The Homo Sapians Agenda by Becky Albertalli

The next on my want to read list – this is a big one for me as it’s one of the few contemporary books that caught my eye last year. It again comes highly recommended so I’ll have to hope I have a need for a contemporary fix this year, or I could just watch the movie 🙂

The Pairing Fire by Rebecca Gibson

So this isn’t a typical one for the list in that it’s not a book which has yet been published. It’s currently out for query by the author and I had the huge privilege of being an early reader. Pitched as a LGBT Tristan and Isolde retelling, it’s told in a dual POV between both it’s gay and asexual leads. It’s nothing short of brilliantly written and conveys the hopes and fears of the leads with emotion, depth and a few hand fan worthy moments. I wish Rebecca Gibson all the good luck in the world in getting this picked up for publication, here’s her blurb!

Sent by the gods themselves the Pairing Fire is meant to be worshipped, but to Eris it’s just another way for the spoilt boy king to control his empire. So when she’s paired with King Trystan, despite not being of noble birth, her hopes of freedom shatter.

As Eris struggles to come to terms with her new gilded cage the castle descends into uproar. An uneducated girl from Black Valley cannot be the future queen. Haunted by her past and terrified of the future, Eris is desperate to escape.

Until an otherworldly voice urges her to stay.

But with Trystan entangled in a forbidden romance that could cost his crown, Eris and Trystan are left with one choice: they must seek answers from the voice only they can hear. A voice tying them together in unexpected ways.

After all, the Fire never lies.