T10T: Romances with LGBTQ+ Representation

  

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! This week is a genre-related freebie. As such, you'll not be surprised I'm picking LGBTQ+ romances

This week's prompt is..... romances with LGBTQ+ rep

These are in no particular order

1. Cubby Season by Bindi Kennedy
2. Hurt Me Not by Davidson King
3. Playing for Keeps by Alexandria Bellefleur
4. Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks
5. My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich
6. Meant to Burn by Shae Ruby
7. In Love's Key, Reprised by Guri Nojiro
8. Kitty Season by Bindi Kennedy
9. When Ivy Met Adam by Jennifer J. Coldwater
10. Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

Absolutely none of you should be surprised that I decided to take a queer approach to this prompt if you've been around my blog for any significant about of time. I am here and proudly queer, and will absolutely champion books with LGBTQ+ rep whenever I can. I am also a big romance girlie, so here we are. 

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

Have you read any of these? I am so down for any kind of LGBTQ+ book recs if you have any! See you tomorrow for my gushing!

FFAF: In My Audiobook Era Tag

 

Intro

I have been an audiobook fan hardcore for the last few years. As such, this is the perfect challenge for me! I got the prompts from Alli the Book Giraffe whose list can be found here. Let's dive into it!

The Prompts and My Picks

The first audiobook I ever listened to: While I am not particularly confident about this, I think it might've been Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

My favorite narrators: I enjoy Emma Wilder, J.F. Harding, and Stella Hunter.

My preferred audiobook platforms: it is a whole lot of Libby, with some BookFunnel, and NetGalley for ARCs.

A book I enjoyed on audio that I might not have liked physically: My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich

My go-to audiobook speed: I actually listen to almost everything at 3x speed. I know, I'm a heathen, but my ADHD likes it. My fiancée thinks I'm crazy for it. 

I prefer multi-narration when available

I listen while multitasking for example, I am listening to an audiobook while I write out this blog. I also color, journal, and do things like laundry while listening to audiobooks. It's how I'm able to read so many books in a year.

My biggest audiobook pet peeve: all characters sound the same and it doesn't suit the characters at all. Also when someone mispronounces a bunch of words.

A book I'd love to make into an audiobook: Bunny Season by Bindi Kennedy

My all time favorite audiobook experience: Lights Out by Navessa Allen. The narration was so funny and immersive. I feel like the narrators truly added to the experience and had such perfect delivery.

Have I ever listened to an audiobook that made me pause and say "wait, what did I just hear?": Oh gosh, Just Pervs by Jess Taylor. That book was truly awful and completely grossed me out to hear in headphones.

Outro

This was a lot of fun! These prompts actually made me stop and think about my audiobook experience. Are you an audiobook lover?

FFAF: Did I Read My 10 Before the End

Intro

Now that 2026 is here, my time has expired to finish my "10 before the end" books of last year. I will tell you now, not all of these were finished and we will get into that. That said, progress did happen, so we are gonna celebrate the wins regardless of completion.

✅ means completed

💔 means untouched

🔆 means progress was made on it

The Books

1. Merry Little Kissmas by Lauren Blakely ✅
2. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 🔆
3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 🔆
4. The Autist's Guide to the Galaxy by Clara Törnvall 🔆
5. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth 💔
6. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff 🔆
7. My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich ✅
8. Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel ✅
9. Dolls of Our Lives by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks 🔆
10. Yule be Mine by Piper Rayne ✅

Discussion

See, it's not thattttt bad, I only entirely neglected 1 book. You can also blame my fiancée for two of these being unfinished (The Outsiders and The Autist's Guide to the Galaxy) as we are reading those together and they are way less inclined to reading than I am.

I enjoyed the books I finished and honestly did not read all that much time in December so it is unsurprising I am still in the middle of many of these. 4/10 is pretty good for prioritizing ARCs over anything and otherwise being a mood reader.

Outro

How did you do if you had a 10 before the end? Please tell me I am not the only one who did not finish half of it. I am still proud of kind of committing to a TBR that I considered no stakes. Let's just say, any other TBRs I make in the future of a similar nature are just for funsises.

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Enjoyed Outside of My Comfort Zone

Welcome back to Top 5 Tuesday, now following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! As always, I do a top 5 instead of a top 10 because I tend to struggle to find 10 books for prompts.

This week's prompt is..... books I enjoyed outside of my comfort zone

These are in order with most recently read first

1. My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich
2. Meant to Burn by Shae Ruby
3. You Too?: 25 Voices Share Their #MeToo Stories by Janet Gurtler
4. The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
5. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals about Death by Caitlin Doughty

For the most part, all of these are in one genre I am comfortable in, and one (or more) that I am just starting to dip into. This blend makes them less intimidating to pick up an give a chance. I'm proud of myself so far this year with how much I have given various genres a try. Hopefully I can keep it going in 2026! What genres are outside of your comfort zone?

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

This past week has been so relaxing and healing. Being able to actually get a decent night's sleep definitely helps. I've been bale to read a lot more and am becoming a content machine due to my upcoming Indie Author Advent. I'll see you again tomorrow for some gushing!

 Free For All Friday: 10 Before the End

Intro

As this year comes to a close, I wanted to recap the books I still hope to read before the end of the year. That is where "10 before the end" comes along. It is a trend that encourages us to make a TBR with a new year's due date. Can you believe there are only 2 months left in 2025?

A lot of these I am currently in the middle of. A couple are ARCS. I am hoping I end up loving every one. Let's get into them!

My Picks

1. Merry Little Kissmas by Lauren Blakely
2. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
4. The Autist's Guide to the Galaxy by Clara Törnvall
5. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
6. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
7. My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich
8. Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel
9. Dolls of Our Lives by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks
10. Yule be Mine by Piper Rayne

Outro

I have a nice variety of reads in my future (assuming I actually get to these.) I am hyped for each and every one. Have you read any of these? If not, what is on your ten before the end? I will see you again next week!

Can't Wait Wednesday: My Roommate From Hell

 

Can't Wait Wednesday

This week's book is.... My Roommate From Hell

Author: Cale Dietrich

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: November 11th, 2025

Series: n/a

Blurb:

Owen is not going to college to have fun. Nothing is going to stop him from achieving his goals: study hard, get a good job, and set himself up for the rest of his life. The last thing he needs is to have a loud, obnoxious, and infuriatingly hot roommate. Especially since said roommate just so happens to be the prince of hell.

Prince Zarmenus has come to Point University for the first-ever Earth/hell exchange program, and he's determined to make the most of it. Which may or may not include wild parties, bringing in random boys to his and Owen's room, and accidentally setting Owen's furniture on fire. Sparks fly (literally) as Owen and Zar clash, but Zar's actions threaten to not only ruin Owen's peaceful college life but demon-human relations as well. To clean up his image, he asks Owen to be his fake boyfriend and teach him how to be a better human in exchange for an internship that will secure Owen’s future. That, and Zar will consider being a better roommate.

A deal is struck, and the two start pretending to be in a relationship where they each have agendas of their own. Only Owen has a secret―dating his mortal enemy, even if it’s fake, is the most fun he's ever had.

Charming and fun, My Roommate from Hell is a rom-com with a magical twist. Think just one bed, but that bed is in hell, surrounded by fire and brimstone.

Explanation:

I have the ARC for this one, and it seems like a fun and funny time. It is a smidge outside of my comfort zone, which is honestly exactly what I am looking for at the moment. The fun and twsited blurb alone has sold me.